9 November - I should have called it www.bexley-is-bent.co.uk
This
website began as a protest against Andrew Bashford’s attempt to bamboozle me
with lies and lame excuses over the changes made to the B213 in 2009. He went
silent when he was caught out; as did councillor Davey who was exposed as two
faced. Lying is the norm at Bexley council but deeper corruption is not far
under the surface. I have long been aware of the
big-bullies blog
written by an ex-Bexley council employee, but I can’t make much of it
here because I don’t know whether it is true or not. Whilst I am always ready to
expose Bexley council for what it is and to paint an unflattering picture of their
constant failures, reports must be absolutely factual. I am rather proud of the
comment from a very senior council insider; received a while ago it is true,
that he/she thinks bexley-is-bonkers is “scrupulously
accurate” and “if only the press was as scrupulous”. That is why
I haven’t as yet been able to make much use of information from whistleblowers;
it’s very difficult to check its veracity and it’s not impossible that it could be a
set-up by Bexley council eager to trap me into making a mistake they could capitalize on.
One or two things do check out. I have seen the papers that show that facts
relating to Ian Clement’s expenses and the credit card that everyone
claimed not to know about, were to be “hidden from the auditors”. And I have
seen the papers that show that Bexley police refused to accept a complaint from
a member of the public and that the responsible officer was subsequently admonished
by his superiors at Scotland Yard for attempting to protect the council. And I have seen
the papers that reveal that the only reason Bexley council has not been prosecuted
is because a prosecution is deemed not to be in the public interest. I have also noted
that when certain facts were presented to the council’s deputy director of legal
services she promptly resigned and no one at the council will talk about it. Strange
coincidence that.
The press has reported that down at the Bexley Thames Innovation Centre (TIC) in
Thamesmead, wholly owned and funded by Bexley council, the manager, Richard Edwards
is on bail after being arrested for having indecent images of children
on his computer. Now let me say straight away that it is all too easy for
someone to stitch up the manager in this way, so he is innocent until proven
guilty, right? But all is not happy down at the Centre and staff are frustrated
and want to talk. I can say nothing about the case against Mr. Edwards for
legal reasons, but the information I am getting from sources that have convinced
me must be genuine is that mail going through TIC has been intercepted and money has mysteriously
disappeared from the accounts of a business within TIC. Not just petty cash either, more
than £100,000 has been mentioned, and the allegation is that the money has found its way
via close personal relationships to Bexley TIC tenants.
As if that isn’t enough the scandal is said to extend to drug dealing,
and not just dealing, importing the stuff too. So why would a whistleblower want to
leak such a story to me and not report it to the bosses? Could it be because
they are bent too? The current whistleblower says the last one at the Innovation Centre
was summarily sacked by the very manager now under suspicion of paedophilia. No
wonder councillors and executives alike are so reluctant to speak to members of
the public. One whose responsibilities extend to the TIC is already on record as
wanting to gag enquirers. Probably they are all scared stiff of what might be revealed next.