An Oxfordshire MP with a peculiar style of email replies, the risk of becoming developers' prey and the rules for naked sunbathing.

Let’s look at the top stories from Oxfordshire (and beyond) this morning.

Top story: John Howell accused a constituent of ‘fascism’ over email.

An Oxfordshire woman was less than impressed when Jon Howell, Conservative MP for Henley, replied to her plea to stop the controversial police bill by accusing her of fascism. Now she’s accusing him of being ‘drunk’.

When Francesca Trotman reached out to her MP to ask him to reconsider his vote in favour of the bill, Mr Howell replied: “So, all you want is an unfettered right to protest for your own cause and to hell with those who want to get on with their own lives. That is not democracy, that is fascism”

Read the full story: John Howell MP accused of being unprofessional by constituents    

Kill the bill rally will go ahead this weekend. Some may choose to protest by sending emails to their MPs, while others gather in Oxford City centre.

The Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021 is due to beef up police powers, including the power to stop peaceful protests. Currently police can stop protests if the demonstration could cause “serious public disorder, serious damage to property or serious disruption to the life of the community.”

However, the new bill could allow police forces to impose start and finish times, set noise limits and even apply these rules to small demonstrations. Critics see the move as something likely to hinder the right to protest in the UK.

This has prompted protests across the UK, the most notorious one being in Bristol.

Oxford Mail:
 

Oxfordshire councillors to discuss the £1.6m payout after a dispute with a parking company. In February, it was revealed that the county council had to pay out £1.6m to Marstons Holdings Ltd after the company challenged the process for awarding a contract for parking enforcement in 2019.

County councillors were due to debate the authority's transparency and scrutiny procedures when they met last week, but after an emotional discussion about domestic abuse the meeting was called to an early end. But now a cross-party group of councillors have arranged a new date to understand how it came to such an expense.

There’s a new risk of rampant housebuilding across Oxfordshire countryside. The county’s special arrangements with the Government where planning chiefs must demonstrate three years’ worth of home are being built to meet housing needs is coming to an end.

Now, all five Oxfordshire district councils will have to revert to the normal arrangement of maintaining a five-year housing land supply. This means opening the door to developers to build on land which is not set aside for homes if councils cannot show they have a five-year supply.

Football

Oxford United Women are the underdogs in their first game for four months.

They will visit Cardiff City Ladies in the FA Cup second round on Sunday, needing a win to keep their season alive.

Lockdown has prevented United from playing since they beat Keynsham Town 3-1 on December 13, with their National League Southern Premier campaign declared null and void last month. Boss Liam Gilbert says he was pleasantly surprised by the standards United set in their first session back. “If I’m completely honest, they’re at a higher level than I hoped for,” he told us.

Tributes continue pouring in for Oxford United legend Micky Lewis. Current players, former players, coaches and colleagues are expected to attend his funeral today.

Elsewhere in the UK

Oxford Mail:

Britain is not institutionally racist, according to a major new study by the Commission on Race and Ethnic disparities.

However, overt racism does persist, despite wider issues of race becoming “less important” the report has found. 

The report recommends ending the use of the term BAME, and for organisations to stop funding unconscious bias training.

Glastonbury organisers announced a livestream festival for May 2021. The online festival, scheduled for May 22 will be held at Worthy Farm and will include performances from sites around the farm, including the Stone Circle.

The event will include performances from a host of well-known artists including Coldplay, Damon Albarn, Jorja Smith, Haim, Wolf Alice and Michael Kiwanuka, organiser Emily Eavis said.

Just remember, if you are also an Eurovision fan your diary may clash.

If you need key advice ahead of the warm weather...

You can sunbathe naked in your garden if you live in the countryside with no one overlooking your garden. If that's not the case, you may find the rules are a bit less permissive regardless of you being on private property. It's recommended anyway that people who want to sunbathe naked should inform their neighbours first.

Something useful for the road... a list of all the public toilets in Oxfordshire currently open. With more people socialising outside than ever before due to lockdown restrictions, the need to map public toilets has never been more urgent.

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