Halloween Special : Haunted

Although reporting Wirral Council horror stories is our stock in trade our fiendish readers realise we always like to make a special effort on Halloween.

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2014/10/31/halloween-special-house-of-horrors-keeping-it-clean/

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2013/10/31/halloween-special-you-only-moved-the-headstones/

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/tricked-or-treat-where-the-abnorman-is-normal/

So reporting (almost) live from the gothic monstrosity that is Leaky Towers we bring you the leading mischief makers in the Wirralgate scandal that haunts Wirral Council.This is the scandal which the local poltergeist politicians want to keep hidden in the basement like the body of Norman Bates’s mother.

The Rt.Hon Frankenfield has like Dr. Frankenstein created a monster.That monster has been cobbled together from a small group of obedient halfwits and an amoral wannabe.

This monster has been running amok for years always knowing that Frankenfield will defend his unco-ordinated , incoherent and clumsy creation.

However by setting up the call which ended in a fateful recorded conversation he effectively created the Wirralgate scandal.

The eternal wannabe council leader Power Boy Pip Davies – always in denial and forever deluded. In his own words he said The Ghouls ,sorry The Group were using “the content of the phone conversation to pressurise him into settling their claim ” ( page 7 – Report of Investigation Into allegation of Breach Code of Conduct for Councillors – Patricia Thynne June 2014).……and then meekly obeys when Frankenfield steps in and “demands” a compensation for The Group!. Frankenfield then gets close friend “Old Nick” Warren to cobble together some kind of justification for compensation when there is no legal basis for such a claim.     

It was the feckless and reckless Foulkesy who instigated the Wirralgate scandal.However there are only so many people’s lives and careers he can destroy before they begin to emerge from his curse.Here he is pictured above with the person who we believe may prove to be his nemesis.

If a picture paints a thousand words then no photoshopping is required. Frankenfield’s factotum – the runaround,the go-between,the fixer.Just like Igor obediently acting on his master’s instructions Cllr George Davies had in his own words a “relaxed and unguarded way of talking” to The Group (Page 11 –  Report of Investigation Into allegation of Breach Code of Conduct for Councillors – Patricia Thynne June 2014).This “relaxed and unguarded way of talking” apparently included casual racism , smears and illegal sweetheart deals….all of which was recorded by a member of The Group.

And so like a recurring nightmare Wirral Leaks seeks to be a constant reminder that what is seemingly dead and buried will sometimes come come back and haunt those named and shamed above during their long dark night of the soul*.

*Disclaimer – Wirral Leaks realises the people described above sold their soul a long time ago and any resemblance to a fit and proper person to hold public office is entirely coincidental. 

Addled Skidaddles

So farewell then Kevin “Addled” Adderley – Wirral Council’s Super Duper Director of Degeneration.

We understand Addled was courted and feted at a tearful leaving do (that’ll be tears of joy) held today at Wallasey Town Hall.

We don’t know which room was been designated for this glittering occasion but we suspect it wasn’t the Civic Hall – perhaps the thousands expected to gather in veneration of this fine exemplar of public service squashed into Martin Liptrotsky’s pokey office to backstab each other whilst nibbling a prawn vol-au-vent.

Meanwhile we can only wonder what would be a fitting honour to bestow on “the most credulous man in Britain”  – Freedom of the Borough ? , that portrait of bankrupt marrow-fancier Stella Shiu that hangs in the Chief Executive’s waiting room ? , a limited edition copy of that artist’s impression of Wirral Waters that is dragged out to support non-stories in the local press? , a luxury weekend stay at Mere Brook House?.

But really what do you give a man who’s walking away with £250,000 of public money in his back pocket?.As an inside source tells us this is a question that has troubled many of the beleaguered colleagues that Addled leaves behind  :

“Would you believe someone from Adderley’s team came around the town hall this week asking if people would like to give to his leaving present!.There were a few suggestions of what that could be!.A wheelbarrow for his dosh!…”

So what next for this super-ambitious dedicated public servant – Wirral Chamber of Commerce ?, Sam Wa Minerals ? or follow his former mentor and former Wirral CEO Graham Burgess to Blackburn ? .

As a recently observed rendezvous in a North Wales hostelry involving two of Wirral Council’s former top powerbrokers testifies we just hope he finds time to keep in touch with some of his former colleagues so they can reminisce over the good times they once shared together.

Lip Service

Matrix to the rescue

It comes to something when local councillors are quoting Wirral Leaks as a means of getting to the bottom of the curious Martin Liptrot(sky) situation. 

Firstly see this mealymouthed Wirral Council “response” to this Freedom of Information request :

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/executive_policy_officer?unfold=1#incoming-723801

However there are a couple of interesting snippets to be had confirming the news that Liptrotsky was the only candidate interviewed for the Power Boy Pip Davies special knit-your-own-post and that he will allegedly be line managed by highly paid flunky Joe Blott – once again , no sniggering at the back.

However there doesn’t appear to be confirmation that a Politically Restricted Post declaration (see below) has been signed by Liptrotsky himself.

Meanwhile the increasingly less cuddly Lib Dem councillor Phil Gilchrist is reduced to asking Wirral Council’s SirGit Tour whether he’s read Wirral Leaks lately. Cllr Gilchrist’s queries and SirGit’s replies are set out below  :

” I have noted an article on the ‘Wirralleaks’ site which gives an account of the work being undertaken by Mr Martin Liptrot. (20^th October) .

The article ‘Busybody Liptrot and his silent partners’

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/busybody-liptrot-and-his-silent-partners/

Three issues are mentioned…

(1)  ‘We’ve also followed up enquiries from our ever increasing readership and been informed that Liptrotsky works just TWO DAYS A WEEK for Wirral Council for his £45,000 ‘

(2)  ‘We also understand that Liptrotsky also does the same PR job for – wait for it – Power Boy Pip Davies’ arch City Region rival Mayor Joe Anderson, despite the fact Mayor Joe and Power Boy Pip hate each other’ guts. Conflict of interest, anyone?.

(3)Astonishingly Liptrotsky is ALSO looking after communications for Knowsley Borough Council AND Wirral Chamber of Commerce!. That’s some political busy body in the local body politic , eh folks?. And presumably well recompensed by the taxpayer’.

Whilst I believe the appointment is ill advised and questionable I am assuming there is a contract which sets out the ‘work’ and gives guidance on conflicts of interest.

What arrangements are in place to establish or monitor what ‘work’ is being undertaken for Wirral MBC? What assurances are that the other suggested arrangements do not eat into time being paid for by Wirral council taxpayers?

RESPONSE: There is an agency agreement in place for the appointment which is governed by our Matrix Contractual arrangements. The contract allows for work to be undertaken up to 36 hours per week. The Council only pays for work undertaken for and on behalf of the Council. The Council will not therefore be paying for any other work undertaken by Mr Liptrot under another arrangement he may or has entered into.

Joe Blott has/will have regular meetings with Mr Liptrot to discuss his planned and completed work over a 4 weekly period. Other meetings and discussions will be had as required. Mr Liptrot is required to submit timesheets and his work will be reviewed before the timesheets are approved for payment. As with other agency arrangements, this contract will be kept under review to ensure that it is operating as planned and meeting the identified business need. Should any issues and matters be brought to senior management’s attention concerning the role/work of Mr Liptrot then they will be considered/addressed properly and expeditiously.

Thus my second question is –

As the employee is an ‘agency’ worker how are ‘conflicts of interest’ recorded?

An officer would be required to list these and their ‘interests’

RESPONSE: Mr Liptrot has been asked to confirm whether there is any arrangement(s) in place involving him that gives rise to a conflict of interest. Mr Liptrot has confirmed that he is not aware of any such arrangement. Mr Liptrot has been advised of his obligations to ensure he keeps this issue in mind and that he must notify the Council immediately should a conflict of interest involving the Council arise. Of course, should a conflict of interest be alleged by a third party, the Council will investigate any such matter immediately.

And so demonstrating the kind of evidential rigour that you would expect of the Council’s top legal advisor SirGit  seemingly pops his head round Liptrotsky’s office and asks him whether he’s aware  of any conflict of interest. Liptrotsky says no  – so that’s alright then!.

When it comes to Liptrot’s service it seems it is the usual lip service paid to accountability ,scrutiny and transparency.Cllr Gilchrist ,being much more polite than us calls the appointment questionable and ill advised – we’d call it abuse of power and a bloody disgrace.

However there are LOLZ  galore to be had in the Tour/Gilchrist exchange though. For instance we love the fact that Gilchrist has placed inverted commas round the word ‘work’ , that Liptrotsky is an ‘agency’ worker for Matrix and that Wirral council’s senior management could ever be said to address any concerns “immediately”, “properly” or “expeditiously.”

But oh we did chortle at the phrase about Liptrotsky “meeting the identified business, need” of Wirral Council – a definition of exactly what that “business need ” is would be most illuminating!.

We suspect it would simply read  : ” Getting Pip out of the shit.”

Indeed has Liptrotsky made Pip’s mind up yet whether he’s for or against the idea of a City Region Metro Mayor?.Put it this way we suspect Liptrotsky would be in favour if Pip was in line for the gig – a proposition which doesn’t bear thinking about.

We’re still left wondering at Leaky Towers how Liptrotsky squares his political activities openly discussed on social media with the following provisions of the Politically Restricted Post to which he has been appointed (the full provisions can be found in the FOI request above) :

Politically Restricted Posts (PoRPs) (source: Local Government Association)
The main provisions regarding PoRPs are set out in Part I of the Local Government 
They are also restricted from:
· canvassing on behalf of a political party or a person who is or seeks to be a candidate (Reg 3, Sched Part I, para 5 LGO(PR)R 1990)
· speaking to the public at large or publishing any written or artistic work that could give the impression that they are advocating support for a political party (Reg 3, Sched Pt II, LGO(PR)R 1990).
The cumulative effect of these restrictions is to limit the holders of ‘PoRPs to bare membership of political parties, with no active participation within the party permitted.

We’d be particularly interested to know how Liptrotsky’s ongoing work with Wirral West Labour MP Margaret Greenwood fits with these provisions as we know he managed her general election campaign – and what an ugly campaign it was too – and no , we don’t mean John Prescott’s appearance on West Kirby beach.

Perhaps Liptrotsky could clarify this for us and add us to his media distribution list as shown here on this post from his public Facebook page. Here we found him in between “advocating support for a political party” – the Labour Party to be precise (although he’s apparently not a fan of Jezza Corbyn) finding time to gripe about his Wallasey Town Hall office and ” the Tories”.

 

Here’s the luxury office suite the Tories are so agitated about… @livechonews @wirralglobe

Fiddling the Meter

“Can somebody tell me what “a comradely manner” means?…..”

And so with crushing inevitability comes the news that Cllr Jim “Crabby” Crabtree gets a slap on the wrist and has been given a formal warning by North West Labour Regional Office in relation to his conduct reported exclusively on Wirral Leaks ,  and that this warning is to be kept on file.

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/master-of-suspense/

As Leaks readers will know this warning relates to the incident where disabled young people who were supposed to be his “care” were commandeered to deliver election leaflets on behalf the local Labour Party…….like you do.

Furthermore we understand this warning will be made available to the assessment team for any future councillor selection processes and that the Labour Party will be asked to send a representative to meetings of the Bidston St James (no relation) Ward to ensure that – and we quote  – “everyone in attendance acts in a comradely manner to others.” – please no sniggering at the back.

What’s more North West Labour Regional Director Anna Hutchinson has decreed :

“That the leadership of the Labour Group are required to undertake training in order to ensure that any future issues raised with them that are of serious concern are dealt with in a prompt and appropriate way.”

Absolutely hilarious! – Oh Anna can we come and live in your world?.Somebody needs to whisper in her shell-like the word “Wirralgate”!. 

Meanwhile back in the unreal world that is the Wirral Labour group we understand that they have a meeting tonight (26th October) where Power Boy Pip Davies and his bully-boys want to question the magnificent woman who chaired the panel to deselect his mates which we exclusively revealed over the weekend.

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/we-leak-pip-squeaks/

But back to Crabtree –  whilst Cllr George Davies might have commented on Jimbob’s suspension that  “It’s better the devil you know” (like he’s an arbiter for how any councillor should conduct themselves!) and Frankenfield backs him because he obviously likes his Wirral councillors to be docile and adoring – we at Wirral Leaks clearly work to a different set of standards.

Consequently it has been brought to our attention by several concerned members of the public who share our concerns that standards in public office on Wirral are sadly slipping into the gutter.Accordingly we share with you an (unedited) post on Cllr Crabtree’s Facebook page (well one of them anyway – he has 2 – is that allowed by the way?) which we think is indicative of the morality under which senior local politicians seem to operate :

50p? What century were you born in ? I remember filing down half penny’s yes they were called happenys..filed them down on the back step to put into the gas and electric meters and when the lucky or gas man came to empty it he would put them to one side and my Mum would say”I don’t know how they got in there?” Well they would be strait back in very quickly….happy days?

Well ,  they do say that the child is father to the man and we think that when Crabtree publicly publishes posts like this he should have regard to the fact that , astonishingly , he is the CHAIR of Wirral Council’s AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

No ,honestly – we don’t make this shit up!.He really,really is.

However what this post says to us is something about the local scam culture where there seems to be a casual disregard for OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY – bung some bogus whistleblowers a few quid to shut them up, make embarrassments and failures go away with a magic cheque book and get some high pay/low morality consultants in to cover up the cracks.

We’ve said this before – but when a organisation such as Wirral Council conducts itself in such a way that all moral authority is lost and when a staff member at Wallasey Town Hall (allegedly) puts their hand in the till they shouldn’t be at all surprised.

But we’ll save that story for another time , as we at Leaky Towers have standards even if those in charge of Wirral Council clearly don’t!……….

We Leak , Pip Squeaks

 

 

Power Boy Pip’s super powers have been compromised by his comrades use of Krapped-On-Ite

It sometimes seems to us that the red flag has been a mere flag of convenience for the few who have brought the local Labour group into such disrepute.However we don’t know whether it’s “The Corbyn Effect” but there are encouraging signs that with an influx of new Labour party members and a case of long standing activists becoming sick of the careerists, freeloaders and opportunists that finally the tight-knit local cabal are under challenge by the only people capable of effecting change – their own party members.

We think it is significant that many of our most high profile recent leaks have come from disaffected Labour insiders.Could this be why Wirral Leaks featured on a recent local Labour group executive agenda we ask ourselves?.

The latest allegations in the leak below concern council “leader” Power Boy Pip Davies himself. First of all we’re pleased to see that Pip now seems to be an accepted colloquial term , however we’ll leave the other aliases in the leak below to spare the blushes of the others who were named :

” You may be interested in a scoop that Pip has failed in his bid to get decisions to deselect “The Defector” and “The Wet Lettuce” who were both failed by interview panels to decide who could stand as candidates for the May elections.

Following the pair of them being told they failed interview and were not up to the job – Pip told the Labour group leave it to him and he would sort it out – he has failed and both will not be able to stand for Labour in the May elections.

There goes two of Pip’s votes and brings the likelihood of a leadership challenge ever closer.”

Needless to say we’ve never been impressed by Pip’s “leadership”.

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/power-boy-pip-and-his-strong-leader-powers/

However as we stated recently he’s been looking increasingly uncomfortable in his own skin and the controversial appointment of turdpolisher-in-chief Martin Liptrot(sky) looks to us like an increasingly desperate attempt to bolster Pip’s position.

But even this is beginning to look like a grave error of judgement.Indeed it has been suggested to us that Power Boy Pip knew nothing of the hook up of his arch rival  Mayor Joe Anderson and his right hand man (or should that be left hand man) Liptrotsky.

Add to this another leak from a well -placed source where a member of the public raises awkward questions about the Liptrotsky appointment with Wirral Council’s law supremo Surjit Tour :

“Now, with regard to Mr Liptrot’s appointment, at Wirral Taxpayers’ expense, as personal ‘policy adviser’ to Cllr Davies, presumably to assist Cllr Phil Davies’ bid for the elected Mayor of the LCR (Liverpool City Region) , can Mr Tour answer this question.

Also in his role as Monitoring Officer, with the responsibility accompanying that position, can he legally justify Mr Liptrot’s position, role and appointment to Wirral Council staff to a ‘Politically Restricted Post’. There would appear to be multiple potential conflicts of interest related to Mr Liptrot’s other Merseyside-wide activities, which include work with the Combined Authority, PR guru to Mayor Joe Anderson, communications for Knowsley Borough Council and Wirral Chamber of Commerce, plus his blatant public display of Labour party political affiliations on Facebook, and elsewhere?

To avoid the tiresome process of a FOI request, can you tell me how many other candidates there were for Mr Liptrot’s position, where it was advertised and when, and how many candidates were short listed? I ask particularly because out of 8 applicants for Graham Burgess’ position, he was the only one who made the short list, was interviewed presumably…and got the job.”

One of the appointments that the concerned member of the public doesn’t mention and which has been brought to our attention by yet another source is that Liptrotsky may also have the communications contract for Merseytravel. If this is the case ,  then collectively his appointments make him perhaps the single most influential and powerful political figure on Merseyside – despite the fact he’s never been elected to public office !.

Of course we believe that ultimately what what will do for Power Boy Pip is his failure to rein in Cllrs  Steve Foulkes and George Davies and to stand up to Birkenhead MP Frank Field over the Wirralgate scandal. These are not the actions of a leader – this is a man out of his depth clutching onto a red flag of convenience and not waving but drowning………………

I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.
Stevie Smith

 

 

The Kipling Method

 

As moviegoers can testify a sequel is rarely as good as the original.

As Her Ladyship once witheringly whispered to me : ” Darling, you’ve disappointed more women than Sex and The City 2.”

However we at Leaky Towers are breathless with anticipation that lurking somewhere in Wallasey Town Hall is a follow up investigative report which is the equivalent of The Godfather Part II .Which is that rare thing – a sequel that many film fans think surpasses the original.Perhaps more pertinently the film is concerned with omertà – the Cosa Nostra code of silence….and so strangely enough is this report.

Readers may remember that in July 2014 we commented on the release of the original report into the Wirralgate scandal by investigator Patricia Thynne where we commented :

” All we can do is implore anyone who interested in “how things work” on Wirral is to read the report which consists of 17 pages of pure putrescence….”

https://wirralleaks.wordpress.com/2014/07/29/wirralgate-council-claim-theyve-got-it-taped/

Last year Wirral Council were quite happy to publish the findings , possibly thinking that somehow it would finally put the biggest scandal in Wirral Council history to bed. However beady-eyed readers will now find that if they click on “DOWNLOAD” in the link above that the message “Page Not Found” will appear on your screen and whaddyaknow the report is no longer available on Wirral Council’s new in-yer-face website.

So why might this suddenly be the case?.Could it be that there is a sequel to this elusive report which is now in the Wirral Council cutting room being judiciously edited and unlikely to be premiered any time soon – even though Wirral council taxpayers paid for it !.

We can only presume that Wirral Council don’t want any public interest minded websites comparing the two reports and highlighting the glaring discrepancies between them.And by glaring discrepancies we mean the LIES told by senior Wirral councillors .

So why have we got such high hopes of this sequel when the original “Report of Investigation Into Allegations of Breach of Code of Councillors”  was such a travesty?.This is because ,  from what we can gather , this update report features some special guest appearances and a surprising star turn from a former leading lady which now means there are considerably less holes in the plot. 

We just hope the follow up investigation used  “The Kipling Method” –  a time and tested investigative technique based on the Rudyard Kipling poem :

                                                I keep six honest serving-men
                                                 (They taught me all I knew);
                                                 Their names are What and Why and When
                                                 And How and Where and Who.

The application of The Kipling Method (What , Why, When ,How , Where ,Who) to the film stills of Cllr Steve Foulkes shown above and the shameful events that have followed these ugly scenes from a council meeting held on 15th July 2013 will , we believe , be the reason for Wirral council’s X-rating – X for eXemption. Put it this way we wouldn’t waste your time making a Freedom of Information request for this particular report if we were you.

The powers that be know that this sequel always had the potential to unspool messily , entangling some of the most prominent local politicians and scuppering some lofty political ambitions……and is the reason that every effort is being made to ensure that this report never sees the light of day.

Finally , knowing what we know about  Cllr George Davies’ role in the fiasco initiated by the Foulkes horrorshow , which thankfully is more a voice-over than a close-up , can we offer some advice?. Instead of relentlessly posing for publicity shots such as the one outside New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion – where Davies stands next to Lofty the home insulation polar bear – that he needs to take a long hard look at himself in the mirror ( a big ask we know) and consider whether he is really the right person to be Wirral Council’s spokesperson on the local Restorative Justice scheme which is launched tomorrow in Wallasey Town Hall.

“The scheme is only applied in cases where those responsible admit their behaviour……….”

https://www.wirral.gov.uk/news/16-10-2015/can-you-help-deliver-neighbourhood-justice

Seriously Cllr Davies ?, really ?………….. at least you’ve finally confirmed to us that you really do have more front than New Brighton itself.

WTAF?! The only thing coming out of this picture with any dignity is the turnip.
Picture courtesy of The Wirral Globe

 

Busybody Liptrot and his Silent Partners

“Now where is that Wirral Leaks site I’ve heard so much about? .Perhaps I can get them to do some PR stories for Wirral Council……oh, er , probably best sticking with the Liverpool Echo ….”

The old publicity shot above features Wirral Council’s new media tsar Martin Liptrot aka Liptrotsky. We can almost hear the photographer saying : ” Yes , Marty that’s definitely your best side ,sweetie.Now what we’re looking for is thoughtful – authoritative yet relaxed. Someone who is fearless in the face of a laptop. Lovin’ the tie by the way – the colour red is subliminal but the silk suggests you’re a man of sophistication and taste.Am I right in saying the look you’re going for today is champagne socialist?….”  

A straw poll of readers decided that “Liptrotsky” was the pseudonym that best suited (and booted) the red hot Labour supporter who was appointed to a politically restricted post as council leader Power Boy Pip Davies’ personal bullshit whisperer !.

We’ve also followed up enquiries from our ever increasing readership and been informed that Liptrotsky works just TWO DAYS A WEEK for Wirral Council for his £45,000 bung – and at his side during those days is often a favoured journalist from the Liverpool Echo.

We presume that this lapdog journo is hoping for some exclusives from the crumbs off Liptrotsky’s table.As let’s face it all the local scoops have been coming our way lately courtesy of some very well placed (and disgruntled) sources.

We also understand that Liptrotsky also does the same PR job for – wait for it – Power Boy Pip Davies’ arch City Region rival Mayor Joe Anderson, despite the fact Mayor Joe and Power Boy Pip hate each other’ guts. Conflict of interest, anyone?.

Astonishingly Liptrotsky is ALSO looking after communications for Knowsley Borough Council AND Wirral Chamber of Commerce!. That’s some political busy body in the local body politic , eh folks?. And presumably well recompensed by the taxpayer.

Such is the power base that Liptrotsky has already built up that council leader Power Boy Pip Davies willingly takes his lead.Meanwhile Wirral Council CEO Eric “Feeble” Robinson continues to demonstrate his fearless leadership skills by hiding behind his desk in Wallasey Town Hall.

 

Somebody needs to tell Liptrotsky he is a Labour Party apparatchik – he is not an unelected de facto leader or a Chief Executive by default and he has NO business telling the council what it can and can’t do.

Oh yeah and another thing – apparently Liptrotsky lives “next door” to Pip in West Kirby……

 

So in conclusion if Mayor Joe doesn’t care that his “policy advisor” works for his arch rival Pip doing the same job and if after an initial burst of “outrage” the “opposition” couldn’t care less and if Eric Feeble is so compliant he doesn’t dare so much as squeak for fear of losing his job –  then I suppose it is up to Wirral Leaks to up its game and make Liptrotsky earn his money !.

One final question for Liptrotsky – what do you know about “Wirralgate”? – well might we suggest you keep reading Wirral Leaks because you’re about to learn a whole lot more…………

 

 

 

 

Control Freaks

Following on from our last post ” The Public and the Private” it is always a pleasure to publish the above serendipitous snapshot.As famed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson would have it – the photographer did indeed capture a “decisive moment”.

Perhaps for this year’s advent calendar we should print it in all its tacky Technicolor glory.

However the main reason for revisiting this photograph is that we’ve received an eyewitness account of what happened in the aftermath of the historic publication of the casual rendezvous of 2 senior council officers in a public place presumably during the course of their public duties.

We’ve already heard the hysterical stories about the hissyfits and the threats to sue ( yeah – whatever) but what our eyewitness confirms to us that the council reaction made “The Most Improved Council in Britain” seem more like ” The Keystone Kops Meets the Last Days of the Roman Empire”.

Wallasey Town Hall – where slapstick meets sleazepit!.

As our eyewitness recounts :

” … thinking back a certain picture from New Brighton on Wirral Leaks caused a lot of fluster in the control room as the powers above at the time believed it was leaked from there, I was on duty when the red headed gang invaded the control room to inspect the recorded data I duly told them it was not us, but maybe the suspicion was enough at the highest level to get rid of the staff in case any other footage was caught on the 100 or so cameras?.We will never know as (the then Wirral Council CEO) Burgess ,who didn’t even know where the control room was located or duties carried out, but apparently was very keen to get rid of it also left abruptly.”

100 or so cameras?.No wonder that Control Room boss John Kenny and Community Patrol Manager Mike Collins were able to escape with pay – offs from Wirral Council. They then immediately got a contract as “Atlas Security” with Wirral Council patrolling 40 Wirral schools previously held by Community Patrol by undercutting the prices THEY THEMSELVES SET whilst working for Wirral Council!.

Meanwhile to help them on their way the Wirral Chamber of Commerce magazine prints a full page spread promoting Atlas Security patrol and its contract with 40 Wirral schools.

And oh look –  there’s another picture of photogenic Kevin “Addled” Adderley (see above) at the grand opening of Atlas Security printed in the same magazine.

Are you beginning to understand how this shit works yet?

Subsequently if anyone requires CCTV footage from the Wirral CCTV system who do you contact  when Wirral Council passed control over to Merseyside Police in April 2014 closing the CCTV control room and making 11 people redundant?.
The answer to the above question is CCTVCONTROLROOM@Wirral.gov.uk  !!!

Funnily enough some of the backstabbing staff deployed as control room operators have now titled themselves Central Control Room Officers.Excuse us but wasn’t that role made redundant ?
To cap it off a recent Freedom of Information asked if the redeployed officers were carrying out over 70% of the previous employees duties.The request was met with a very firm rebuttal .Excuse us again but why are the opportunistic Quislings paid at the same grade as the staff that Wirral Council made redundant?.

Could it be the staff they made redundant knew too much of what was on those 100 or so cameras and the amateur hour snoopers with delusions of grandeur they appointed in their place are much safer bet ?.

The Public and the Private

A few years back the first tremors of concern about the operation of Wirral Council were felt in the local press.Whilst the cracks began to show in the public facade a senior council manager privately dismissed the reports with the comment : “newspapers are tomorrow’s fish and chip paper”.

Those tremors turned to shockwaves as report after report bore witness to a toxic and dysfunctional culture which nearly brought Wirral Council tumbling down.

During the aftershock of these events the senior manager above fled the scene of devastation under the protective cover of a compromise agreement and a six figure cheque.

Whilst at the time she may have been right about the public’s attention span and the impermanence of the printed word the world of information exchange has moved on.

So as we see above Private Eye magazine publish the latest instalment of “The Adderley Skidaddle” on their Rotten Boroughs page and although an acknowledgement of our original story would have been appreciated , it can be seen how both mainstream media websites and independent blogs now serve as a more permanent public record.

Moreover the digital age affords the opportunity for members of the public to cross reference, make connections and be better informed.Stories that are considered to be a minority interest or can’t be reduced to soundbites or a fleeting newspaper headline now have a permanent space in a public place.

Sometimes stories can’t be constrained by a word limit and print space.As our readers have witnessed , the devil is often in the detail and a narrative can develop over time.All that’s left for us to do is identify what we consider to be in the public interest and as far as we’re concerned that includes matters where private lives interfere with public duties……….

Untrue Blue

Frank Field has been channelling Blessed Margaret Thatcher again.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn becomes the latest person to be figuratively handbagged by the Grande Dame of the Labour Party.

First of all , Frankenfield gets his knickers in a twist about “Momentum” –  which depending on your viewpoint is either a group of Labour supporters trying to galvanise grassroots support for a new socialist dawn led by Jezza or a group of rabid Stalinists bent on deselecting Labour MPs untrue to the cause.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2015/10/frank-field-calls-labour-mps-stand-independents-if-deselected

I think we can all guess which camp Frankenfield is in……

The MP for Birkenhead is of course safe in the knowledge that he reigns supreme in one of the safest seats in the country and can blithely ignore the views of his plebeian constituents.The complete contempt he has for the people who voted him into power is clearly demonstrated in this recent car crash TV interview :

https://number10duckworthstreet.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/frank-fields-arrogantly-admits-his-constituents-views-count-for-nothing-and-its-not-his-job-to-speak-up-for-them/

Worse still – this self-styled champion of the poor – well the ones that do as they’re told and know their place that is – was one of 21 Labour MPs who defied the Labour Party whip last night and shamefully abstained during Chancellor George Osborne’s Fiscal Responsibility Charter vote.

The ‘Charter’ means that future spending cuts will be more brutal than Osborne has implemented during the past five years – even at times when the economy is booming and the country can afford it. By his actions Frankenfield not only makes a political point by undermining Corbyn’s leadership but he thereby condones austerity measures that will adversely affect his own constituents.

Perhaps the next time we hear local Labour councillors hypocritically blaming the Tories when council spending cuts are announced we need to remind them where their spiritual leader and protector stands on the matter.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tory-spending-cuts-full-list-6636420

We’re left thinking at Leaky Towers as to whether someone needs to tip “Momentum”  off as to exactly what Field and his crooked council crew have been up to locally as that would seem to be the only way to shift this safe-seat hugging hypocrite.