Saturday, 24 April 2010
Cllr Barrie Durkin's Press Release (Updated)
Barrie Durkin - one of the county councillors who was recently ejected from the Original Independents group for "obstructing the council's recovery" - has released the following Press Release. As it is already in the public domain it is reproduced here without comment.
BARRIE DURKIN Press Release
Notwithstanding the allegations contained within this document, it is beyond me why somebody who gives his primary address as Abergwyngregyn is a County Councillor on Anglesey.
UPDATE: Based on advice from some commenters below I have redacted the name of one person named by Barrie Durkin in his above press release. The purpose of this blog is not to defame people or spread scurrilous rumours - rather it is to try to marshall the provable facts and apply light where previously there has been none. I hope that commenters will also be courteous enough to take the utmost care to avoid making unfounded or un-provable allegations about certain persons or organisations.
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179 comments:
BD....QUESTION ?....is he to be revered as a champion for exposing IACC administrative abuses and blunders, large and small...or condemned as a vengeful obstructive to democratic progress.
As to the former, I think he has much to offer ?
Barrie is committed to stamping out irregular processes which has impeded the Council for far too long.
IOACC will shortly be needing an Intensive Care Board.
It's a sad day when you read a press release such as the above, it does nothing for the Island of whom Mr Durkin says he serves. Of the allegations made, I have no knowledge nor would I - but if they where serious and proved why have we not heard of them. Is this in the best interest of the people who voted for him, are they better or worse off because of this?
Give the man his due Druid, we have had many heroes on Anglesey, all fools who promised to clean up the place, Goronwy Parry, what did he ever do to clean the place up? Bob Parry, the same attitude, at least Barrie stood up to them, and as for Mc Gregor, well he has proven himself now to be part of the cover up, instigated by outside lawyers probably by the Council Insurers to stop the victims getting at the truth and at Justice.
Barrie did the right thing, he stood up to them, the others who work there live in a climate of fear, they have all been told that if they have acted dishonestly, then they would be responsible individually for any damages if the council is sued, so they are all being quiet, and behaving like a bus full of choir boys.
The truth is that if Barrie would talk properly to the press and get his side across, then we would know more names and why all of these terrible things have happened on Anglesey. Let's name and shame them Barrie.
What ever BD is, I can sympathise with him when he claims that IOACC will not accept the message.
I have been trying to get a message across and have been fighting my case since October 2007.
To cut a long story short, I was a recipient of a Town Improvement Grant and a Housing Renovation Grant for work above my shop.
I was not happy with some aspects of the work and complained, but was convinced by Council officers that the work was of the highest of standards.
The builder was on a final snag list, (evidence discovered, shows he had one days work left)when he disappesred off site. After three months I had had enough, I dismissed both agent and builder and called in a independent surveyor.
His report was damning having great concerns about cost-cutting and health and safety issues. The overall quality of the work was poor.
I reported this to the Councils grant section. I then received a letter from Building Regulations stating that they had not been informed of commencement of work and a site inspection was requested. Building Regs found 24 contraventions.
Had I not sacked the builder and the agent when I did, my property would have been signed over to the Council on a ten year leasing scheme, (which was a condition of the grant) a death trap.
I have since discovered and have provided IOACC with evidence that the builder clearly carried out the work for much less than the value portrayed to myself.
I have three files full of lies, deception and cover ups.
I contested the first Internal Audit report. Another Report was published,Report 2. I met with the Internal Auditors and destroyed Report 2. They have now published yet another report full of lies and deception.
My e.mails have been blocked, they refuse to correspond with me apart from through my solicitor, My councillor has been advised by the Director of Finance not to help me any more.
I have overwhelming evidence of fraud, corruption and collusion, but the council are having none of it.
Before any reader tells me to report it to the police, I have tried, but it seems someone else beat me to it.
I am still battling,
As the work extended to my shop I have lost my business, the shop is for sale, I did not have enough money to rectify the problems. One builder said he would have to start from scratch.
IOACC have helped destroy my life.
Ordinary J.Bloggs
Oh, blimey! There's a lot of stuff here that really isn't getting us anywhere. BD's letter is to be congratulated - even if he can't spell or construct sentences to save his life - IF there is any substance to whatever his allegations are; at the moment, we only have mere hints as to what they might be, and no evidence to demonstrate whether or not such allegations are true. We can all say that 'the council has trashed my reputation, victimised me for speaking up, telling the truth, etc'. Few of us can conclusively prove it to a legal standard if we had to defend such allegations in court if it ever went there (a situation anyone writing about such issues should consider a real possibility).
Listen lads, I support any attempt to bring this rubbish council to book; I agree there is much to correct. This blog, used properly and wisely, could be an important, non-censored means in helping to do so. But, I don't think that 'scatter-gun' letters like BD's, published on here, are going to achieve anything other than tend to put you on the wrong side of the Defamation Act - remember that material must only 'tend' to discredit the person(s) in questions - and it will be up to you to prove your allegations as true, not the accused to prove they are wrong.
From a person who writes for a living and always has a copy of 'Essential Law for Journalists' on the desk, I'd advise very great caution.
On the other hand, if you have stuff that you know to be true - and can prove to be true - then there is no question that you should publish and share on Druid's blog. Truth is an absolute defence against a claim of defamation.
Anon 7 - thanks for your timely comment. I have tried on all occasions to only publish what is already in the public domain - like the above press release for instance. Could you possibly give both me and commenters on this blog a short pointer on what is and what is not permitted legally?
How can a system be cleaned up if making a serious allegation is a serious offence within the system.
Druid - only too happy to try and summarise what would take a hefty book to deal with in full.
A good place to start is with the defences against a claim of libel, the written form of defamation. The safest of these, and the one to consider more than any other, is truth. If what you say is true, and you can show it to be true beyond reasonable doubt (e.g. something in writing, photographic or other evidence), then you will defeat a claim of defamation.
The second defence of relevance here is that of 'fair comment'. This is more diffuse, but essentially you must report true facts in a story, some of which may conflict with one another, and then you may make personal judgements about those facts, such as 'this bloke's behaviour is contemptible' or 'this research is junk'. But you can't just isolate the comment without reference to the facts (in practice, you must print the story and your comment/opinion).
Now, it's not safe to assume that you can re-publish something just because it's in the public domain. If the claims made in such a document or article are untrue, then a claim of defamation can arise for each instance of publication.
In practice, unless the allegation is very serious AND is untrue, then blogmeisters need only remove the offending article to keep legal cases at bay (remember, law suits are very, very expensive to bring, so this fact will dissuade just about everyone from filing a case). If it's true and can be shown to be true, then it should remain available for all to read. But in life, such certainty is rarely present.
RE: Anonymous 6's comments on grants and poor builders:
I am simultaneously surprised and not surprised to learn that, 14 years after I sacked my own council-appointed grant scheme builder for taking 18 months to do a job that should have taken 3 months, they are still in the same rut.
The only way I could stop the clown - who I discovered had no previous building experience - from 'working' on my house was to legally prevent him from coming onto my property. I then told him to remove all his material within 7 days. This forced the council to appoint another contractor; prior to my action, they were content to sit back and write endless letters that weren't addressing the issues.
Again, why worry if you get a salary at the end of the month, no matter hard or not you work?
As a County councillor who wishes to stay anonymous for obvious reasons I understand why Cllr Durkin is keeping the substance of his investigations, close to his chest.
Cllr Durkin to my knowledge has been investigating Anglesey County Council since 2004. He knows exactly what he is taking about.
I seen his evidence on most matters.Letters documents, emails, film and photographs and would say, he got the buggers bang to rights with lots more to come.
There's a lot of support for Barrie at Council. Cllr, Goronwy Parry, the Chairman of the ruling group, wrote a letter to him after he was sacked, saying.
"I write to you as a friend although you may doubt this after last night's events".
"I regret any hurt that you have felt and understand how you must feel".
"There are many members of the group who feel your hurt. You may think that your friends have left you, but the truth is that they are still there and will miss you".
"I admire your forthrightness, your sincerity and your firmness that there is a difference between right and wrong. Take this opportunity to carry out you intentions".
"In time you will return in an important capacity within the group. Don't forget that the foot-soldiers of the group are still your friends"
After that, what more can I say, keep at it Barrie, I wish I could be of more help.
What does get us somewhere, is having the courage to stand-up for what we think is right. If you are convinced without a shadow of a doubt you are right then don't be afraid to voice your concerns.
Libel is a rich man's game, therefore if they have the money to sue then they also have the money to compensate.
Let's be frank, investigative journalism is non-existent in North Wales, The Daily Post/HH Mail are spoon fed by the authorities.
The last serious Council corruption case was "Donnygate"" in the 90's. The local Newspaper carried out a six month investigation and forced the reluctant Police to investigate.
There is no hope if Councillor's like Barrie Durkin are reprimanded for probity.
Lug
I doubt if anyone on this blog is blaming Cllr. Durkin for his work. However, it's difficult for us to take any view if we're only fed half the story. There may be good reasons to keep details under wraps, but ultimately, one has to 'put up or shut up' as John Major once famously said.
It is indeed a pity that investigative journalism is dead in North Wales. It's just as sad that, from my experiences on other forums, there is little appetite amongst the public for what they see as 'slagging-off', no matter how serious the allegations.
I suspect from the contents of some of the postings here that some contributors are in a position to expose the truth and gather the evidence to present it to a wider audience. I can only encourage you to do so, but do be sure the evidence is strong.
Presenting factual documentary evidence to any adversarial scrutiny and potential cross-examination by lawyers is a skilled specialised business....do be sure of your facts...and do not waffle, or you will be slaughtered, with costs !
A Lawyer.
That's put the cat among the pigeon's.
Ex, Police Officer, Clive McGregor,so called leader of the ruling group, having gone from a paragon of virtue to the septic tank of abuse and cover up, sacking Cllr, Durkin for being to honest in the process, has a lot of explaining to do. Wouldn't you say druid?
This topic has become strangely quiet, since the Lawyer spoke ?
Could I ask A.Lawyer or Druid, if I can publish extracts from letters I have received from the Council and publish the names of the person in the Council who wrote the letter ? I would call the builder "builder" rather than by name and the agent "agent" They could not deny writing the extracts as I have them in writing.
A Lawyer who gives advice is a fee-earning professional don`t you know....but the free advice on this one occasion is YES, Druid permitting of course...after all we are guests of his blog.
Lawyer.
Is this the same Mr Durkin and former community councilor who is featured in the following Daily Post report see - http://tiny.cc/j82yo ?
Anon 7 - thank you very much indeed for your advice. Very useful indeed.
A.Lawyer - by all means, your advice is more than welcome!
Druid - you can print the name of the author, but anyone who is in any way accused of anything, or tends to be defamed, must not be identified by name or in any way that might reasonably allow that person to be identified (job title, commonly-known nickname, etc.)
You must also be careful, if you do print the name of any individual, to make the identity of that person specific to him/her - successful defamation cases have been brought by someone with the same name as an accused, but who had no relation to the claim being made. Including an address or job title and organisation will usually be sufficient to keep on the safe side of that one.
BATHS ROW BOILS OVER
From the Guardian Series, first published Friday 16th Jul 1999.
LEISURE officers have come under fire following the partial closure of Crewe baths.
The sauna and Pulse Fitness Suite are to remain open during a full structural survey of the building.
Angry pool user Barrie Durkin is calling for the resignation of the council's top legal and leisure managers.
Does this ring any bells???
Resigned
Anon, you must be digging deep to get at Barrie.
Stick this in your pipe and smoke it. Barrie Durkin has already arranged for Lug to meet up with the BBC.
It is the beginning of the end for the fiscal rapists, obviously you have not seen the evidence.
Crawl back under your rock.
Can you believe it!!!! It's our Barrie Again
He keeps popping up like slices of toast!!
From the Guardian Series, first published Thursday 25th Nov 1999.
THE pool safety measures have been slammed by pool user Barrie Durkin as 'scandalous'.
"It is a public relations and cost cutting exercise," he said.
He has contacted the Health and Safety Executive in a bid for a more in-depth examination of concrete roof beams he claims are likely to be corroded.
He claims his fears are prompted by his own observations, knowledge of the building trade and consultation with the Concrete Society.
"The experts there are staggered that these beams have not been examined for corrosion. Of course it would be an expensive exercise, but without those tests I believe there will still be a serious risk to staff, public and also to the men who are going to be working on the roof. I am making a formal complaint as any member of the public is entitled to do," he said.
Mr Durkin is also calling for the resignation of the officers
Resigned
Well done Mr. Anon,
Once again it seems we are to get the Barrie version of 'Trial by Telly' I gues his favourite station HTV told HIM where to stick HIS pipe this time.
Resigned
Yes it Does, I was proved right then as well.
Just as a matter of interest, appertaining to that small matter. The District Auditors found, due to vital records going missing she could not qualify the Head of Leisure Services probity in the affair. That person is now the Chief Executive Of Conwy County Borough Council. Yes the one who's recently being arrested, allegedly on very serious offences and is under court orders to stay away from the Council Offices.
Well there you go, anything else out there that needs explaining please say so.
Cllr Durkin
Counc. Durkin, Sir,
He who lives by the sword.....?
(And this is not a threat of assassination I hasten to say).
I suspect that the above reference to HTV is in relation to the programme "Wales this Week" in which Mr Durkin appeared in a number of programmes about planning applications on the island. It should be noted that Ofcom received two complaints about these programmes but they where not upheld see Ofcom Broadcast Bulletin, Issue 125, 12 January 2009
Bad Anon, we have just witnessed Barrie giving you a factual wedgy.
Barrie I am sure this Anon sent me the message "Outside targets house" on another topic on this blog.
Lug
Cllr Durkin - can I ask why you are much more eloquent on this forum than in your above press release, which is, frankly, ungrammatical in places?
I think Counc. Durkin, since he has found and helpfully chosen to use this platform, has the unique opportunity here to-
1. explain his precise purpose/agenda
2. more importantly, explain how it assists IACC to progress,
Counc. Durkin....over to you ?
Lawyer.
In fairness, although it could be better written, it's what is said, rather then its eloquence, that is most important.
I can't be bothered with people who pick up on spelling and grammar. Can it be understood? is all that matters.
I have a question though; When Counc. Durkin and Counc. Schofield were forced out of the ruling coalition they were told that they could not join any other grouping in the Council. Is this possible? What right has anyone to bar councillors from joining or forming groups of like minded individuals?
Taken to its logical conclusion the ruling groups can ensure their position in perpetuity; no other large groups, no challenge to the established ruling party.
Is this Democracy?
Is this legal?
Anonymous.
Subject: Councillor over to you.
Good Questions and thanks for asking.
The only agenda I have is to contribute to the good governance of the area and actively encourage community participation and citizenship involvement in decision making by the council and its partnerships;
Effectively represent the interests of my electorate division and of individual constituents;
Respond to constituents' inquiries and representations, fairly and impartially; and
maintain the highest standards of conduct and ethics.
By sticking rigidly to these basic requirements along with my duty to uphold the law where as an elected Member:
I must report to the Local Government Ombudsman for Wales and to the Monitoring Officer, any conduct by another member which I believe involved or is likely to involve a failure to comply with the code of conduct.
Report, whether through the authority's confidential reporting procedure ( which I, as an elected member do not have access to!)or direct to the proper authority, any conduct by another person which I believe involves or is likely to involve criminal behaviour.
By upholding these principals I hope I'll be able to help in regaining the long loss respect and trust the County Council desperately requires.
I hope this suffices you question, if not, bring it on.
Cllr Durkin
Barrie can you please reassure the doubting IOACC loving Anon's that IOACC is about to have a granite rock of evidence smashed over it's head in Court.
Lug
I think we are in the grip of "Barrie Mania". Get in their Barrie, they wont dare bring it on it's already running down their leg.
It appears the anti-Barrie anons have scattered. They are probably digging so deep they will come up with Barrie's School Report.
I can not make any comment on your particular issue as it could be classed as being subjudice Lug, but by now it must be more than self evident that, IOACC has some very serious problems on its hands, very serious indeed.
Some so endemic that it may require a complete change of culture, particularly in my opinion in large areas of its corporate governances.
That's where the problems stem from and that's precisely what I'm attempting to expose, particularly in its Legal, Finance and Planning Departments, just keep watching this space.
Cllr Durkin.
Evidence is evidence, hearsay is hearsay and clap trap is clap trap. I nearly got my Chineese
L's wrong......It has all happened before and it is all for one purpose....well done Barrie but four years is a long time to wait eh mate!
You know how much the lads in Cheshire would like to meet you again, PLEASE, and we will bring it on.
Having only recently discovered this 'channel' I must say that I am truly confused.
Is the subject Councillor claiming wrongful administration at his County Council or is he claiming illegal corruption ? Surely, if the law has been broken, there is only one place to present the evidence and that is not on television programmes or Blog sites. If the law has been broken, put up (the evidence) and if has not then please shut up. Running round telling one person this and another one that, hoping someone will do something is rather like the little cowardly sneak from schooldays and we all had experience of them...perhaps that is why Anon 20.32 suggested the School Report, or was the name different in those days.
OTB
Could Cllr Durkin please refrain from naming individuals on this blog, if he has evidence of wrongdoing then it should be handed to the appropriate authority as required of him by he council's code of conduct.
In case people are asking I have no connection with Ynys Môn Council nor any of the people mentioned by Cllr Durkin
Cllr Durkin is of course within his rights to defend his reputation, but I humbly suggest that this is not the forum to do so.
OTB above, Please read about the "Donnygate" scandal of 2002.
The worst local government corruption case since the Poulson scandal of the 1970s ended yesterday with hefty jail terms for a senior Labour councillor and the property developer who bribed him.
The four-year sentence for Peter Birks, former chairman of planning in Doncaster finished the virtual elimination of the old, miner-dominated Labour party in the South Yorkshire town, which has already seen two former council leaders and two former mayors among 21 councillors convicted of fraud.
Most were found guilty of fiddling expenses, often for small sums but damned by a series of judges as part of a wholesale culture of corruption which engulfed the mid-90s administration. But yesterday's verdicts unravelled the much more far-reaching, "rotten network" created by Doncaster developer Alan Hughes, 63, who was given five years.
Lesser fish in a planning scam which stole millions from local council taxpayers' pockets were also sentenced by Mr Justice Hunt at Nottingham crown court, including Birks' partner Stephanie Higginson, a former magistrate, who was given 160 hours community service for aiding and abetting his illegal deals.
In a rare move, Mr Justice Hunt altered one of his sentences after the lunch break. Returning to court, he told Hughes' financial adviser, Gordon Armitage, 62, that the two-year-term he had imposed in the morning was too long in relation to the sentences on Birks and Hughes, and reduced it to 12 months.
He also gave a two-year suspended jail sentence to former Doncaster mayor Raymond Stockhill, 68, who was exposed over dealings with a prostitute three years ago and was too ill to give evidence.
Doncaster's Tory leader, John Dainty, 59, was cleared of corruption, a verdict which ended Labour's prospects of portraying the Doncaster disaster as an all-party affair.
Stockhill's daughter Janette Jones, 36, was also found not guilty of aiding and abetting the system of bribes in return for planning permission which hugely increased the price of undeveloped land.
Mr Justice Hunt told the court that the "Donnygate" scandal had betrayed the public's trust and seen the "worst sort of corruption" - the undermining of previously honest and hard-working elected representatives.
He said: "Public life requires a standard of its own. Power corrupts and corruption in government by those elected by the public strikes at its integrity and at the root of democracy. Fortunately it is rare in this country."
He told Hughes: "You set out to enrich yourself and you bought, by bribery, the support of those local councillors you believed could and would help you."
The unravelling of Donnygate owed much to the playwright Ron Rose, a local resident and former Doncaster Labour councillor, who first blew the whistle with the regional Labour party more than 15 years ago. Frustrated by officials' inaction, and facing threats and intimidation from his enemies in Doncaster Labour party, he went to the media, and a three-year police inquiry, Operation Danum, was launched.
Mr Rose said that he had been made to feel like Dickens' crazy litigant, Miss Flyte, when he took the case to Labour's then HQ in Walworth Road, London. "Parties are so busy fighting elections, raising money and just managing day-to-day, that someone with a bundle of papers and accusations is seen as only one thing: a nuisance."
The unravelling of Donnygate, involving 74 arrests and 2000 interviews, triggered much tougher Labour procedures for selecting local councillors, including tests which have seen a number of veterans failing to win reselection.
Police started confiscation procedures yesterday, which are likely to lead to the forfeiting of Birks' and Higginson's £160,000 farmhouse. This was given to them by Hughes in exchange for planning permission for houses on an area of farmland, which Hughes later sold for £2.25m.
O'dear, OTB, you haven't got a clue, which cave have you just crawled out of?
This is Anglesey the land of Councillor houses and planning scams by the bucket load. come on, get real, you might learn something
Do you think that BD would allow himself to be abused, threatened and bullied if he could just walk in to the police station and report these people?
Do you think he not been down that road already? Their all as bad as one an other.
Clearly you know nothing about BD, if you had suffered as many problems with the council as some of us have over the years, you'd soon be looking for him to stand in your corner and help.
Nothing is ever to much trouble,a true champion of the people. If he does resign from office because the real trouble makers won't, I think there will be hell to play
I hear that Mr Barrie Durkin has also been trying to uncover dodgy claiming of care allowance by a senior labour Councillor already named on this blog as a bully.
Carry on with the excellent work Councillor Durkin.
Will "Angleseygate" be bigger than "Donnygate" ?
"Go get em" Barrie. We, the public are behind you. The sooner we are rid of the rotten apples the better.
Only then, should CMcG talk about recovery.
AB
To fed up, you may know this but
Care allowance is administered by Department for Work and Pensions - they have a fraud hotline (as advertised on TV) and it's the National Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 854 440 – or 0800 678 3722 for Welsh speakers - it can also be done online
Any suspicion should reported to them, let them carry out the investigations.
I think Concerned Citizen shows to much concern.
Cllr Durkin having been wrongly named and shamed by Councillor McGregor in public, has every right to put the record straight, in fact I would be very disappointed if he didn't.
If they don't like it now the boots on the other foot, tough, they brought it on yourselves.
Not only are the public behind you Barrie, many of the councils employees are to.
I think Fed Up means, Councillors Dependence Allowance.
@Concerned Citizen
"Cllr Durkin is of course within his rights to defend his reputation, but I humbly suggest that this is not the forum to do so. "
Well, there's BD's right to expression, and then there's the need to keep names under wraps until someone loses their reputation in a court judgement. The two are separate.
I would humbly suggest that this is THE site for all serious political debate as it relates to Anglesey, and that BD's efforts, which do need a bit of tidying-up to keep lawyers at bay, should be very much welcomed.
Let's not forget that, if many in the council had their way, they'd shut any system of expression down so that they could carry on as before...
Desperate for help after loosing my partner, homeless with children and nowhere to turn.
Now we've a roof and a life to go with it,
thank you Rhino you saved us our lives
I've still not met you, it was all done by phone. Thank you barrie when no one else cared
What a lot of heat !
Lawyers will have a profitable time of it.
Thank you.
Lawyer.
That why Cllr Durkin is called the Peoples champion.
He single handedly on behalf of the People, in the face of adversity stopped the planning application to construct a slaughterhouse waste electricity generation plant right in the middle of one of our International heritage sites. Thats the calibre of Barrie Durkin
He received mass support then, and he's getting the same now.
Lets have more positive stories like that and stop running the man down, after all you might need his help yourselves one day.
It's OTB again.
Well Mr Councillor, in your past yhou were not the little weakling worried about bullies were you, do you remember your acts of 'strength'??
It did not work in Cheshire and I sincerely hope you do not gey away with in your newly chosen land....better that you continue to live on the lovely Isle of Anglesey than come back to Cheshire. What will you try standinf for next time, Con, Lab, Lib, Ind, the Welsh Party or the MRL's
OTB
Dear All, I would like to remind you of what I have written as an update to this post: "The purpose of this blog is not to defame people or spread scurrilous rumours - rather it is to try to marshall the provable facts and apply light where previously there has been none. I hope that commenters will also be courteous enough to take the utmost care to avoid making unfounded or un-provable allegations about certain persons or organisations."
Counc. Durkin.
If TRUTH be told, your pursuit of certain Officers is perhaps, at least partly, motivated by your personal revenge...for them pursuing YOU under the Constitution, for matters of serious misconduct.
Do you deny this ?
OTB again we see.
You sound like a bitter old, put in your place EX Councillor. What's the matter, did Barrie show you up for what you really are as well?
Form what I been reading, he did as much good work in your neck of the woods as he's doing here.
If Cllr Durkin was the slightest bit worried about the to bit bullies, he'd be gone long ago, I know I would.
The fact he's standing up to them shows his real strength, where's yours? Give us your name.
Don't forget, that while the likes of you are slagging Barrie off for doing what is no less than his duty as an elected member, which is very short of here on Anglesey, he's probably out there at this very moment, helping one of his constituents after suffering another one of the council's cock ups. what will you be doing? eh.What will you be doing?
THE DRUID IS RIGHT.
There has been too much unsubstantiated and sometimes puerile nonsense written here of late.
As I wrote before, those making allegations should marshall the FACTS, present them professionally such that they will survive adversarial legal scrutiny and cross-examination, otherwise they will be slaughtered by lawyers, with costs.
I advise that Counc. Durkin is not the best advocate to take serious complaints to any Tribunal.
Lawyer.
Dear Mr Annonymouse, you ask for names but withold yours, there's a brave man / lady!!
What will I be doing.....sitting with my feet up in the knowledge that the hints, innuendo and cowardly suggestions will actually do no more than disrupt even further what was (I assume) a relatively stable societ. Nothing will come of all this, that's the usual situation.Nothing changed in Cheshire. But obviously he hopes to be very well announced for the next General Election.
No doubt the Strong, Brave Councillor would like to see his targets behind bars, does he have any knowledge of such places?? do you have an answer Mr Councillor ?
OTB
Well said Druid.
The small minority of Cllr Durkin's knocking brigade need to lean some respect. Don't they realise that Barrie has a very loving family who support him up to the hilt, how do you think they are copping with such adverse crap.
If I were him, I'd have gone long ago, Anglesey doesn't deserve him.
Go on Barrie, sod them all. You've put the writing on the wall, give them enough rope and they will hang themselves without any more help from you.
Time to look after your self.no one will thank you in the end.
Good luck its been a pleasure knowing you.
A resident of Benllech.
As a fellow Councillor of Barrie Durkin, I've found him to be a very deceptive shrewd operator.
Don't be to surprised if he's not just sitting there with the finding of some investigation he's done which the authority has alread try to bury, ready to blow the top brass to pieces.
DECEPTIVE is an interesting word ?
Define ?
As another Councillor, I can say without a shadow of a doubt, he is.
Its just a pity its come to this.
Had those who turned a blind eye in previous administrations done their duty back then, all this would have being sorted out long ago.
What we can not understand is what does Councillor McGregor, think he's playing at? Barrie was one of our Groups most loyal supporters.
As one of your constituents from Benllech Say's.
"Sod them all" you've done your bit, its all but over bar the shouting anyway, heads are rolling already.
Interesting, from yet another
Councillor....infighting amongst the ruling group, already ? Watch this space and see their slender majority disintegrate !
Any more Councillors want to spill the beans ?
OTB - you sound like someone who`s neck is on the line. You assume wrong and seem to want Barries allegations to be hints, inuendos and cowardly suggestions.
Us Islanders have lived with corruption far too long.
The supposedly virtuous ORIGINAL INDEPENDENTS are now fighting amongst themselves, blaming each other, dropping each other in it, blaming Leader CMcG, and leaking and plotting.....interesting what the spotlight reveals when characters of a certain low-ilk fall out !
The mess created for so long, in this Council was created by an atmosphere of Indifference, no one cared, no one listened.
Some of the victims of this Council have suffered a cruel regime, and today these Councillors face a latent sense of criticsm that they too had not done more to to fight back against them. There seems the often unspoken belief from the victims, that these Councillors should not have been " sheep to the slaughter"
And if there is one single lesson that someone like Barrie Deakin, should take from the people, and embed in the psyche of the people of Anglesey, is that that the people of Anglesey should never again submit to an enemy without resistance.
I'm very sorry for the Councillors of IOACC, because they have let us all down,what we do know for certain is the legacy, human deparavity on a level unfathomable, we all know who I am talking about, yet no one listened, no one cared. The Police laughed, the Council leader laughed and the Councillors closed their eyes to the real signifance of the horrors of what was going on in Anglesey, and this made their contribution even more atrocious.
Their principal preoccupation in the sunny offices in Llaangefni, is to destroy Welsh Businesses and families, I know I survived, I have seen it all at first hand.
Never Again
To everyone
Should Cllr Durkin wish to make allegation about individuals I suggest he does so on his own blog.
Should any of you have any innuendo, allegations or potentially deformity remarks to make about individuals I suggest you do so on your own blog.
To the person who claims to be a Councillor in the comment above on 12:13, 26 April 2010 which says the following:
“As a fellow Councillor of Barrie Durkin, I've found him to be a very deceptive shrewd operator.
Don't be to surprised if he's not just sitting there with the finding of some investigation he's done which the authority has alread try to bury, ready to blow the top brass to pieces.”
I would remind you of the Ynys Môn Council’s code of conduct – section 5.1
6. (1) You must -
(a) not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or authority into disrepute;
(b) report, whether through your authority's confidential reporting procedure or direct to the proper authority, any conduct by another member or anyone who works for, or on behalf of, your authority which you reasonably believe involves or is likely to involve criminal behaviour (which for the purposes of this paragraph does not include offences or behaviour capable of punishment by way of a fixed penalty);
(c) report to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales and to your authority's monitoring officer any conduct by another member which you reasonably believe breaches this code of conduct;
(d) not make vexatious, malicious or frivolous complaints against other members or anyone who works for, or on behalf of, your authority.
The above comment is sad but a true reflection of how the Council have treated the people for generations. When everything is gone, and you don't have anything, what is left is hope- hope will be with you until the end. IOACC won't kill us, all we have to do is fight back! Take the fight to McGreogor, and get him to aplogise before calling in the Police from outside North Wales!
I like that comment
(d) not to make vexatious , malicious or frivolous complaints against other members or anyone who works for, or on behalf of , your authority.
What a load of crap. Is this why the people can't get at the truth? You forgot to add lie and make false statement about the public by an incapable Authority, by incapable I mean inacapabale of doing it's job right.
By the way I can prove that lie, so how do I complain without being ignored? Oh you can't do that! It's ok for the Council to act with malice but YOU cannot.
Barrie Fan
I suggest anon (26 April 2010 21:01) above look up Malice on Wikipedia or on Google for it's legal meaning.
When a thief steal your money and you take it back, does that also make you a thief?
I have googled thief and money and I was right.. malice too was spelt the same as I wrote it, why don't you google something original like Barrie Deakin the hero of Anglesey, it's there I wrote it.
To Anon (26 April 2010 21:31) why don't you start a blog in the name of Barrie Deakin the hero of Anglesey - as you wrote it.
Can Barrie tell us, how many Councillors are Freemasons and is he one himself.
To Anon (26 April 2010 23:09) this is not 'The Barrie Blog' if you have a question for him no doubt he can be contacted via the Council. See website
Well you guys out there, I suspect all the fans are in fact ex-pats from over Offers Dyke...it is odd to me that there has not been one word of Welsh...now that is strange because I am told that the lovely island is predominantly Welsh..hence all official publications are bilgual, is that true? And so children, just before bed time....if Anglesey is really so bad, why don't you all pack up your old kit bags and bugger off to whence you came and give the true islanders some peace! All you are doing is disgracing that beautiful land. Nos Dda
OTB
OTB you sound worried.
I am afraid that this beautiful Island has already been disgraced - by the IOACC that you seem to support.
Yes,Another Councillor.
Council Durkin's, no discriminatory approach at routing out dishonesty has been used by Clive McGregor and his Group for their own ends and now Barrie's done such a top class job and exposed the rotten apples at the top, they don't like it.
Now the Managing Director has declared that there's nothing wrong and any Councillor who dares to raise any issue of dishonesty, will be got rid of.
In making comments after losing his job as the Chief Exeutive of Lincolnshire County Council such as. "The County Council is ruled by bullying, malicious politicians wholes lies have pervaded the authority like a cancer" and that "Politicians are on par with Estate Agents when it comes to respect" it's much like living in Germany under Hitler.
Carl Sargent the Minister for Social justice and Local Government, has made it quite clear that to put things right and move on, we must first accept that there is something wrong. It isn't happening.
I'm afraid to say the previous Anon at 01:15 is quite right.
DRUID.
As I said earlier, this page has degenerated to the point of being poor and puerile reading, so I for one shall avoid it henceforth !.
Nothing of substance anymore.
Druid, Sir, I suggest you close the page ?
Bored.
@ Concerned Citizen,
Never mind codes of conduct; in my experience, there is a culture of dismissiveness and contempt towards the public at the Council in general; it isn't confined to elected members, but is present in many of the senior officers, too.
We need to accept that this island has an insular mentality that has, long ago, destroyed any hope of political or economic progress. Too many people think that you must be local to be of any use to the community, whereas the opposite is more likely true. Too many people are related to one another in the council, or are too closely friends.
The council is, to my mind, a failure. There is no reason why a council should be the best or only way of delivering public services, services they are happy to run into the ground and mismanage for decades. Political point-scoring over issues adds to the sad joke. Inept, rude and power-mad staff sit on their jobs until retirement.
I support properly-run public services, but in our case, we have a total shambles fit only for the bin.
As an employee of Anglesey County Council in the Planning Department I, as with many others feel we are now working in a climate of fear.
We are told not to talk to Councillor Barrie Durkin, unless we have our line manager or a senior officer with us, on the Managing Directors orders.
We've all heard about Councillor Durkins' endeavours, but nothing being said about our own Directors, planning scams.
I don't know whether I want to work here any more.
OTB;
Nice to see the usual Racist xenophobia raising its ugly head. I'll paraphrase your comment about the lack of Welsh on this blog;
"You're all English, Go home you don't belong here."
DERWYDD,
Nid oes unrhyw rwystr i gyfathrebu yn yr hen iaith ar y blog yma, nag oes ?
Cymro.
Druid,
Is the planning officer above for REAL, or is it a mischievous Councillor in disguise, muckraking as usual, in which case we wonder who it might be ?
Cymro,
Nag oes, mi gei di siarad ynrhyw iaith wyt ti'n eisiau.
Derwydd
"We are told not to talk to Councillor Barrie Durkin, unless we have our line manager or a senior officer with us, on the Managing Directors orders."
Yes, there's been a circular to at least all managerial-level staff about contact with Cllr. Durkin. Seems a bit defamatory in itself, that. Unless Mr. Bowles has a cast-iron case against Cllr. Durkin. I'm not sure he has, though. My view is: is the ability of staff within the council so low that they really need to have an entourage to speak to a Cllr.? It smacks of vengeance, to me.
Who doe's this little tin pot dictator think he is. Cllr Durkin is one of the best Councillors on Anglesey, I should know, he comes to me on behalf of his constituents, on a regular basis.
Talk about a dirty tricks campaign, what a nasty piece of work.
This so called, New Managing director shipped in to so-call help Anglesey County Council move forward, after loosing all credability and trust with the people, is known to have caused trouble almost every were he's been.
The Welsh Assemble must have known this when they parachuted him in.
As another employee of the council It appears to me that The new Managing Director should now go back to where ever he came from and if the council had any sense at all,they should make councillor Durkin. The Leader of the council, then we would see some real changes for the better.
Councillor Durkin has his faults, the same as everyone else. but give him his due he certainly knows how to get things done and he does not, unlike some, have to bully anyone to do it.
Surprisingly my number one suspect also peppers short sentences with the the words "whence, hence and henceforth". I know he suffers from numerical dyslexia but "bilgual" is proof that it's not just numbers he has difficulty with.
Lug
Seems to me, the council has a lot to hide. What's this I here about the Director of planning own planning scams?
I think its about time, In stead of attacking Barrie Durkin for doing exactly what the people expect of him. the Managing and Cllr Clive McGregor should go and the Police from an outside force should be brought in to investigate the whole discredited bunch.
By, Anon7 confirming the claims that no employee of the Council can talk to Cllr Durkin, without a line manager or a Senior Officer present, makes it clear, that democracy on Anglesey is dead.
The new managing director, having shown us what a nasty little bully he really is, should crawl back in the hole he came from and take that, back stabbing turn coat McGregor with you
Dear Anon 08.59 27.4
Having once attended a meeting in the Anglesey Council Chamber, the pack I was given was bulky due to the need for two languages. I wholly agree that material should be provided in both languages.
My comment was not racist, I understand Anglesey, or specific areas of the island are predominantly Welsh speaking and so it surprised me that all communications had been in English.
You have a beautifuly island. You have children born of E/W and W/E parentage...it was a bit like that in Bosnia and surrounding states...it is people like you Anon who raise and create problems associated with race.
As I see it (again as it happens) you have a character who is brilliant at innuendo, a quiet word here, a quiet word there....this person claims to know so much but seemingly never actually presents formal FACTS. If there is truly a serious problem, a problem of criminal proportions, then there is an absolute DUTY to present those facts to the proper authorities. If those facts have not been formally submitted, then the individual so many of you are claiming as your hero, is failing in his duties....witholding vital evidence and facts.
Yes, a big brash voice will stir and generate followers, followers who like frightened lemmings will follow blindly or blind folded...do we want a Master Race?
I can assure you, what you see is not what you get....what you get is the nasty, behind the scenes side of the man.
When I visit and drive over the (Telford) bridge I see the sign MON MAM CYMRU....Well, he wanted to be a councillor and got there, he wanted to be Mayor well possibly, he wants to be an MP but don't let it get to stage where the sign is to read DURKIN TAD MON
Lug, I know that I sometimes hit the worg key, I wonder why it is only my mistakes you single out??
Apart from asking Mr Durkin why he did not respond to 26th 11.23 I say goodbye
OTB
OTB.
You talk sense, thank you.
This page has been hijacked by muckrakers and mischief-makers without it appears much if any evidence of the so-called abuses which they allege.
I have spoken before of solid EVIDENCE, without which those making allegations will be slaughtered............. ?
There is no hope if Councillor's like Barrie Durkin are reprimanded for probity.
Lug
25 April 2010 11:45
Lug, you might be PC but not GC.
Your "Councillor's" refers to the plural, you have your apostrophe wrong...but then who is perfect?
Barrie perhaps!!
If David Bowles is such a champion of public accountability and impeccable council operation, why is it that he, the council, and the company which the council pay to use him refuse to tell us who pay his monthly wage how much it is? They might try to dodge a Freedom of Information Act on the grounds that it's not in our interests to know. But they haven't yet refused. In fact, they haven't replied at all. The Information Commissioner has told them to reply within 10 days of a recent notice - and that was much more than 10 days ago. I assume it's because the council's knickers are in a twist because they must, under FoIA release the information, but may well have undertaken a contractual confidentiality clause. Confidentiality about the salary of a public position? A new law from April 01 says they must release this information in audits. So, ACC, where is it, eh?
So, who's his direct employer? Solace Enterprises, which is a cosy spin-off of SOLACE, a body that represents chief executives. Here's what the media think of the arrangements:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8303305.stm
I have been following the discussion avidly but I am not sure if this blog can take the issues much further.
They certainly has received a good airing. I hope that both Council members and officers have been reading the comments and are now ready to work together to provide honest representation and efficient service to the residents of Anglesey, or am I being too wishful?
In my view failure to do so is unacceptable and I ask the question what needs to happen next? An option would be to disband the present council and hold elections. Then maybe the electorate can really question the actions and motives of their propective members. I would be tempted to ban any councilor who has served more than 3 terms to encourage new blood. Officers should then come under scrutiny and if necessary reapply for their jobs to panel of independent professional people used to selecting people for senior roles. Blue sky thinking or just pie in the sky?
Anon, I apologise for the apostrophe. Never was that good at English in school i'm Holyhead born and bred but do have about fifty Welsh speaking Goskin cousins on the island.
Anyway, I'm going to the Council meeting tonight in the Trearddur Bay Hotel.
***** Surveillance Log **********
7.30 pm - Target Lug on the move
8.00 pm - Do not enter into dialogue with this man
8.10 pm - He is reaching for his file
8.11 pm - B A N G
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I will make sure a complimentary copy of Barrie's Press Release is contained in each menu for tonight's meeting.
The Trearddur Bay retirement brigade are in for a feast.
Lug
Mr. Lug,
I take it the is one of your council meetings in Trearddur Bay tonight.
I would have assumed all members would by now have copies of
the unedited version as originally posted.
Please blog-on later to tell us all the outcome.
OTB
In reply to OTB 11:52
You clearly have no I'dear how Anglesey County Council's complaints procedure works particularly if there against any of the officers at the top end of the trough.
You raise your concern, then after a while you get a letter telling you that an investigation has taken place and there's nothing wrong!
Woop's, there it goes, under the carpet.
You raise it again, you then get threatened. The bullying boy tactics come later.
Having been through all this, and forced to go public, Cllr Durkin will not have done so, without rock solid evidence.
After 35 year of campaigning and helping people, this lot won't know what's hit them, if he really gets going.
OTB - I'm grounded, my cape is in the wash.
To see if Councillors are treated the same as anyone else on Anglesey.
Does anyone Know, whether Councillor Peter Rodgers, has being questioned by the police, or even prosecuted for his alleged threatening and violent behaviour against Nick Bennett last week?
OTB - I've just examined all of your posts and I must say you are getting slightly better at concealment. I noticed the deliberate waffle about the sign on the bridge in an attempt to put me off the scent.
How do you think I have been able to overturn every Internal Audit Report. Why do you think I got up and let myself out of the finance department unattended. Why did I spend twenty minutes in the toilet by your office on arrival and why did I spend twenty minutes in the toilet upstairs right next to legal services.
Here is a clue: What rhymes with Lug?
OTB - Over the bog
Dearest Lug,
Whatever keeps you in the toilet for twenty minutes is absolutely your business but why should the public be funding your thrills?
Well, you talked about digging deep earlier and I thought about what rhymes with Lug....of course I know exactly what you mean but that is no use at all and if that is how your favourite Beefy man, is he related to the owner of Harrods, collects his knowledge, that knowledge can never ever be evidence.
However thinking about Lug brings me to thinking about fishing, that's how to catch them but they make your fingers all brown and smelly, Lugs that is!!
Bite Bite
OTB
This is getting exciting Anonymous of 23.18
Do keep your explanation decent but who was with you in the toilet? Was it someone leaving files behind? Someone mentioned Donnygate, could this be Boggygate
OTB - I'm an avid angler and if you want Lug then you have to dig very deep.
Since we are mates, I will explain how best to catch big fish from scratch:
Step 1 - Find turbulent water
Step 2 - Catch a shrimp
Step 3 - Use the shrimp to catch a small fish
Step 4 - Use the small fish as live bait to catch a bigger fish
Hint, always use treble hooks for live bait as they have a tendency of getting off the hook. The secret is not to strike the first knock which is the bait trying to escape from the circling predator, but to give it plenty of slack allowing it to make a dart for freedom and at that precise moment the predator without hesitation strikes hard, most of the time head-on. All your left with is the tail hanging out of it's mouth.
It takes years of practice, I hold the Bolsach record for two species namely Red Herring and John Dory.
Tight lines.
Lug
Over the Bog - Forgot to mention Tug rhymes with Lug. I had a tug before and after the meeting and left the finance office unattended just in case I poked the secretary in the eye with my erection.
May well be "Boggygate" whats going on clearly stinks.
They said Donnygate was a dull label.
Let's get our think caps on and see who can make us laugh the most.
Your neck on the line OTB ? judgement day cometh.
Only one man wears a cape around here and he irons his, remember.
How many properties have gone through the grant system with no building regs involved OTB ? with no concern whatsoever for future council tennants. If no one checks, who knows eh ? your not bothered are you.
There could be dozens of accidents out there waiting to happen. Lets hope one is not fatal, for all your sakes.
What knowledge can never ever be used in evidence, an e.mail maybe (marked redacted but released by accident), advising the builders secretary, (who is fondly called by her first name) to raise five (what I believe to be false) invoices or maybe the letter, claiming that there were no contract instructions on file issued by the agent of which, when discovered in July 2009 stamped Isle of Anglesey County Council Planning Department 16-10-2006 lowered the overall contract value considerably.
Yes, the big man has seen my file, and he has taken photocopies of the e.mail, the late appearing invoices, the invoice with its interim number tippexed, letters, the contradictory audit reports, the made up contract summaries, etc.
Maybe I should tell the public who I think you are OTB. What do you reckon Senior Officer ? and publish extracts from certain letters. The public could then see what knowledge can never ever be evidence.
I hope every reader is insulted by your comment. You are almost admitting you have done wrong but say the evidence is not good enough.
The days of using the grant applicant to claim WAG funding for the Town Improvement scheme in full, for work that has been carried out for half the value is over I would say.
The surplus WAG funding which is paid to the builder anyway (because the applicant is unaware that the TIG contract value has been reduced drastically)can only cover the internal Housing Renovation works. If this is the case who saves money ? Not the applicant because he pays his HRG contribution which he later discovers was NIL.
NIL contribution and is the reason why the applicants HRG contribution was not posted to the Councils computer system (computer print out) but is shown as payment made to date on the Interim Progress Payment certificates.
The Internal Memorandums discovered in Nov 2009 shows that the Council were well aware that the applicants contribution was Nil. The Internal Memorandums sent to the applicant earlier in Sept 2008 had another document photocopied over the top and the applicant could not see the NIL -Crafty.
Now, even though the applicant did pay a HRG contribution, the latest Internal Audit Report alledges that the agent and applicant may have misled the Council into believing that the applicant had paid his contribution.
I did, can prove it and can prove that I didnt have a contribution to pay in the first place.
I would like to thank you Councillor Durkin for meeting with me and for all your help.
By the way readers, I`m Gwyn Pierce, ordinary Joe Bloggs above. I wish I could share my files with all you readers. Councillor Durkin could`nt believe what I was showing him, "this is shocking" were his words to me.
As for the £30/35K I owe the builder for work he has not yet invoiced, (as well as the funding left in residule), were Internal Audit having a laugh in March 2009 or did the builder really make the claim.
Strange why the builder has never requested any monies from me, or did he discover the contract value that was portrayed to me by the Council (senior officer)and was bullied into making the claim.
Who knows, lets hope it all comes out in the wash.
There you have it, OTB is a Senior Officer.
One comment deleted for naming persons and organisations.
This page has degenerated further, Druid.
If there is incontrovertible evidence of abuse/corruption at/by IACC, this is not the platform for it.
Compile a detailed file and give it to the Police, not BD.
Lets all with something intelligent to contribute focus on commenting on the Druid`s sensible reconstruction framework above and leave out the trash and innuendos.
I agree with Anon 08:50. I know IOACC get a lot of people very hot under the collar - but if people have concrete evidence of abuse they should present them to either to Police or the Public Services Ombudsman. Mud-slinging here is not the answer.
O'dear again here we go again.
Hasn't Anon 08:50, realised by now, that those of use who've done all that, have got nowhere.
The Police are as bad as the Council. Cover up after cover up.
Still what can you expect when you find some ex bobbies are involved.
Well Lug you have disappointed me....I sat through the wole meeting, you might have seen me carefully watching the time for the avents you predicted....anyway, like this BD publicity site, it did not get anyone very far...I do hope the (prestige) hotel and others do get their rates reviewed that was terrible.
We will have to get together to do some fishing because this is getting nowhere
Anon 05.41 you sad person, up at such an early hour just to tell me my neck is on the line...
I better look over my shoulder to make sure no one comes in and catches memis-using the office equipment....
Do you have my collar size?
OTB
"You have done all that and got nowhere.."
It means that you have no credible substantive evidence of any wrongdoing...only some vague perception possibly based on a lack of incisive knowledge of laws and procedure...and NO CASE.
Stop bleating and boring us all.
END OF STORY.
To the Druid,
Your site is amazing and helpful. There does seem to be aneed for the people to vent their and ger and express their feelings. Rather than let the BD Press Release page degenerate as it has done, how about an IOACC Page and just let it run?
To the mass correspondents,
Virtually all (councillors) in the Crewe - Nantwich area agreed that BD sought nothing more that publicity. It was, therefore agreed to ignore him and guess what? He went away, that is you bad luck over there!
OTB
On the Bog, I hope you don't mind a bit of toilet humour.
What causes malfaeceance in public office? Bad bowels.
This is for Mr Barrie Durkin, who does seem to have gone very quiet. Quiet since he was asked
26/4 11.23 to answer a question, he was asked again 27/4 11.52 but still remains silent, which we know is not his usual way.
Now then, having read the big words like "appertaining to" and "malfaeceance" , words I have heard spoken by Mr. BD one wonders why he, seemingly, seems guilty of that same "malfaeceance" . Why did he ignore / take no action regarding a planning application at
Traeth Bychan / Dinas? It was on his territory but there is nothing on file from him, it is not in the (public) minutes of the Community Council as a Planning Application and yet is was passed. Planning seems to be the forte of Mr BD but was he blindfolded on this one? Or of course, perhaps he was "bullied" to keep quiet, ah little thing, there there.
OTB - Have you found the taps yet?
Actually I was at the meeting last night, your press officer told me 7 so I went at 6 after he warned me twice it was strictly business. The old Burgee has changed a lot, I used to go there in the seventies and so did Albert Owen, Glenys Kinnock and Clive McGregor in his official capacity.
Information gathering is what I do best. Turning myself into a social hand grenade by making a complete fool of myself in Public is not my style. A hoax that had you on your toes.
Lug - Decent Law Abiding Citizen.
"Information gathering is what I do best"
OK, clear enough... if this is this person Lug`s only claim to fame, when you have completed your gatherings, do you know what to do with it for maximum effect, we wonder ??
Learn the art of presentation, logical reasoning, persuasiveness... and articulation.
So far, so absent ?
Lug,
Sorry to disappoint you butI was a long way away from any meeting on Anglesey. I do not understand your comment about taps unless you mean 'tapes' or perhaps 'tapping' .
I do enjoy reading your pearls of wisdom but do not think it sensible to forecast or announce the word 'BANG' at any public meeting, I know young people greatly at risk of such things.
OTB
SURE IS
Over the Bog - Life could be worse, you could be an egg,
You only get laid once and it takes five minutes to get hard and only two to go soft. You share your box with five others and after having spent time in the hot tub you get your head bashed in and get a good poking from a load of soldiers. But the worst thing of all is, the only chick who ever loved you enough to sit on your face was your Mother, so life really ain't that bad, even if you have been caught over the bog with your knickers in a twist.
Lug
To Anon 16:38.
YES, IT IS.
The subject who caused all the material on this page is too scared to answer the questions posed.
He is obvously adding bits under Anon.but being sneaky is his usual trick, always has been, allegedly. So big yet so weak.
Under allegedly, is it true that he has now purchased land in the middle of the island from his similarly ejected buddy ?
I wonder if any of the numerous comments above come from his former landlord. No probably not otherwise there might have been a thank goodness somewhere along the lines.
Resigned
Lug,
I think I am falling in love with you
OTB
Great blog. Gets funnier by the hour.
Over the bog, are you sure you never came out the bog.
On a more serious note, if all these allegations are true and councillors and staff are aware of the goings on, you should be doing more collectively.
Well Said 19:49
To all you BD Knockers.
If you had spent as much time looking into your own squalid affairs, as you are at knocking our Councillor BD. The Isle of Anglesey County Council wouldn't be in so much disrepute.
So when you speak of weakness, you need look no further than yourselves.
As for BD. Lets get positive, why not set up a blog of support, that will really show how many people on Anglesey want their Council sorting out. Or is it a matter that your all mouth with no substance?
J.S. Benllech.
lived here for over 40 years.
I'm sorry to have had to do it but I've deleted several comments which made allegations (however obliquely) against various persons and organisations. I've also deleted a few others which were just offensive or might dissuade other commenters from joining the debate.
Well said J.S. Benllech.
I for one want to see change.
Get rid of the old regime and have their sqalid affairs investigated would be a start.
Why are so many people duped by innuendo and smears. Why does this man not publish his vast knowledge and hand it to more than one authority,that way, each one knowing others have seen it too, they will properly investigate. The truth is, he has no hard evidencem it is a game to get publicity a game he is winning.
I guess it was people like you fans who believed in and supported Mr Hitler. You know nothing but like lemmings follow.
Apart from all this, the weather is super
Druid
As one who has not said anything yet, I find the comments of Anon 22:10 very offensive. If that person is typical of the ones BD is trying to expose, it's no little wonder why BD has been encouraged to sort the Council out. Yes you read right first time, encouraged.
Brynteg Resident.
Anon 22:10. Give us a break and stop trying to undermine everyone intelligence.
If Councillor Durkin has made, and not for the first time were told, such serious allegations against so may Council officials over the years without any solid evidence. how come he's never being sued?
I have never meet him, but it sounds to me that he knows exactly what he's doing, just sitting back and letting the perpetrator hang them selves. In fact, don't be surprise if we don't see the Council topple before to long.
Druid,
I guess you did not expect so much intercommunication as a result of publishing the undated Press Release. I feel that I, like so many others took our eyes off the ball (absolutely no pun intended) and have rabbitted on.
The author of the Press Release refers to his "allegations" and also refers to "dishonesty perpetrated by his officers", there is not one word suggestingany problems with elected councillors so I take it the author feels all those problems have been sorted out.
Instead of so many being stirred-up by "allegations" it is time for the author to write down the FACTS, publish them here, then we can all read and evaluate. Once the facts have been presented, people would have the genuine opportunity to severally ensure the facts are investigated properly, there could then be no excuses, under such wide observation, for matters to be put aside.
Please do not forget, I have seen it all before and am glad our area was allowed to settle down again once the problem had come over to you. One day your problem will pass and things will become peacable for you too.
OTB
The jap's eye on the pyramid of corruption has shaken it's last drops.
In good old toilet homour this will go down in the anals of life.
OTG - I look forward to slipping your twisted knickers off and give you exactly what you been gagging for.
Honey, I'm home!!!!!
Lug
ALL.
I know BD is absolutely revelling in the furore he has whipped up....hugely egotistical....self-appointed champion of the so-called underdog...encouraging and compiling dodgy allegations of imagined and perceived abuse by those often not sufficiently intelligent to UNDERSTAND that they have no case in LAW.
Where does this page end ?
Druid...your blog has been hijacked by undesirables and aliens.
Bored.
A person who is Intolerant of any I'dears other than his own, is a Bigot.
Ring any bells for you OTB? it should.
Anon. 8.48
Sir, there are I`dears (ideas)...and intelligent ideas........!
Anon 8:48
YOU MAKE MY CASE.
OTB. 00:27
Your clearly bankrupt of idears.
If you really want to see some of the many pieces of evidence that Councillor Durkin has, You might wish , but I doubt it, to watch a recording of Wales This Week, 3.11.08, regarding one of the biggest cons Anglesey has ever seen.
Here you will see the Councillor involved, own up to everything Councillor Durkin, said about him.
Not another factual wedging surely.
OTB should now get his cape out, fly off, and do what the ouzel bird did. Get my drift.
Dead right,
Clear off OTB, muckrake somewhere else.
If Councillor Durkin can help the People of Anglesey rid it of just some of is problems, he'll always get my vote.
O'h what a stuffing.
Just watched a copy of the tape recording mentioned in Anon 09:20 at my neighbours house.
Why has this Ex County Councillor not been arrested, charged and sentenced yet. Or has he been given immunity, for favours done?
If this is typical of the dishonesty being covered up at the Council, Councillor Durkin, needs all the support we can give him.
Well done, Councillor Durkin.
I have no doubt Police official's have tuned in and it would be interesting to receive some form of input. Sorry would be a good start.
People like OTB make me sick.
Dragging a man down when he is trying to do his job.
Get real whoever you are.
IOACC has been at the centre of allegations, since 1998. The Donnygate scandal above, could happen anywhere.
Lets not pretend that everything was hunky dory, before BD made these startling allegations. It was not and far from it.
BD, you have plenty of support, keep fighting for Anglesey.
Benllech
Barrie Durkin is a breath of fresh air in a place where the rotting stench of systemic decay hangs in the air.
AJP
I will shortly post extracts from IOACC correspondences relating to audit checks performed by Internal Audit and Finance Department.
You will be able to decide for yourself whether public money is safe in their hands.
I would best describe it as a lucky dip approach to accounting for public money.
Lug
When will we get at the truth Barrie, when will we get equality and justice, when will the inhabitants of this Island be treated fairly?
There are so many scandals and ruined lives, and there is no end in sight. Whatever you decide Barrie, however you get at the cause of this mess, please remember those who have suffered inhumane treatment, suffering and torture at the hands of these awful bureaucrats.
People have died for a cause, and I know that may sound extreme, but, it should only be fair to remind you Barrie, that people have had it really hard on this Island. There is one case that is beyond a joke, a case of horrific abuse by IOACC, but as usual, the whole lot has been ignored by the public, I hope you have the strengh and determination to see this through, because the IOACC, will break you, they are determined to break you, because you are now the enemy, you have criticised them all, and they will never forget. You'll be able to count your friends on one hand, when you need them, you'll never see them, but your true friends and the victims will be praying for you.
By the way, for the benfit of the ignorant and the racist, I am a hogyn lleol.
Iar Wen.
It's strange how decent men all march towards a battle, then when the bullets start flying they all head for the hills. I'm referring to the people who support causes and then disappear as soon as they feel any trouble coming back at them.
There have been a few Barrie Durkin figures on Anglesey, some of them start off well, then the rot sets in, their fate is sealed, by the promise of untold wealth, the fat juicy fees and perks,
We need a character who is determined to clean out the cow sheds, carthu'r cytiau as they say in this part of the world. Well they have all tried to clean this cowshed of a council out, and the success rate has been pretty poor.
At the moment we have a new man with a pitchfork in his hand, where do you think he should start?
My suggestion would be simple, Barrie your going to need a bigger fork!
Fergie Bach
Druid,
I have avidly followed the momentous discussion on this thread and now feel compelled to contribute.
I am a former senior officer in the SIS and I can reveal that Anglesey has played a part in every major conspiracy and mystery during the twentieth century! The Official Secrets Act prevents me from disclosing all that I know appertaining to these matters, but here is a summary.
1. Anglesey was responsible for the sinking of the Titanic after the White Star Line declined a request for it to dock at Holyhead before crossing the Atlantic. The iceberg story is a myth. Is it a coincidence that certain eyewitness accounts reported that the so-called iceberg was the size and shape of the island? Under cover of darkness, Anglesey broke loose from her moorings and made passage into the North Atlantic bent on revenge. The compelling evidence for this account is that no-one could provide an alibi for the whereabouts of Anglesey on the evening of 14-15 April 1912.
2. Wartime PM Churchill proposed that Anglesey be given to Soviet Russia as part of the Anglo-American War effort. Anglesey was to be towed to Murmansk as part of a large Arctic convoy and melted down by Stalin to make spanners for the Soviet war effort. The ploy failed only because they couldn’t squeeze Anglesey past the Mull of Kintyre without arousing suspicions in Northern Ireland. Is it any wonder that Anglesey went red in the election of October ’51?
3. A crack squad of officers from the Public Works Department of the then Anglesey County Council assassinated JFK on the orders of LBJ and Gwalchmai-born J Edgar Hoover. They practised in a mock-up of Dealey Plaza constructed in Amlwch Port.
4. Many ex-Nazis survived Hitler’s bunker and fled to Anglesey. There is strong evidence to suspect that Martin Bormann was Vice-Chair of the then County Council’s Planning Committee up until the mid 1960s before he retired to Rhos-on-Sea.
I could go on but National Security forbids me. For those of you interested in pursuing these matters I can give you more information. It goes everywhere, all the way to the top. Just follow the money. Contact me by visiting the on-duty psychiatrist at Hergest and say that you are Princess Leila and you have come to butter the hair of the Jedi Master.
Peter Whimsy-Wright
Anon Council Officer's have been warned not to post anything on this site.
The SFO are going to kick in the bog door and drag the bent bastards out by the scruff.
BUG
Stop Press.
To all contributors of this Blog site.
Cllr Barrie Durkin's axe is now in full swing. He's taken the head of County Councillor, Goronwy Parry, tonight. With more resignations in the pipe line for tomorrow
It is reported that, Cllr Durkin's demands for more resignations include,the Interim Managing Director and the Leader of the Council.
AMJ
HAHA
Here we go.
Bye Bye Clive.
To little, to late, their pockets are full.
The place is buggered, The damage is done.
Never mind son, your doing your best,
Keep standing up straight, and go get the rest.
Keep your chin up Councillor Parry, theres still a lot you can do for the good of Anglesey.
You will be respected wherever you go, for standing up for what is right.
Anon 29.4.10 (21:45) - I am glad to see David and Clive are talking sense at long last.
Hello BUG,
I asked the SFO if, in view of the suspicion that local complaints were 'shelved' , if a report of fraud could be sent to both the local office and to the SFO so that both were aware of the sub mitted EVIDENCE being in two places, a reply is awaited.
Cheers
OTB
Dear 29/4 09.20
Gossip on Wales This Week is TV entertainment
WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE? Present the evidence
OTB
I'm sorry to have to do this but I've had to delete a few more comments for naming names and organisations not already in the public domain; also for generally offensive comments which are not conducive to debate.
Good morning Druid,
I hope you get rest at some time in each 24 hours.
When you advise you have had to delete, could you identify the blog/sg concerned?
Regards,
OTB
It does eem there are some nasty little bloggers out there. I get the feeling OTB is not against BD because in all I have read he/she only asks for EVIDENCE. LUG, don't go getting over excited,your flushed face might give you away. You had better nip off for another twenty minutes next door!
Next in line
Anon 10.58 - I know exactly who you are and who told you that I was next door. He was talking to you when I met you earlier and he seen me in the Plaid office shortly afterwards when he went to the Labour office. Your spy has dark hair, a big red tie and a masonic pot belly just like yours.
How on earth did you get into your elevated position when you where in remedial throughout school and left school without a single qualification. You cannot read or write properly and cannot turn on a calculator let alone use it. Am I right!!
For spite, I have photo's of you going to the Holyhead Lodge with voluminous files on more than one occasion and intend posting them on here if the Druid allows me.
For the record, the Druid has seen enough evidence to agree there is most certainly a case for IOACC to answer.
Lug
LUG,
DO NOT make a mistake, please. You have absolutely no idea who I am, honestly.
I have enjoyed your many comments and have no wish to see you get into any sort of trouble.
Bad to put down the brotherhood, they do good things, I believe.
Anon
Anon, don't play games with me. You said next door and I sussed you out in a flash.
Of course your going to deny it, I'm going to make you famous.
LUG,
was that you at 14.18 ? Honestly you really do have the rong one here, you mentioned where mother hen sat, better thgat than egg on YOUR face.
Anon
I am very sorry Annon 17:08. I just realised what you meant about next door, I really thought you were someone else.
I am really hooked by this it's better than Pobol y Cwm. Does anyone care what BD has done? I can't make head or tail of it all but enjoyed the name calling and the idea of Masons having political power! We only go to Lodge for a good beer-up once a month and to laugh at those jealous coves outside who are gnashing their teeth to get invited in!
Can we get Gene Hunt in to investigate as Anglesey is firmly stuck in the 80s and needs to ditch parochialism and take on the challenge of living on a beautiful island with road and rail links the rest of Wales would kill for. In contrast, just visit Corris on a wet Wednesday on the A470 "main road through Wales" with its single track hump-backed bridges!
If you are a mason and haven't yet turned a £5K plot in a field into a £100K plot with planning permission, better do it fast before the whole thing is stopped.
Boaz
Peter Whimsy-Wright - brilliant! more please!
Druid,
My incendiary revelations have aroused the enmity of my opponents: those who live in fear of being exposed for their wrongdoing.
Since breaking my silence on your blog, death threats have been made against both me and my budgie and anthrax has been placed in my talcum powder. I have received poison pen letters, but most correspondents from your parish have kindly added their names and addresses and the Anglesey Special Branch are currently investigating. May I take this opportunity, please, to request that all future death threats addressed to me be sent to P.O. Box 101, RU12 EIEIO, Holyhead LL65 1BP.
I have been required to go into hiding and I currently reside in an RSPCA “safe house” in the Llanddona area. Other than by messages on your blog (I use the codename “Anonymous”), my only means of communicating with the outside world is by means of coded messages contained within the crossword in the “Mail”. But they will not silence me!
I am the secret agent who exposed a diabolical scandal in a small, insignificant public body where the empolyees wrote their names in leaving cards to their colleagues using their office biros! For more such shocking, sickening examples see my autobiography, “Fly Catcher” (Gwasg Gomer, 1989).
I will continue to expose wrongdoing and conspiracy on your blog in the name of the people and whatever the risks to my wellbeing!
But, dear Druid, from now on, and on the advice of my SIS protectors, I may be forced to use an assumed name.
Peter Whimsy-Wright.
Very humours Peter.
More please.
keep it coming and don't stop looking over your shoulder.
Just brilliant! When they're not making one's life a misery it is, sadly, laughable.
Mr Whimsy-Wright
I will continue to carefully watch the Mail crossword for any more communiques from you or your budgie. I strongly understand the danger you are in - but would like to remind you to also look out for the fabled witches of Llanddona too if you are hiding out in that part of the Island.
Keep safe & keep in touch
The Druid
Hey Peter & Druid, never mind the Witches of Llandona (though of course one does need to look out over there as well just in case) but what about the womenof Dulas who so effectivly drove of those marauding Vikings (or was it Durkings?).
Dulas is littered with the bones of the fallen.
Now then, betyou did not know that the Saxon Hoard was actually being carried off from Ynys Mon to a safer place pending a Durkin ancestor discovering that it had been in the tractor shed of an ancient Anglesey Councillor once resident in the old offices of Twrcelyn. Then again, Tor Celyn was the landmark for the Standard Beareres chanting the words of their ancient craft to find the hidden treasure. Too may, wronly believe that Parys Mountain was only mined for copper, yes there were a lot of coppers around, MacTavish, MacHine, and probablysome McGregors.
But under it all was the GOLD, the GOLD, it drove them half mad. The secrets may be found by only a very few skilled in the ancient crafts of keeping stum, half was hideen on Llandonna beach but most of that was discovered last year, the rest is under a static caravan 'somewhere' on the island.
When you see those yellow Heddlucopters whizzing round, they are watching every councillor to see if any go to a static, so keep your eyes open you fellows and report back to base immediately on seeing anything suspicious. You can even report it to the SIS, the SFO or the Womens Institue
Have a good one
Ah yes, the crossword.
One down, lots to do
DRUID
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Little Brother
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