Councillor Adrian Jones and Paul Cardin … in happier times

The ‘harassment’ issue here related to a chance meeting between us and Councillor Jones in the Wallasey Asda car park on 4th June 2019. From memory, the discussion went as follows:

Paul: Hi Adrian.  I’ve got a question for you.  I’ve been doing a bit of citizen journalism.  I know I should be asking your wife this question really, but how can she be commissioning her own job?  She’s sitting on the Joint Strategic Commissioning Board, but she’s working on the same trust.  Now, surely that should be declared as a conflict of interest?  Is it?

Adrian: It never occurred to me.  I don’t know.

Paul: Hadn’t occurred to you?  Does it sound right to you though, as an experienced councillor?

Adrian: I’ll ask the Borough Solicitor.

Paul: Right, okay…is that Vicki?

Adrian: Well, no it’s not, but I’ll ask the Borough Solicitor.

Paul: Who’s the Borough Solicitor, please?

Adrian: If you look on the web, you’ll find his name is…can’t remember.

Paul: You can’t remember who the Borough Solicitor’s name is?

Adrian: You’ll find it on…

Paul: Oh, right, okay.  So there’s no answer to that question?  It’s a very direct, easy one for you.  It seems like a conflict of interest, wouldn’t you agree?  How can somebody commission their own job?  Tell you what, here’s an easier one.  How much public money do you and your wife take home, on average, per annum?

Adrian: You really are a terrible bore and you’re offensive.

Paul: Why am I offensive?  That’s an easy question.

Adrian: I’d rather you…

Paul: How much public money…

Adrian: …not pester me in public.

Paul: Well, this is…

Adrian: Now, look, I’m asking you not to pester me…

Paul: You’re supposed to represent the public.

Adrian: And I’ll ask you to stop pushing me as well.

Paul: No, you just shoved into me.

Adrian: No, I didn’t.

Paul: You’re supposed to represent the public.  I’m not pestering you.  I’m asking good, honest questions.  I’m asking you to represent the public.  Now, it’s simply asking how much money you take home.  Public money.  That’s my money.  That’s my council tax you’re taking home.

Adrian: Well, you can look on the web and go and discover it.

Paul: So I’ve got to go and look on the web.  Do I have to put an FOI request in?

Adrian: You really are a nuisance.

Paul: That costs money.  I’m a nuisance?  Oh, come off it.  Come on, let’s be accountable.  Let’s have some accountability, Adrian.

Adrian’s friend: All right, Adrian!

Adrian: Not quite.  I’m in fact being harassed by this …

Paul: You’re not being harassed.  This is one incident.  Harassment in law takes two or more incidents.

Adrian: It’s one incident of the many.

Paul: No, come off it.  I’m merely…

Adrian: Now that there’s actually a witness…

Paul: I’m trying to…

Adrian: …here, would you mind…

Paul: I’m trying to represent…

Adrian: Would you please go away?

Paul: I’m trying to do your job.  I’m trying to represent the public.

Adrian: I’m asking you to go away.

Paul: I’m not going to go away until I get answers to the questions, Adrian.

Adrian: If you’re not going to go away now…

Paul: You’re taking a lot of money over the domestic threshold and you’re not prepared to tell us how much it is.

Adrian: I’m asking you very politely to go away.

Paul: What about *LOBO loans?  What do you think the answer’s going to be on that one?

Adrian: It’s a pity for you that there’s actually a witness present.

Paul: A witness to what?

Adrian: All I want you to do…

Paul: I’m asking questions.

Adrian: …is stop harassing me.

Paul: I’m not harassing you, Adrian.

Adrian: Well, I think you’re harassing me.

Paul: Not at all. I’m asking you to represent the public.

Adrian: It’s my perception…

Paul: I’m asking you…

Adrian: …that you’re harassing me.

Paul: I’m asking you to be accountable.

Adrian: Go away.

Paul: That’s not harassment.  Adrian, oh please.

Adrian: Go away.

Paul: Oh, don’t run away, Adrian.  You’re a public servant, Adrian.  Don’t run away.

*We recently went public on the fact that it was us who lodged the official objection against the LOBO loans aspect of Wirral Council’s public accounts almost three years ago. 

That’s it.  Apologies to any readers who may have been expecting threats, foul language, wild accusations or fits of rage consistent with an ongoing campaign of harassment.

Following today’s police visit, we’ve agreed to not ask any questions of Councillor Jones should we see him out and about at any time in the future and will restrict those questions to the official channels and to the confines of council meetings, etc.

Here’s an email we sent on the day of this chance encounter to Wirral Council’s Monitoring Officer (‘Borough Solicitor’) Philip McCourt:

Answer came there none because Mr McCourt appears to have chosen not to respond.  We’re persistent and we chased him up earlier today with the following:

For some context, here’s (some of) what Councillor Adrian Jones has been deeply involved in during his time as a Wirral Councillor.  Much of this is factual, proven and highly irregular conduct, linked to failure and unpunished malfeasance (this is criminal in nature) that still requires further investigation.

That’s because for particularly controversial items such as the years of abuse of Wirral’s disabled people, brave whistleblowers risked everything, went public, took the consequences (they were bullied and forced out of their jobs), and independent investigators were called in to get to the bottom of it.

Sadly, here we are today and no trace of any adherence to due process and a willingness to accept proper accountability has ever been seen or registered by impartial onlookers, the press, voters or council staff themselves.

Jones, his wife and many of their colleagues have been abusing their power, stonewalling and holding the fort at this basket case for many years now, in the teeth of justified public shock, anger, deepening concern and disillusionment.

I gave the two lovely police officers the name of our blog and I’m hopeful that when they get a chance to relax and put their feet up, they will tune in, read some of the information herein and avail themselves of some of the essential broader context.

Like all politically engaged citizens, we don’t like to see our precious public money being frittered away. Hopefully, upon seeing the findings of the many independent investigations, the shabby behaviour of the local council and its members and senior officers will crystallize and become clear.

If they read our blog, these police officers will be presented with the facts and a much clearer idea of how real victimhood and feigned victimhood are two completely separate and distinct areas.

Bearing all this in mind should help them to correctly evaluate and balance the issues when Wirral’s councillors approach them and attempt to create ‘harassment’ allegations in the future. 

Here’s a tweet from the “Secret Barrister”:

Links:

1. A proven abuser was appointed to Head of Adult Social Services at Reading Council – but who’s been involved in covering it all up?

2. High Noone at Reading Council. Danger averted…

3. Our local councillor Adrian Jones washes his hands of Wirral Council abuse, then passes the buck to Reading Council

4. Reading Council Safeguarding emergency. Confirmation of Noone and Fowler’s compromise agreements

5. It’s “Wirral In It Together” ……as the Wirral Tory Leader closes ranks to march in lockstep with his Labour chums

6. Thousands endangered in Reading. Here’s the FOI request spelling it all out. Yet still… Wirral Council FAILED

7. It looks like holding Wirral and Reading Councils to account is not going to be easy

8. The causal link between a Wirral Council failure and a safeguarding emergency

9. An emergency safeguarding message has been left with our representative on Wirral Council, Seacombe Councillor Adrian Jones

10. BIG Fund – The Wirral Council Leader’s Dishonesty Becomes Compounded

11. Angela Eagle supporters have been discovered telling lies about Wallasey CLP Vice Chair Paul Davies

12. No news really… just another Wirral Councillor alienating an inconvenient citizen

13. CONFIRMED – 62 Wirral Councillors now registered with the ICO – but YOU are paying…

14. UPDATE: Wirral Councillor humiliates himself AGAIN. Trashes a critic… then breaches his data privacy

15. Wirral Council’s facilitation of whistleblowers

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A response to today’s email has just arrived: