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Corruption investigation into Conservative controlled council   » Permalink  |  TrackBack (0)

The police are reopening an investigation into allegations of corruption in Conservative controlled Walsall Council.

The decision by West Midlands Police Chief Constable Sir Paul Scott-Lee throws the spotlight back on the authority, which last year claimed it was cleared of any wrongdoing following a string of investigations and inquiries.Those investigations centred around the dismissal of four former members of staff who have accused the council of covering up corrupt practices dating back to 2003.

In addition to those officers involved in the previous investigation, they are also following up a series of allegations of the shocking treatment of an employee, Mr Mark Kemp, highlighted by Bruce George MP last week in the House Of Commons:

"He came to Walsall in 2003 to work for the establishment team of the education department.

"It was not long before he was introduced to what appears to have been a long-standing, unofficial working practice of bungs between contractors and some employees of the council.

"He declined to participate, was ostracised, was assaulted five times - once in the council house - and was sent a dead, decaying rat through the post.

"Someone called at his house and threatened his 75-year-old mother's life. He was savagely beaten in his garden by two assailants. He was dumped in a pond in the back of his garden and could have drowned.

"He was then fired on spurious grounds. He did not surface because he was told, 'Go to a tribunal and you're a dead man'.

This disgraceful state of affairs can not be swept under the carpet by the Conservative controlled administration like the previous 'investigation'. These events, if proven to be correct, should lead to the prosecution and imprisonment of those involved, and the investigation should look at how far up the line of management the responsibility lies.