Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Tory MP waves Nokia phone in Commons as he ponders why school pleas ignored

Sir Charles Walker said ‘nothing happens’ when he texts Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi.

Richard Wheeler
Thursday 30 June 2022 08:40 EDT
Sir Charles Walker waving his mobile device (House of Commons/PA)
Sir Charles Walker waving his mobile device (House of Commons/PA) (PA Media)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A Conservative MP believes his Nokia phone is the reason why the Education Secretary is not answering his pleas to repair a school.

Sir Charles Walker waved his mobile device in the Commons chamber as he jokingly questioned why “nothing happens” when he messages Nadhim Zahawi.

The MP for Broxbourne said: “Can we have an urgent debate about the Secretary of State for Education’s mobile telephone?

“For the past six months I’ve been lobbying him on behalf of Haileybury Turnford academy, the sixth form needs a new roof – it’s leaking, I’ve sent videos of water flooding in through the roof into buckets.

“The Secretary of State says ‘send me a text and I’ll see what I can do’, and I send him a text and it can’t be arriving because nothing happens.

“Now, I say this because the Secretary of State may have a smartphone and I have this wonderful little Nokia and maybe the two are not compatible.

“Can I make a serious point? I think it’s not fair on the Secretary of State for Education not to be receiving my texts and we need to find a fix to make sure in future action happens.”

Commons Leader Mark Spencer replied: “I do not underestimate the effort (Sir Charles) goes to in typing the text on that phone.

“But I will make sure his comments are passed to the Secretary of State for Education.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in