I return again to the unlawful involvement of Carmarthenshire County Council, or more specifically the unlawful actions of certain senior officers, in the Head of Planning's libel case against ourselves.
As I have mentioned, we have been told by at least four councillors that we are correct and the case was backed all the way - I would go as far as to say it is common knowledge. It is always good to have something in writing though, a loose pen is so much more useful than a loose tongue - and this is just what we have from our very own County Councillor, Tom Theophilus who quite happily clarfies that the whole business was an 'exercise' on behalf of the Council.
We know this already of course but it is always useful to have further proof. This letter, along with the stamped document, circumstantial evidence, contradictions through the Freedom of Information and the council's use of external defamation lawyers during the case (identity not disclosed - of course!) confirm the fact that the council, as I have stated before, have been dishonest not only to the High Court but to the press and the general public.
I wonder how the council legal team will wriggle out of this one? It will be interesting to see how they will react to what amounts to a signed confession by a County Councillor.
My request for the documents from the Wales Audit Office concerning their 'investigation' into all this, including the amendment to the constitution makes for quite disturbing reading. Even though, as you may imagine, the information released was absolutely minimal (with no list of the items which were refused), it is quite clear that the Council are the dominant partner in their relationship with the WAO. There is also evidence that both the council officers concerned and the WAO were far more concerned about shielding themselves from any bad publicity through uncomfortable revelations, particularly via the internet, than getting to the truth of matters.
The WAO is clearly on a back foot as a body which is supposed to keep an eye on public funds, it is weak and ineffectual and, in Carmarthenshire anyway, blindly accepting, without question, any nonsense spouted by this local authority.
Through the partial and disjointed email correspondence released, it is quite obvious that we are classed as persistent complainants, but this is not about potholes or litter bins - it is about the theft and abuse of public resources to silence criticism about dysfunctional departments and individual 'irregularities'. Injustices on this scale warrant persistence.
The importance of all this is that, had the court known the extent of the council's involvement in the early stages, the libel claim made by the Head of Planning would have been thrown out - the court would have recognised it for what it was - an unlawful claim by a public body masked by the pretence of a private claim.
We are considering our next move.
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/04/ignorance-is-no-defence-unless-you-are.html
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/04/carmarthenshire-county-council-and.html
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/12/libel-funding-carmarthenshire-council.html
and further posts throughout blog.
As I have mentioned, we have been told by at least four councillors that we are correct and the case was backed all the way - I would go as far as to say it is common knowledge. It is always good to have something in writing though, a loose pen is so much more useful than a loose tongue - and this is just what we have from our very own County Councillor, Tom Theophilus who quite happily clarfies that the whole business was an 'exercise' on behalf of the Council.
We know this already of course but it is always useful to have further proof. This letter, along with the stamped document, circumstantial evidence, contradictions through the Freedom of Information and the council's use of external defamation lawyers during the case (identity not disclosed - of course!) confirm the fact that the council, as I have stated before, have been dishonest not only to the High Court but to the press and the general public.
I wonder how the council legal team will wriggle out of this one? It will be interesting to see how they will react to what amounts to a signed confession by a County Councillor.
My request for the documents from the Wales Audit Office concerning their 'investigation' into all this, including the amendment to the constitution makes for quite disturbing reading. Even though, as you may imagine, the information released was absolutely minimal (with no list of the items which were refused), it is quite clear that the Council are the dominant partner in their relationship with the WAO. There is also evidence that both the council officers concerned and the WAO were far more concerned about shielding themselves from any bad publicity through uncomfortable revelations, particularly via the internet, than getting to the truth of matters.
The WAO is clearly on a back foot as a body which is supposed to keep an eye on public funds, it is weak and ineffectual and, in Carmarthenshire anyway, blindly accepting, without question, any nonsense spouted by this local authority.
Through the partial and disjointed email correspondence released, it is quite obvious that we are classed as persistent complainants, but this is not about potholes or litter bins - it is about the theft and abuse of public resources to silence criticism about dysfunctional departments and individual 'irregularities'. Injustices on this scale warrant persistence.
The importance of all this is that, had the court known the extent of the council's involvement in the early stages, the libel claim made by the Head of Planning would have been thrown out - the court would have recognised it for what it was - an unlawful claim by a public body masked by the pretence of a private claim.
We are considering our next move.
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/04/ignorance-is-no-defence-unless-you-are.html
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/04/carmarthenshire-county-council-and.html
http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2009/12/libel-funding-carmarthenshire-council.html
and further posts throughout blog.
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