Daily Mail - 04.03.2020

Page 24 Daily Mail, Wednesday, March 4, 2020

PM: I’m almost

certain to

take time off

for new baby

BORIS Johnson has said he

will ‘almost certainly’ take

paternity leave when his new

baby arrives.

The Prime Minister and his

fiancee Carrie Symonds are

ex p e c t i n g a b a by i n t h e

early summer.

Asked yesterday by the Daily

Mail whether he intends to

take time off, Mr Johnson

said: ‘The answer is almost

certainly, yes.’ Although he

then added: ‘I can’t remember

what the question was.’

Ove r t h e we e ke n d M i s s

Symonds told her followers on

Instagram she felt ‘incredibly

blessed’ to be planning for a

baby and a wedding.

She said she and Mr Johnson

became engaged at the end of

last year and also have ‘a baby

hatching early summer’. Mr

Johnson, 55, and Miss Symonds,

31, made history as the first

unmarried couple to officially

live together in Downing Street

when they moved in last year.

Downing Street yesterday

said it was too early to give

details on how long Mr Johnson

will take off.

Foreign Secretary Dominic

Raab is expected to fill the role

of acting prime minister.

By John Stevens

Deputy Political Editor

Save the Jolly

Fisherman!

Skegness mascot is at risk of being

axed over health and safety fears

HE’S the cheerful, white-

haired angler often seen

skipping along the sands
of Skegness, relishing

the bracing breeze.
But the net is closing
around Jolly the Fisherman
as local officials consider
a x i n g t h e m a sc o t o v e r
health and safety worries.
The character is based on
the poster created by artist
John Hassall in 1908 to adver-
tise Great Northern Railways.
The famous illustration was
accompanied by the slogan:
‘Skegness is SO bracing.’
Locals dressed as Jolly are
seen parading on the pier and
beach to greet holidaymakers.
But a report commissioned
by the town council has high-
lighted hygiene fears over the
‘very dirty’ mascot costumes,
along with the ‘resource and
cost of operating Jolly’.
The costs are ‘more than

many will imagine’ due to

strict regulations, especially if

they are worn by more than

one person, it said.

Nobody can wear the cos-

tume for more than 20 minutes

without having a 20-minute

break, and all mascots must

undergo a check to ensure

they can work with children.

Former town councillor John

Byford said: ‘Jolly is not just

our town mascot – he’s a

crowd-puller, he’s our A-list

celeb. He may be 112, but he’s

certainly not ready to hang his

boots up yet.’

T h e r e a r e s t a t u e s a n d

daubings of Jolly around Skeg-

ness. But this is not the first

time the fisherman has been

caught in a row.

In 2015, animal rights group

Peta said he ‘evokes images of

c r u e l t y t o a n i m a l s ’ a n d

demanded that he be replaced

with a fish.

Lincolnshire Coastal Busi-

ness Improvement District,

which used to look after the

mascot, has stopped lending

out the costumes and handed

them to the council.

Last night locals took to

social media to launch a ‘Save

J o l l y ’ c a m p a i g n. T h e y

described the character as a

‘real asset to Skegness’ and

‘part of the town’s history’.

By Helena Kelly

Needing a

new angle:

A local in

the mascot

costume

Poster boy: Jolly from 1908