15 May (Part 2) - Tossers on TV
I
can’t remember when I last watched the BBC’s Panorama, I suppose I must have done
since Richard Dimbleby fooled the nation with his spaghetti trees spoof. But I did this evening.
The programme was about how Bexley Council is persecuting residents and smokers in particular. You really should
catch it on iPlayer.
The litter enforcement is being done by a cowboy outfit called Kingdom. They heavily
incentivise their staff to issue as many penalties as possible and teach them
how to lie and cheat. It’s exactly what you would expect from Bexley Council.
For me one of the most damning comments by Kingdom was that they are not prepared
to do business with Councils unprepared to come down hard on offenders. They
won’t do business with Councils which would prefer to be reasonable.
I shall be looking at Deputy Director of Public Realm David Bryce-Smith
with a jaundiced eye in future, I have given the waffling incompetent an easy time up until now. Not any more.
The idea to employ the disreputable Kingdom company came from the disreputable
Batman enthusiast, Councillor Peter Craskeְ, as part of his ‘Don’t be a Tosser’ (like him) campaign.
The Evening Standard’s report summarizes all the main points made by the Panorama programme.