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News and Comment November 2013

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22 November (Part 2) - Complaints Review. No obvious progress

I had hoped to be able to report something a bit more substantial than what has been this week’s fare after Mick Barnbrook went to see Mr. Alabi, Bexley council’s Monitoring Officer, but the meeting may have been nothing more than a time-wasting exercise.

The alleged purpose of the meeting was to progress Mick’s three outstanding complaints against Bexley councillors, all of which are now at the review stage.

The complaints are…


• That councillor Colin Campbell lied on BBC television by saying that a recorder was pushed within inches of Cheryl Bacon’s nose and that anyone could make a recording of any Bexley council meeting, “you just have to ask”. On the council’s own admission, all ten people who had asked were refused permission.

• That at a public meeting councillor Colin Campbell used the word ‘crap’ to describe this website and rather more importantly lied by saying afterwards that he didn’t. Lots of people heard him do so and the word was recorded at the time in my notebook. Can you trust someone who lies about even the most trivial of matters?

• That councillor Cheryl Bacon put a meeting into ‘Closed Session’ and then a pack of lies was manufacured by the legal department about five members of the public present shouting, remonstrating, waving papers and generally running amok, when none of the five did anything remotely like that and councillors have been prepared to confirm it.


Also present at Mick’s meeting was the council’s ‘Independent Person’, a post introduced under the Localism Act.
Localism Act
It became clear at the meeting that Bexley council had done little or nothing towards reviewing Mr. Barnbrook’s complaints in the two months since he requested the first of them. He was asked to restate the complaints which anyone can read on this website. Why Mr. Alabi should make notes from what Mick recalled of his complaints when he had the originals on file is anyone’s guess. Looking for a discrepancy perhaps.

The only thing Mick could usefully add to his written complaint was to read from one of the messages of support that have come from councillors of both parties.

Like Mr. Barnbrook I have no idea what Bexley council is playing at or whether bringing in the Independent Person before the council reaches a decision means she is not truly independent.

Obviously Mr. Barnbrook left the Independent Person under no illusion as to the extent of the corruption within Bexley council and referred to some of the best known cases documented on Bonkers. It is five months since Cheryl Bacon broke the law and almost as long since she launched her defence which has been demonstrated to be lies from beginning to end. Bexley council is still defending those lies and refused until now at least to carry out a proper investigation, far from it, they preferred to sling mud at a complainant instead.

Mr. Barnbrook will no doubt make up his own mind about what action he undertakes next but whatever ultimately transpires some things cannot be undone.


Cheryl BaconWe know that councillor Cheryl Bacon decided on extensive lying rather than admit making a mistake and we know that Mrs. Lynn Tyler and Mr. Nick Hollier decided to turn a blind eye and not look at the evidence against her. Whatever course Mick decides on I shall refer Cheryl Bacon and both council officers to the police with an allegation of Misconduct in Public Office. Whether the names Akin Alabi and Rebecca Sandhu (the Independent Person) are included remains to be seen.

Whilst it is almost inevitable that the police will take no action, perhaps bowing to the “Political Interference” they complained of last time, I shall be encouraged by the fact that the Independent Police Complaints Commission has so far upheld every complaint I’ve made about the police colluding with Bexley council.

I think some people are expecting Cheryl Bacon to stand down now that she is at the centre of such a large scale lying scandal but I wouldn’t bet on that happening. It would require a Bexley councillor to be a person of honour and those in the upper echelons of Bexley council who might qualify can be counted on the thumbs of one hand.

 

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