It
is probable that most readers will believe that councillor Peter
Craske is the author of
Bexley council’s obscene blog
which attempted to impersonate me, Malcolm Knight.
If that belief is widespread it can be no great surprise, all the available pointers are facing in the same direction.
Who was libelled by that blog? Nicholas Dowling, Elwyn Bryant, and myself.
Nicholas had spearheaded the criticism of Peter Craske’s plan
to almost triple the price of Residents’ Parking Permits and in the process
found Craske’s financial justification to be pure fiction.
Elwyn Bryant had had a public argument with the councillor about
the £4 million
pound contract he had placed with the transport consultants, Parsons
Brinckerhoff. Craske denied there was such a contract and finished up
insulting
and belittling Mr. Bryant at a public meeting.
I made a formal complaint to Bexley council about Craske’s behaviour and was rewarded with a
lie for an answer. It was an obvious lie confirmed by the council’s meeting
minutes and Craske had to dream up a new lie to get himself off the hook.
The obscene blog made a direct reference to Nicholas Dowling and I visiting the Cinema Car Park.
That would be known only via the CCTV system, no casual observer would have known our names
and who was in charge of CCTV at the time? Peter Craske.
Craske was out of control, blatantly lying at council meetings
and every word was faithfully reported here. None of us were likely to be popular with Craske. Revenge may well have been on his mind.
The
former Bexleyheath police Commander, Dave Stringer made little progress tracking the
source of the obscene blog. His men said the crime report was just a counter allegation to
the council lying in an attempt to give Bexley’s bloggers criminal records. Three
months after the crime was committed the police said the case was dead.
Their computer checks had come to nothing and the evidence had disappeared. When asked when
they had checked the council’s computers they refused to give an answer; not in the public
interest to let anyone know. Not in the public interest to let on that no one
had done anything is more likely, and in any case ‘the evidence’ was still
sitting on Google’s webserver.
Stringer was replaced by Chief Superintendent Victor Olisa and MPs James Brokenshire and
Teresa Pearce maintained their interest in the case exerting pressure where they could.
Victor Olisa was left in no doubt just how toxic to police careers Bexley council has been
over the years. All the indications were that he wasn’t going to make the same mistakes.
On June 21st 2012 the police advised the victims that “an individual” had been arrested that day,
questioned and released on police bail. That same evening councillor Peter
Craske failed to turn up to present his plan for
the rejuvenation of Bexleyheath
Broadway. What a coincidence!
Three days later councillor Peter Craske resigned his cabinet post for “personal
reasons”. Another nice coincidence.
On 4th July 2012 the News Shopper reported that a 42 year old from Sidcup had
been arrested for misconduct in public office. Craske was 42 years old at the
time and lives at 26 Ellison Road, Sidcup, DA15 8BL. How many coincidences do we need?
Things
were looking bad for Bexley council and particularly for leader Teresa
O’Neill a woman more than ready to have the law broken to preserve her own skin.
As an unscrupulous politician she would be hatching a plan. She is best mates
with Mayor Boris Johnson who is boss of the Metropolitan Police. Remember how he
sacked Commissioner Ian Blair in October 2008? He has control over the police.
Speculation I know, but need one say more?
Two months later the News Shopper identified Peter Craske as the man arrested.
More pressure on Teresa O’Neill. Something had to be done.
On 16th October 2012 only hours after visiting the police station, councillor Peter Craske was seen
strutting around the council chamber for the first time in almost six months. The next day two more
homophobic obscene messages were sent anonymously into my Inbox. Another
coincidence? Not really. Nothing is truly anonymous on the internet. The
messages were traced to the construction company Parsons Brinckerhoff with whom
Peter Craske agreed to spend £4 million of Bexley taxpayers’ money.
Is councillor Peter Craske just a little too
pally with Parsons Brinckerhoff?
Bexley council put a nice contract Capita's way too and Craske ended up working for
its founder, Rod Aldridge.
On or around 23rd October 2012, Craske was released from his bail conditions yet
officially he remains a suspect. Several policemen have told me that is unprecedented
in their experience. Why the special treatment? Political pressure again?
On 7th November 2012 it was formally announced that Teresa O’Neill had
appointed councillor Peter Craske to two Scrutiny Committees. O’Neill is not
daft enough to appoint someone who might be arrested for his crimes any moment
now leading to speculation that someone must have tipped her off that at a convenient moment the case
against Craske will be dropped. That would be corruption pure and simple.
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