30 November - Another month gone
The end of another month means another Bonkers’ summary…
Death threat
The
most bizarre thing to have happened in November was that I was accused of making
a death threat against Kevin Fox,
the man who dishonestly put
paid to the 2,219 signature petition against Bexley council’s excessive senior salaries. Thrown
out in part, you may remember, because it was alleged it misled residents by providing
examples of salaries the council said were wrong. They were. Despite being taken from the
council’s own web site the accounts published later showed the figures to be too low.
The ‘Death Threat’ was made after the
Cabinet meeting in Thamesmead
in a report which said I hoped the councillors got out alive and excluded Kevin Fox from that
wish. I altered it to “get out in one piece” which isn’t really any different but maybe
sounds as if it is. You can’t be too careful with over sensitive folk everywhere seeing
offence in the most harmless of Tweets and our utterly useless police force
apparently with nothing better to do.
Useless police
Speaking
of useless police, readers will probably have noticed a shift in emphasis from trying to bring Bexley’s
obscene blogger to justice to highlighting the police’s apparent reluctance to
do so and an acceptance that political interference may be the cause. The
eighteen months of delay is totally ridiculous unless the police enquiry has
become far more wide ranging - and they have said it hasn’t.
Any confidence that the police might be intent on doing a decent job evaporated
when the last investigating officer was transferred to other duties and the
responsibilities were taken over by one named in the latest report on
corruption and dishonesty at
Bexleyheath police station.
I summarised my current view of what might
be going on on the
new Home page
which was introduced at readers’ request. There had been justifiable complaints, perhaps that is
too strong a word, about the previous one which was loaded with facts about Bexley council’s
obscene blog. That was introduced at the request of a journalist who wanted to see a
concise and comprehensive summary.
The
older page has been moved away but will continue to be updated as necessary.
The six month old complaint to Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe about the original
failure to do anything to track down the obscene blogger is still unanswered.
Newspapers and journalists
There was another enquiry this month from a national newspaper interested in
covering bonkers Bexley council but it went the same way as the last one which
was from the Daily Mail back in the Spring. Once they read
what was in the obscene
blog they say it is far too filthy and shocking for a family newspaper. Personally I
think the police failures and what would appear to be a cover up makes the more interesting story.
Both Rita Grootendorst and A.N. Other asked the News Shopper why they fully
reported Bexley council’s launching of
a Section 215 attack upon
her but said nothing
when the council’s case was thrown out. Their excuse was somewhat lame, they
didn’t have a spare reporter to attend court. It doesn’t stop them reporting
council propaganda when they have had no reporter in the council chamber to hear
things at first hand.
Complaint
I
started with Kevin Fox and I shall end the same way. While I ran this website
single handed I made two official complaints to Bexley council but after
attracting several regular contributors I generally leave that sort of thing to
others. However I felt I must make another this month.
Kevin Fox told me in writing that there were no rules against taking a
photograph in the Civic Offices before a meeting started, just ask he said. So I
asked to take one with a wide angle lens to set the scene for a meeting report.
I said I wouldn’t be using flash and I would take it only from the public area
and would be perfectly happy to be directed by a council officer who I would
allow to look at the image and say whether or not he felt it to be OK. There is
no way of being more cooperative than that short of getting the council officer
to press the shutter button. But Kevin Fox said that he would not allow a
photograph to be taken under those conditions.
So I have complained that by his perverse decision Kevin Fox has been
instrumental in bringing Bexley council into disrepute because he presented me
with yet another example of Bexley council’s stupidity. For good measure I
complained that he broke the council’s correspondence policy by not replying to
my follow up email and that he twice broke the law by denying me (and attempting
to deny) the facilities normally afforded to traditional journalists (a table to
write at) as is required by the law introduced on 10th September 2012.