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In early January, a trusted associate and fellow investigator of mine published the following thoughts, which circulated on Oldham related Facebook groups :-
"THREE CUPS You know the game, three cups, under one is a pea, the cups are quickly rearranged whilst the operator goes through his patter! Today we are going to play the 3 cups of independent investigations, now watch closely .... Firstly we had a complete denial, after that we had, now excuse me if I get these in the wrong order, was it an internal investigation that turned into an internal review or vice versa? Even then it was only going to cover a period of 2012/13 This is despite the FACT that a Rochdale gang link has already been established regarding Shabir Ahmed who's trial was in 2012, hang on! So what about pre 2012 when he was operating and when
"He committed rape and shared one of the victims with other men at sex parties across the north" Next it was going to be TWO side by side investigations, now I'm confused.
Next, the 'expert' who was drafted for an investigation and then pulled out, but we don't know whether this was one of the two mentioned above or another one, "Dr Peel was approached for comment" but none was given, another headline stated he "has mysteriously stepped down even before starting his investigation." Surprisingly, Oldham council failed to comment too! So, is this now one investigation.... oops, sorry now demoted to a review?
Is this the 'investigation' led by Andy Burnham, friend of Cllr Foolding? Where's the pea? How deep does it go? Well, in a newspaper report about one of the 'investigations', apparently Chief Constable Hopkins was going to be an overseer of the investigation, another good friend of Mr Burnham! Now not only does Cllr Fooldings girlfriend work for one of Andy's departments which is also overseen by Cllr Foolding, there is also another department, that Burnham oversees. The GMCA Ethics committee oversees investigations such as this where practices are questioned, it was set up after allegations of Shipman case body parts disappearing and a grooming case fetus disappearing (go figure) The chair of this committee is the Bishop of Manchester, recently part of a newspaper article re whistleblowers.
Talk about jobs for the boys, it seems one Cllr. Shaid Mushtaq (very vocal ally of the labour leadership) is also a member of said committee! So, at least we know who investigates the investigators if the investigations don't seem right!"
Credit for the above to Kris Kringles aka The Horse. Times change fast in politics, friends become enemies in the blink of an eye, the once 'as thick as thieves' Burnham and Hopkins partnership seems to have quickly turned into a game of who can throw who under the bus the fastest!
Now the Mayor of Greater Manchester is involved as the 'review' has been moved to come under the umbrella of his GMCA. Not only that, but nobody seems to be questioning enough the fact that Oldham have written their own Terms of Reference for the review...! Transparent? Independent? I think not.
Something here began to puzzle me. While the concerns of effectiveness and transparency of any investigations/reviews on the matter should rightly be overseen to ensure that the most thorough and honest account is given, there is frustratingly, very little in the way of opposition parties at Oldham Council being heard and seen to pursue this in a most vehement manner.
Admittedly, in the latter half of 2019, 2 of Oldham's opposition councillors have gone on record to state that they officially approached the Chief Executive of the Council to demand a thorough investigation.
Since then, the ludicrous rearranging of 'the cups' that has gone on in terms of the type of scrutiny that these serious allegations warrant would have baffled even Penn & Teller! So where are the opposition now? Why are they not publicly reassuring the residents of Oldham that their outrage and resolve are still as strong as previously and that any amount of council attempts to dodge the issue is futile?
The cynic in me wonders if their interest had been silenced somehow or maybe the result of the general election was a factor? Maybe as Oldham approaches it's next scheduled local council elections in May, there could be renewed interest? I genuinely hope I am wrong in being suspicious. I hope that much is being done behind the scenes - however, this does not reassure the rising numbers of concerned residents over the appalling failures of the Labour leadership. There are 14 elected representatives for the people of Oldham that are not Labour party politicians. Fourteen sets of eyes and ears and voices who's duty it is to hold to account and provide scrutiny and challenge the administration, expenditure and policy decisions to make sure Oldhams own Code of Conduct is adhered to "...serve only the public interest.."
Can any of the opposition give an answer to the public on the questions that Sean Fielding and his executive officers are refusing to? Namely why all the changes to the investigation(s) and what is the genuine reason for Dr Peel to cease being part of any of it?
Maybe the residents of Oldham need to see what standards it's councillors are expected to maintain. Maybe its councillors need a reminder of their own Code of Conduct. Here's an extract...
"...APPENDIX 1
Code of Conduct for Members and Guidance
1. Introduction
The Council is determined to provide excellent local government for the people of the Borough. It promotes and maintains high standards of conduct by Members and Coopted Members and has adopted a Code of Conduct for Members, in line with its obligations under section 27(2) of the Localism Act 2011.
2. General Principles of Conduct for Members and Co-opted Members
The Code and the Guidance are based on the following General Principles.
2.1 General Principles Members and co-opted Members must behave according to the highest standards of personal conduct in everything they do as a Member. In particular they must observe the following principles of conduct, some of which are set out in law.
2.2 Selflessness Members should serve only the public interest and should never improperly confer an advantage or disadvantage on any person.
2.3 Honesty and Integrity Members should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.
2.4 Objectivity Members should make decisions on merit, including when making appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards or benefits.
2.5 Accountability Members should be accountable to the public for their actions and the manner in which they carry out their responsibilities, and should co-operate fully and honestly with any scrutiny appropriate to their particular office.
2.6 Openness Members should be as open as possible about their actions and those of their authority, and should be prepared to give reasons for those actions.
2.7 Personal Judgement Members may take account of the views of others, including their political groups, but should reach their own conclusions on the issues before them and act in accordance with those conclusions.
2.8 Respect for Others Members should promote equality by not discriminating unlawfully against any person, and by treating people with respect, regardless of their race, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. They should respect the impartiality and integrity of the authority’s statutory officers, and its other employees.
2.9 Duty to Uphold the Law Members should uphold the law and, on all occasions, act in accordance with the trust that the public is entitled to place in them.
2.10 Stewardship Members should do whatever they are able to do to ensure that their authorities use their resources prudently and in accordance with the law.
2.11 Leadership Members should promote and support these principles by leadership, and by example, and should act in a way that secures or preserves public confidence.
3. Training
3.1 Each Member must attend annual training on the Code of Conduct / ethical standards, in addition to any current requirements to receive other training.
3.2 Records of attendance will be maintained by the Constitutional Services team and any apparent failure to attend annual training will be notified in the first place to the Member concerned and if not rectified at the next available session, will be referred to the Standards Committee for further action..."
Further information, including sanctions available for failure to uphold the code can be found here :-
Oldham Councilors Code Of Conduct (click here)
I hope the members of Oldham Council will be challenged to reacquaint themselves with the standards of public office and that they, regardless of party membership, can find their voices to deliver the kind of governance that the people of Oldham elected them to deliver in the first place, and no longer be irrelevant players in "Jim and Sean's 3 Cup Illusion".
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