30 October (Part 3) - Will Tuckley. Misconduct in Public Office
Yesterday afternoon I, along with Messrs. Barnbrook
and Bryant were driven by Peter Gussman to Plumstead Police Station to be interviewed following
our joint allegation of crime against
councillor Cheryl Bacon, Will Tuckley (Chief Executive), Lynn Tyler (Legal Team
Manager) and the Civic Centre doorman.
Mick Barnbrook sent documents supporting the allegations to Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Hogan-Howe three months ago and the case was
allocated to Greenwich for investigation. If I had made the complaint it would have
included Mr. Nick Hollier (Human Resources Manager) too.
It should be understood that Greenwich police are only looking into Bexley
council’s refusal to conduct a proper evidence based investigation and their
decision to rely solely on the unsupported assertions of councillor Bacon in full on
self-defence mode. That is where the Misconduct lies.
The
secondary issue of Bexley council apparently persuading Bexley police to lie
about myself and others being ejected from the Civic Centre which resulted in similar
allegations against several police officers is being investigated at
Scotland Yard. At least I think it is, with more than three months gone they
have yet to issue a Crime Reference Number. Presumably the Met. is not averse to
investigating public servants but one of their own is a different kettle of
fish. They are still
making excuses for not progressing my
complaint of 7th June 2012.
Yes you read that right, 2012. The allegations of Misconduct in Public Office
against Borough Commanders Stringer and Olisa came later. They are in limbo too.
Greenwich police as it turned out gave us no immediate cause for concern. At Bexleyheath
police station I have been kept waiting at reception while
some uniformed scruff finishes
her sandwich and banana. Greenwich Reception was efficient and the appointed officer
turned up dead on time. Personal identification details are not appropriate; people
going about their normal day to day business do not deserve to be Google fodder.
Those clearly in league with Bexley council are of course fair game.
Suffice to say that the Greenwich officer managed to come across as both professional
and friendly, a balancing act never achieved in a formal setting by any Bexley officer. He,
one clue, it was a he, said that he would like to interview us separately, Mick Barnbrook
first, and as it would likely take about two hours it wouldn’t be sensible for the rest of
us to wait. We agreed we were happy to return another day. I asked if councillor
witnesses would be interviewed too and the officer said he knew who they were and I got
the firm impression he intended to call in at least one or two.
So three of us departed leaving Mick Barnbrook marooned in Plumstead.
At a few minutes past two we agreed he would phone me at home when he was finished and
I would drive him back to Blackfen.
I sat by the phone until twelve minutes past seven before it rang.
It is not appropriate to report much of what Mick said on the way home. The
interview had been recorded and he had obviously been thoroughly grilled. The
five hour meeting was in part caused by his insistence on the written statement
being pedantically correct but at no time did he indicate that the officer was
other than impeccably professional although perhaps he was a little too inclined
to believe what was in some of the council officers’ letters. Just because Lynn
Tyler wrote that she had interviewed the doorman doesn’t mean that she had.
After all when Mick told the doorman about it later he was clearly perplexed by the notion.
I shall report further interviews but don’t expect any detail until it is all
over. Which could be quite a long time.
Click here for earlier blogs and documents
related to Bexley council’s dishonesty following councillor Cheryl Bacon’s closure of a public meeting
Note: Nicholas Dowling, on the right of the photograph above is
not a signatory to the allegation. He is however likely to be interviewed by Greenwich police.