27 June - Dirty secrets to hide?
Readers will probably be aware that one of numerous rules imposed on us by the European Union is that
internet search engine operators can be asked to stop indexing web pages if the subject of them would
prefer they weren’t there. Dodgy characters can ask to be hidden from view.
Have
you typed the words ‘Teresa O’Neill’ into Google recently? You'’ll see the
message shown here. Click it to read Google’s policy on this matter. You get the
same message when typing Peter Craske, Cheryl Bacon or Peter Ayling. In global
terms none of those names can be considered rare so it is possible that a
namesake has made the removal request. Strange coincidence though.
The US based www.google.com is not subject to Europe’s silly rules
but getting there is discouraged by Google UK who will almost certainly switch
you back to the .co.uk. To bypass the address interception go to
www.google.co.uk/preferences
and take the route to google.com at the foot of the page. My search for
‘Teresa O’Neill Bexley’ on google.com showed no obvious difference to a UK
search. If you find anything different for Teresa or any of the other three I’d
be pleased to hear about it.
Something that was a secret until it was
exposed here
three years ago is that Bexley’s Director of Environment and Wellbeing,
Peter Ellershaw is married to his Deputy Director, although she prefers to be
called Toni Ainge. That helps protect them from the questions that might
otherwise be asked about a Director and his Deputy going on leave at the same
time or Peter being responsible for his wife’s annual report and her pay increment.
A corrupt council likes to keep its secrets to itself if it can.
Toni Ainge is paid £82,000 a year by Bexley council and husband
Peter gets
£172,500, both being enhanced with a 20% pension contribution and 32 days paid
leave. You’d think that jobs at that level would involve a considerable
investment in time with little left over for a second job, but you’d be wrong again.
Peter
Ernest James Ellershaw and Mrs. Antonia Elizabeth Ellershaw run a building
construction company based in Maidstone. It is jointly owned with another
couple, the Tomlins and their company founded in September 2012 is imaginatively entitled Tomell
Developments Limited. If I interpret their accounts correctly it made about
£88,000 by the time it submitted its first set of accounts.
All very enterprising of course but how many other employers would pay out more
than a quarter of a million in salaries and not expect 100% devotion to the job?
Bexley’s
Employee Code of Conduct has this to say about additional employment; “If
you wish to undertake additional employment or business activity, you must seek
permission from your Deputy Director”.
For many councillors and its top brass, Bexley council is little but a personal money making machine.