Gove, who is from Aberdeen, pulled out his best Scouse accent and a brief American twang while telling people to ‘calm down’ about the lack of financial support in the autumn Budget.
The cabinet minister was being quizzed live on air about the Queen’s Speech, which has been criticised by Labour for not containing enough measures to help people as the cost of living rockets.
Michael Gove appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning to dismiss rumours of an emergency budget
Gove ruled out suggestions that the Government could hold an emergency budget to tackle rising costs.
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He whipped out a crude impersonation of comedian Harry Enfield’s The Scousers sketches, saying ‘calm down’ in a Liverpool accent.
He also impersonated an American news reader when he said that some commentators were turning things into a ‘major capital letters big news story’.
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Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove adopts various accents as he denies split between Boris Johnson and the Treasury on how to tackle cost of livinghttps://t.co/gf3zoqZYuVpic.twitter.com/gan7kPs88c
Angela Rayner has blasted Gove’s speech, saying: “Is the cost of living crisis just a joke to them? This is not a serious Government. We need an Emergency Budget right now.
“People need real help, right now. But all this Government can give is a ventriloquist’s dummy.”
MP Nadia Whittome echoed that, writing: “Here’s Michael Gove mocking people asking for more support during the cost of living crisis. A report today said 1.5 million households across the UK will struggle to pay food and energy bills over the next year, but this is all a big joke to the Tories.”
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Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn commented: “Michael Gove doing his absolute best to confirm that he could not care less about the cost of living crisis.”
The parody account for Prime Minster Boris Johnson wrote: “Product Recall: This is a recall notice for all Michael Gove 1967 models. A potentially hazardous malfunction has developed, leading to random comedy accents. If you have a Michael Gove please leave it in a secure place and notify us immediately.”
Someone else asked: “Is Michael Gove drunk?”
One person said: “How many regions of this country did Michael Gove just insult.”
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And someone else simply put: “The Michael Gove interview is f***ing bizarre.”
Featured image: BBC Breakfast
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Manchester man jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of woman on train
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed after sexually assaulting and masturbating in front of a woman on board a train to Manchester.
Following an extensive British Transport Police (BTP) investigation, Nisan Fernando Kurukulasuriya, of Troutbeck Road in Altrincham, was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last month.
At the trail last month, the court heard how, on Monday 20 April 2026, 39-year-old Kurukulasuriya was on a train from Stoke to Manchester and sat next to a woman he didn’t know, who was on the phone.
He then sexually assaulted her repeatedly, doing so again even after being pushed away by the woman.
The woman then noticed that Kurukulasuriya had exposed himself and was masturbating in front of her. She shouted at him, and in response, he stood up and ran away to leave the train – but the woman immediately got up to report the incident to staff.
When the train arrived at Manchester Piccadilly, the woman alerted a member of staff while Kurukulasuriya was stood only a few meters away, and BTP were subsequently called straight away.
Police quickly attended and arrested Kurukulasuriya.
When police interviewed him, Kurukulasuriya showed no remorse for his actions and refused to answer any questions put to him.
After pleading guilty to Sexual Assault and Outraging Public Decency at a previous court hearing, Kurukulasuriya was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, and was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which will bar him from sitting next to any woman he doesn’t know on public transport, as well as being put on thensex offenders register for 10 years.
BTP Detective Sergeant, Mark Haviland, called Kurukulasuriya a ‘despicable man’ who targeted a woman travelling alone ‘for his own sick sexual gratification’.
Featured Image – BTP
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GMP officer sentenced after hitting pedestrian during police chase in Rochdale
Emily Sergeant
A police officer has been sentenced this week after he struck and ‘seriously injured’ a pedestrian following a pursuit of a suspected drink driver in Rochdale.
35-year-old Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officer PC Sam Lockley pleaded guilty back in January 2026 following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation.
The IOPC investigation established that, in the early hours of the morning on 19 November 2023, PC Lockley was driving a marked police vehicle with the lights and sirens activated, and attempted to stop a suspected drunk driver on Drake Street in Rochdale.
A short pursuit that commenced but stopped merely a minute later after the police vehicle collided with a pedestrian on the footpath of Rochdale Road at approximately 3:30am.
The evidence gathered indicated that PC Lockley failed to slow down as he approached and drove through the red traffic lights at the Kingsway junction, and was travelling at a speed of 96mph in a 30mph zone.
The pedestrian suffered ‘serious injuries’ as a result of the collision, and received extensive medical treatment following.
At a hearing back in February of this year, PC Lockley received a two-year suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 15 days community service, while also receiving two-year driving disqualification.
Also following the investigation, the IOPC decided that Lockley should face a gross misconduct hearing to face allegations that his manner of driving breached the police standards of professional behaviour.
“We continue to liaise with the force about disciplinary proceedings,” the IOPC concluded.
IOPC Director Amanda Rowe added: “My sympathies remain with the man, who sustained serious injuries, and all those affected by the incident.
“This was a complex investigation which relied on extensive amounts of data and expert analysis and the evidence showed PC Lockley drove at excessive speeds at night-time and although he was responding to a report of a suspected drink driver, it does not excuse his manner of driving.
“PC Lockley admitted he drove in a dangerous manner when he didn’t address hazards or warnings during the pursuit and ultimately by the time he saw the pedestrian, he was travelling too fast to avoid a collision.
“His actions that day have had long-lasting consequences and he has now been held accountable.”
Daisy Jackson -
11th May 2022 
