25 June - Croydon, Bexley, Tower Hamlets, Sutton. Poor decisions everywhere
After two consecutive blogs on police matters why not make it three?
One
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.
This
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.