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News and Comment June 2017

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25 June - Croydon, Bexley, Tower Hamlets, Sutton. Poor decisions everywhere

After two consecutive blogs on police matters why not make it three?


VandalismOne of the two Bexley former Borough Police Commanders under investigation for the alleged conspiracy with Bexley Council following the obscenities generated on Councillor Craske’s phone line is Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer. (A third is under investigation for a different reason.)

He came to Bexley from Croydon, stayed two years and went to Tower Hamlets taking some of his colleagues with him at least one of whom is also under investigation by the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).

By all accounts his term in Tower Hamlets was blighted by more Council corruption and he was shunted off to Sutton last year.

Someone else shunted off to Sutton at about the time was Andrew Parkes the editor of the News Shopper. His whole outfit was bundled out of their Petts Wood offices to the detriment of the local newspaper scene. His newspaper is now more London Regional than Local. The local edition is too often of little interest to Bexley residents.


EditorialThis week’s Bexley edition of the News Shopper includes an Editorial which might puzzle Bexley residents because it is based on something that happened many miles away.

At the beginning of June, Andrew published a brief report including the image shown above, of vandalism inflicted on the Sutton Islamic Centre. It was a perfectly straightforward news report including a comment by an Imam. Nothing that we don’t see in our newspapers far too often these days.

However it attracted the attention of the politically correct Sutton fuzz.

They said that Mr. Parkes’ newspaper, or more specifically its on-line comments section, was “creating a platform for racial hatred”.

The Editor is sticking up for journalistic freedom and as yet he has not been charged with inciting racial hatred.

Chief Superintendent Dave Stringer has form for politically correct interventions. When I met him in his office in 2012 I was warned off of referring to the Leader of Bexley Council by anything other than her name.

If the DPS comes up trumps with their investigation into the allegation of a conspiracy in Bexley in which CS Stringer was a leading player, maybe Andrew Parkes will be interested in covering his downfall. His newspapers have not taken any interest in the less savoury aspects of Bexley Council and the police since their reporter Linda Piper retired.

 

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