Naughty Newts

Boris Johnson’s plan to build a swimming pool at his new “country manor” could be thwarted by newts, says the Telegraph (subscription). The ex-PM has lodged a planning application for the pool with South Oxfordshire District Council, but its countryside officer has said the site is in “the red zone of highest risk” for the amphibian and advised Mr Johnson to carry out a protected species survey if he wants the application approved. The paper pointed out that Mr Johnson said in a keynote speech in July 2020: “Newt-counting delays are a massive drag on the productivity and the prosperity of this country.”