Sunday, December 07, 2008

LIB DEMS ON TRIAL: 'Those mugs can pay for my legal costs'.

COUNCIL taxpayers are footing the bill for Fireman Bradley's legal defence against the Standards Board.

So far, the shock fee for assorted solicitors, barristers and legal advice has already reached a cool £10,000.

It is expected to at least TRIPLE when Fireman Bradley is hauled in front of the Adjudication Panel for England next year.

And every penny will be paid by the council's taxpayers.

So let us just recap on the story so far:

a) Bradley cocks up trying to get rid of the Harbarrowboy so badly that, in the end, the city council is forced to pay off Jase with a quarter of a million pounds.

Paid for by council taxpayers.

b) Bradley is prosecuted by ethics watchdogs over his blundering attempts to get rid of The Harbarrowboy. And his defence is now being funded by the city council.

Paid for by council taxpayers.

c) This is what is officially known in the trade as "adding insult to injury."

Bradley, who pockets £30,000 a year as Leader of the worst council in the country (special responsibility allowance of £20,600, plus the basic allowance of £9,900) on top of his firefighter's salary of £28,000 a year, has protested that he cannot afford to pay for his own legal defence.

So Colin CoverUp has authorised the city council's coffers to be thrown open to the current council leader.

No limit has been placed on the eventual legal bill.

The sky is the limit.

Meanwhile, after taking two weeks to read the secret Standards Board report which finds him guilty of repeated breaches of the councillors Code of Conduct, Bradley consulted with m'learned friends.

Then he finally submitted his response to the Standards Board last Wednesday.

(Basically his not guilty plea amounts to: "blame that Lee Forde fella and his mates; my children have suffered as a result of all this; I'm only a fireman; Look at how much Liverpool has benefitted from my leadership (sic); I never sent any emails or text messages to anyone.")

The Standards Board are now deciding how long they need to respond and/or amend their report.
Could be days.
Could be weeks.

Knowing them.

But publish the report they will.

Eventually.

Unless one of Bradley's legal eagles threatens them with a High Court injunction.

Which would be quite expensive.
But hey!
It's only council taxpayer's hard-earned money.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

How absolutely contemptible!

CoverUp needs to be removed from office for authorizing this...

Seriously, if anyone is outraged by this, you do have the chance to object.

Next year, there will be a small window (usually only a few weeks) when anyone who is an elector in Liverpool has the chance to examine the council's finances, their invoices, bills, receipts and such like. It is a little known provision of the Audit Commission Act 1998, Section 14 is the relevant bit:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/ACTS/acts1998/ukpga_19980018_en_1

The council have to publicise when the accounts are open and will do so here:

http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Council_government_and_democracy/About_your_council/Council_finance/Statement_of_accounts/index.asp

You have the right to formally object to items of spending, like legal fees for defending a someone who should be paying for his own defence.

If enough people complain, who knows, something might actually be done and maybe CoverUp will have to go too for allowing it!!!

Anonymous said...

Is this not misuse of Public funds?
especially as an independant board of enquiry has found the man to be guilty of lying over and over again. Thjis sureley cannot be allowed? As a councillor does he not have the right to representation through and insurance policy? unless his case would not stand up to the assesment of guilt by the insurance company? as their solicitors would not accept the case unless there was at least a 51% chance of success.

Can we not save the time and energy and just pay him to piss off and join his mate Jason in spain?

I suggest the bestway to address this is to vote the bastards out and be rid of them.
God help whotakes over this mess once they are gone. They have cocked the city up and sold the family silver we have nothing left after all the payoffs and cock ups and riduclous expense of the capital of culture year which will not see any return despite the made up figures of attendance and visitor spend.
I know this for a fact as I was paid for years to make up the figures !!
Its all smoke and mirrors believe me I did it !

Anonymous said...

great story, and there is more to come!!

Anonymous said...

Cover up is no mate of Jason, believe me. He has more to worry about than most.

Anonymous said...

I don't.........

Anonymous said...

IF this is true, why haven't I read it in the Echo?

Anonymous said...

The Echo and The Post have known about this for about 3 weeks, for some reason they are not keen to print!!

The Bradley tickets in Vegas scandal has gone quiet, an investigation was undertaken by the Bald Eagle but nothing has come of it, again The Echo wont pursue it. I know for a fact Bradley asked for those tickets, had no intention of paying for them and took his wife for a joint 40th birthday weekend.

Again Cover Up knew about this, but again he did nothing.

How many times has Bradley or his family gone to the Echo Arena to watch events without paying? there is a trend to his ticket use and again Hilton knows about it.

How many times has Bradley put pressure on city officers to fund pet organisations? How did the Picket get funding when they were not approved as part of the funding applications?

Bradley has constantly used the City Council and its resource to make himself look good, these legal fees are just another example of his greed and selfish nature.

No matter what the standards board conclude, Bradley will never give his post up without a fight, he loves the trappings too much, free tickets, top hotels, a driver and a car, more than a fireman could ever dream of!!!

There is more to come..........

Anonymous said...

That can't possibly be right - if the Echo had this story, and it was true, they would have published it by now. Its public money after all. So it can't be true...

Anonymous said...

It is true. All of it is. The Echo miss out loads of detail, they even did a deal with Hurst last week. Feel free to FOI the council about the ticket investigation and the Picket funding, its easy to check that funding was not granted through the correct procedures!! and there is more...........

Its a long time ago but what about his part in Archers departure?? she resigned did she??? what part did Hilton play?? all questions which have never been answered in full, lots of speculation but the truth has never YET come out...........maybe soon!

Anonymous said...

maybe that means that it's not true then?

Anonymous said...

Friend of Bradley are you? didnt think he had many

Anonymous said...

Whether it is true or not would be clearer if the council responded to Freedom Of Information requests and other questions. If it was open. As it stands, it seems they don't and are not. It is natural therefore to assume something suspicious. As for the idea that the Echo publishes when it has the information, well that's just laughable. Anyone who knows anything about local politics in Liverpool and beyond knows just how accommodating the Echo is to the city's politicians, especially when legal action is threatened. The Echo and its lamentable stablemate, the Post, long ago lost its desire to sniff out stories and triumph investigative journalism which is a crying shame.

Anonymous said...

Hundreds of Home Helps working for Liverpool council are going through the redundancy process at the moment!
They are paying Bradley's fee's and all the other costs accociated with him and his Libdem cock up's with their jobs!
Who can justify that?

Anonymous said...

Having worked for central government in the past, I know all to well how much dirt gets brushed under the official carpets with all those in the know being paid/bribed/blackmailed/threatened into silence...

The papers and the news media ceased workiing in the interests of the people having a right to know a long time ago. I don't doubt for a moment what is being said here, I am sure there is even more people don't know about. But I am hardly surprised not to be reading about it in the Echo.

A lesson people like CoverUp never seem to learn is that they are only allowed to get away with things whilst they are useful to someone else more powerful than they are.

I have seem far more powerful people than him be set up, framed, disgraced and dispensed with once they became a liability.

Who knows how many people of power and influence might be conspiring against him even now?

In the words of an ex Met Police CIB officer "nobody's fireproof".

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr Cover Up

I would prefer it if my Council tax was spent on something useful please.

Your Employer

Anonymous said...

I presume that Cllr Anderson will ask Mr Hilton to confirm tis or raise it as a question in the chamber. Unless he is currently gagged by the report until it is publicly released. Has Mr Bartlett been gagged on this as well or are we just biding our time until publication which has been any day now for almost 6 months?

Anonymous said...

we should all withhold a proportion of our council tax as we object to OUR money defending this toerag

How the council use Ripa to spy on you....


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