Monday, December 01, 2008
Different cases but still, so many similarities...
Today, there were two stories in the news that had so many similarities with what is happening and what has happened here in Redcar and Cleveland. In the shocking baby P case, it was revealed that Ofsted had given Harringey council four star status for its childcare last year! Now that the brown stuff has hit the fan and it is clear to see that Harringey aren't a four star authority in this area, Ofsted have now said that they based their four star rating on false information given to them by Harringey council.
Mmmmm? Does this not sound remarkably like The Audit Commission giving our council a four star rating after the council had colluded with a certain individual/s within the commission, in order to surpress and replace a Final Financial management report that showed that Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council weren't a four star authority? Does the situation with Ofsted and Harringey council not sound remarkably similar to the Standards Board for England and the Local Government Ombudsman and the HSE and who knows who else, all being lied to by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and just accepting the word of a council who has had its senior officers found guilty of lying to employment tribunals, concealing the truth, bringing the council into disrepute and failing to tell the truth under the FOI act?
We then had the news that the officer in charge of childrens services at Harringey, Sharon shoesmith, has been found to have been telling lies because two or three weeks ago, she said that she had complete confidence that the council had done all they could to help prevent the baby P tradgedy, that basically they were blameless and that there wasn't any need for an independent investigation because an internal investigation would be good enough when in reality, todays report shows that they had all failed terribly and as such, two of the guilty have had the decency to resign but Mrs Shoesmith has been removed from her post on full pay!
Does this not sound remarkably like our ex-chief executive and ex-finance officer being found to have behaved terribly in tribunal after tribunal, been found to have lied to tribunals, been so guilty that their investigation was called for on more than one occasion, yet both men were then allowed to leave the council on massive enhanced pay deals and pensions by the leader of the council who called for some of the investigations, without a single question being asked?
Does the news of a Government whistleblower being arrested and having his computer etc confiscated at the request of the Governement, for leaking low risk information to a Conservative MP and the Conservative MP who received the information, having the police march into his office at the Commons, have his computer etc confiscated and also be arrested, not sound remarkably like two young men from East Cleveland being investigated for thirteen weeks by the police at the request of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, to be then arrested, have their computers etc confiscated, DNA taken, fingerprints taken and be detained for questioning for approximately thirteen hours for the non-crime of fly posting? To be then let off a couple of months later without charge and with just a talking to from the now ex-chief executive?
Does it not sound like my own case where Cllr Dave Fitzpatrick complained to the police because I had put two postings about his shocking behaviour on this blogsite when information had been brought to my attention and as a result, the police spent six months trying to fit a crime to what I had done when no law, civilly or criminally had been broken.
Does this type of iron fist behaviour that has been exposed in the news story today, behaviour that is intended to intimidate and deter any further leaks or dissent or to expose what this Government is doing wrong, not sound remarkably like the police calling me into their offices last June to 'talk to me' about the situation in the paragraph above? Does it not sound remarkably like our MP Vera Baird, threatening a Conservative MP from another constituency, into not allowing our film to be shown in the House of Commons and into not calling for an independent investigation into what is going on within Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council because he said that if he did not, then he would be and I quote, "neglecting his duty". Does our MP after doing this, then calling for an Internal investigation, not sound like the attempted cover up that has been shown today to have taken place in Harringey council?
The levels of intimidation, lies, bullying, whitewash, unwarranted heavy handedness and cover up that have been exposed today in these two main news stories and that have astounded and angered people in politics and across the country, have been taking placein Redcar and Cleveland for years and have gone unchecked, uninvestigated and unpunished.
After todays stories making the news, I am hopeful that what has gone on here will also make the news and will also expose the guilty and their actions and lead to every last one of them who has been and is involved, being investigated brought to justice or sacked.
Mmmmm? Does this not sound remarkably like The Audit Commission giving our council a four star rating after the council had colluded with a certain individual/s within the commission, in order to surpress and replace a Final Financial management report that showed that Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council weren't a four star authority? Does the situation with Ofsted and Harringey council not sound remarkably similar to the Standards Board for England and the Local Government Ombudsman and the HSE and who knows who else, all being lied to by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council and just accepting the word of a council who has had its senior officers found guilty of lying to employment tribunals, concealing the truth, bringing the council into disrepute and failing to tell the truth under the FOI act?
We then had the news that the officer in charge of childrens services at Harringey, Sharon shoesmith, has been found to have been telling lies because two or three weeks ago, she said that she had complete confidence that the council had done all they could to help prevent the baby P tradgedy, that basically they were blameless and that there wasn't any need for an independent investigation because an internal investigation would be good enough when in reality, todays report shows that they had all failed terribly and as such, two of the guilty have had the decency to resign but Mrs Shoesmith has been removed from her post on full pay!
Does this not sound remarkably like our ex-chief executive and ex-finance officer being found to have behaved terribly in tribunal after tribunal, been found to have lied to tribunals, been so guilty that their investigation was called for on more than one occasion, yet both men were then allowed to leave the council on massive enhanced pay deals and pensions by the leader of the council who called for some of the investigations, without a single question being asked?
Does the news of a Government whistleblower being arrested and having his computer etc confiscated at the request of the Governement, for leaking low risk information to a Conservative MP and the Conservative MP who received the information, having the police march into his office at the Commons, have his computer etc confiscated and also be arrested, not sound remarkably like two young men from East Cleveland being investigated for thirteen weeks by the police at the request of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, to be then arrested, have their computers etc confiscated, DNA taken, fingerprints taken and be detained for questioning for approximately thirteen hours for the non-crime of fly posting? To be then let off a couple of months later without charge and with just a talking to from the now ex-chief executive?
Does it not sound like my own case where Cllr Dave Fitzpatrick complained to the police because I had put two postings about his shocking behaviour on this blogsite when information had been brought to my attention and as a result, the police spent six months trying to fit a crime to what I had done when no law, civilly or criminally had been broken.
Does this type of iron fist behaviour that has been exposed in the news story today, behaviour that is intended to intimidate and deter any further leaks or dissent or to expose what this Government is doing wrong, not sound remarkably like the police calling me into their offices last June to 'talk to me' about the situation in the paragraph above? Does it not sound remarkably like our MP Vera Baird, threatening a Conservative MP from another constituency, into not allowing our film to be shown in the House of Commons and into not calling for an independent investigation into what is going on within Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council because he said that if he did not, then he would be and I quote, "neglecting his duty". Does our MP after doing this, then calling for an Internal investigation, not sound like the attempted cover up that has been shown today to have taken place in Harringey council?
The levels of intimidation, lies, bullying, whitewash, unwarranted heavy handedness and cover up that have been exposed today in these two main news stories and that have astounded and angered people in politics and across the country, have been taking placein Redcar and Cleveland for years and have gone unchecked, uninvestigated and unpunished.
After todays stories making the news, I am hopeful that what has gone on here will also make the news and will also expose the guilty and their actions and lead to every last one of them who has been and is involved, being investigated brought to justice or sacked.
// posted by Chris McGlade @ 12:16 PM 
