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News and Comment November 2014

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6 November (Part 3) - My date with the cops

Plumstead Police StationVarious friends from both BiB and real life had wished me luck with my police interview but I was looking forward to it. I know that I have never reported any council meeting untruthfully and there would be no way they could trip me up. All I had to do was go through the story aided by my contemporaneous notes, the contradictory nonsense from Cheryl Bacon and her paid associates and the emails from councillors (both parties) who said she had made it all up and I would be home and dry. Possibly false confidence of course so I was prepared to come a cropper.

The bus arrived outside Plumstead police station at 1:40 and despite me being early the interviewing officer showed up within a few minutes although by the time we found a comfortable room and they'd provided me with fresh bottled water and set up the tape recorder it must have been two o’clock.

I had decided how I would like the interview to go and I am pleased to say that is exactly how it did go. After about an hour and twenty five minutes it was all over.

Mick Barnbrook spent hours checking over his written statement but - sorry for the bragging - the policeman told me that as my ‘speech’ was very succinct, totally clear and delivered in chronological order there was no need for a statement. They had no questions apart from asking for confirmation I would repeat everything in court, and they’d simply get a transcript of the tape instead of a statement.

So signed copies were put in an evidence bag and another was sent off to the typing pool.

I told the police how it was I came to start BiB, how I met Mick Barnbrook and his friends a year or so later and something about our relationship; them activists, me reporter.

Then, I don’t think it is giving much away to say I ran through the events of the 19th June 2013 and the associated documentation. By the end I was content with what I had said and I think the police officer fully understood my position. I think he may interview more than just Elwyn Bryant and Peter Gussman.

Someone, I’ll not say who, has likened the case to Chris Huhne’s speeding offence which started life as trivia just as breaking the Local Government Act is trivia, and it ended up with him and his former wife in clink. I may be guilty of unfounded optimism but I came away from the station feeling that was not an impossible scenario. Someone once told me that Bexley and Greenwich police are like chalk and cheese. So far at least I can only agree.

As an indication of how thorough Greenwich are being, they were very interested in former deputy leader Colin Campbell going on BBC TV. Every word broadcast was a lie. No stone is being left unturned and I relish the thought that a bad smell will be found under each and every one.

 

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