MIKE HILL: Rule of Six sees move taken right out of the Stasi handbook

It’s wonderful because Mother Gemma is about to get married and, as one of the most compassionate and caring people I know, she deserves some national recognition.

But secondly because her appearance on TV comes after the Town was ridiculed by the cheap and misleading Channel 4 programme Skint Britain which targeted her congregation and the whole of the Town, but edited out her contribution, as well as others, including my own, because our message didn’t fit their agenda. I wish Gemma all the best for the future.

So good news stories are out there, it just feels in these difficult times that they are as rare as hens’ teeth.

There’s also some good news on the redevelopment of the Birthing Unit at Hartlepool Hospital; literally breathing new life into the facility and restoring the right for our children to be born and registered in the Town once again.

Our hospital is slowly being resuscitated, although we were slighted last week when Matt Hancock visited North Tees but didn’t bother with Hartlepool.

If the calamitous Secretary of State for Health had visited Hartlepool, I would been at the head of the queue of people wanting to tell him a few home truths about the Government’s handling of the COVID 19 crisis, especially around the lack of access to testing.

Speaking of which, the Government introduced the new “Rule of six” this week.

In a move taken right out of the Stasi handbook, neighbours should now dob each other in to the Police over alleged breaches of the rule.

That is, of course, unless you want to go grouse shooting which you can do without abiding by the rule of six by special order of the Cabinet.

To add insult to injury, this is from a Government who this week claimed that breaking international law is fine when done in “a specific and limited way”.

It’s one rule for the Tories and another for the rest of us. They have no shame.