Banner
any day today rss X

News and Comment June 2014

Index: 2009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024

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.

GoogleHave 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.

TomellPeter 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.

 

Return to the top of this page
Bonkers is a cookie free zone. Not a single one