THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: CULTURE COMPANY LET OFF THE HOOK FOR MACCA COCK-UP

THE Culture Company were let off the hook by the Post/Echo today for abandoning their lunatic plan for a Paul McCartney concert at Salthouse Dock.

Neither paper asked the obvious question: how much has this little detour to fantasy island cost the council taxpayers of Liverpool?

We are reliably informed that more than £60,000 has already been spent on feasibility studies, 'scoping exercises', the hiring of marine experts, health and safety and all kinds of bureaucratic nonsense commissioned by the expensive consultants brought in from the BBC, led by Lorna Dickenson.

The result of this ill-conceived fishing expedition?

A complete waste of time and money.

And no-one at the Culture Company will have to pay, of course.

Interestingly, this insane plan to drain the Salthouse dock, biff the unsuspecting fish on the head and then transport them safely to a giant tank, all so that Macca could play Mull of Kintyre, was the brainchild of Kris 'bullshitter' Donaldson.

He is the Aussie/Californian appointed by Henshaw and Storey as the Culture Company's £150,000-a-year Marketing Director, (now on £198,000 with his Performance Pelated Pay! eds).

His chief claim to fame was launching the '08 logo three years ago (with an army of consultants, eds).

Since then Donaldson has done nothing tangible - except repeatedly hire extremely expensive consultants at the slightest whim to do his job for him.

His latest singularly unimaginative scheme is to 'wrap' all the city's ugliest buildings in scenes from the '08 programme to hide Liverpool's urban dereliction from visitors.

Manchester did this a bit for the Commonwealth Games - but Donaldson has pinched the idea and gone typically OTT.

He is so full of bullshit that only those impressionable few who are mesmerised by his transatlantic drawl and whitened teeth could fail to spot his utter lack of judgement.

It is a quality also displayed in barrow loads by the Harbarrowboy of course, in cancelling the Mathew Street festival.

So the DPost headline this morning should have read: 'Macca concert moved after CoC dock bungle'.

Instead the Post treated the people of Liverpool to the most nauseating and mealy-mouthed cover-up of yet another Culture cock-up.

Unforgiveably poor journalism.

Later aided and abetted by the compliant Echo (no change there, then eds)

Perhaps the explanation for the Post letting CoC off the hook lies in the disgraceful Lib Dem attacks on its journalists for being 'pro-Labour' (the Libs are obviously panicking and have tried to put the frighteners on the Post, eds. Looks like it might have worked.)

Perhaps the Post felt sorry for Bradley after yet another failure to deliver.

Perhaps the Post didn't want Macca to get the message that he is dealing with a bunch of half-wits.

Or perhaps the Post just don't care what happens to the public's money.

Certainly they are failing to hold the Culture Company properly to account for yet another cock-up.

The truth is, of course, that contrary to the incredibly tedious Daily Post editorial today about a 'timely decision', the Culture Company did NOT come clean about the cancellation of the dock.

It had already leaked out (literally, eds) after our world exclusive.

Fireman Bradley leapt into action with his trusty hose when the phone rang bringing reports of another Culture Company firestorm.

So he ate all his recent words about the 'fantastic' dock scheme and instead started to whitter on about the great concert being suddenly lined-up at Anfield.

And the Post swallowed the bait.

Hook, line and sinker.

PS Perhaps the Post can at least ask how much all this has cost so far? And they could also investigate the rather unorthodox tendering procedure adopted in the first place to appoint Lorna Dickenson and crowd to work on this concert.

PPS Even Larry Neild's excellent column today is of little consolation.