| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:The solution to this problem | |
| Posted by: | Theo Dennison | |
| Date/Time: | 01/09/12 17:39:00 |
| Before good citizens in TW8 take up arms and start shooting local councillors could I just advise that Hounslow's Standards Committee is alive and well and has not been abolished to cover up rampant corruption no matter how good a story that maght be. I know cos I have just been renominated to it. The Government has however abolished the old standards regime and removed the right of every council in England and Wales to have independent members on their standards committees. The new format for standards committees including that in Hounslow will therefore be of committees comprising solely sitting councillors. I think the new regime stinks and having independent members made sense and added integrity - but their demise is not Hounslow's fault. As to the allegations about Cllr Gill, I am not going to go into any details as matters are not concluded but actions were initiated by the standards committee, an investigation conducted and a hearing held to consider relevant sanctions. I am pretty sure of this as I was a member of the committee at the time and was at the meetings that instituted the investigation, that received the report and recommended the hearing. So could we stop assuming Hounslow and its members simply close ranks or turn a blind eye to such matters. Fresh allegations relating to interference with this process through inappropriate contact with an independent member were referred straight to the Police - to their own satisfaction they investigated the matter but found no evidence of wrong doing. I understand they are now looking at this again. In referring the matter to the Police, Standards Committee deferred to their investigative powers and judgement rather than institute a second investigation of its own. My view was if allegations of interfering with a standards committee investigation wasn't the job of the committee I didn't know what was but I also entirely accepted that the serioussness of the allegation required action - and that is what standards committee agreed. Could I suggest any law-abiding citizens in TW8 who have been stockpiling firearms in preparation for storming the civic centre might now consider handing them in at the local Police Station. |