Regular readers will know that the unemployed Cooper, laughably the Chair of the West Midlands Police and Crime Panel despite his close and deliberate association with at least 14 suspended Twitter troll accounts, voluntarily attended Steelhouse Lane Police Station in Brum on 14th September, 2015 where he was interviewed in respect of an allegation of harassment by a Birmingham woman. The file was passed to the CPS who decided to take no further action against "The Chair" in respect of the matter.
Even though he is, unfortunately, desperately dim, Cooper likes to hang around Sandwell Council House like a bad smell, having the grovelling management do his constant bidding (which lately has involved them spending hundreds of hours on the new "Combined Authority" project where Cooper has ambitions now that even Labour cannot stomach the prospect of him becoming an MP). This strutting cock of the roost was insistent there would NOT be a metro mayor for the new talkshop even though it was an open secret in Sadwell that he coveted the job and, lo, now that there IS to be a mayor, Cooper has thrown his Baggies pom pom hat into the ring.
But when the ego landed at the Steelhouse Lane nick, he had not arrived by car or public transport for this private matter but by Sandwell Council's taxpayer-funded chauffeur-driven limousine. And it seems the public paid for the chauffeur to take him and a woman believed to be his wife back to the dog-sh*t capital of the West Midlands judging by this greasy letter from Sadwell's richly-remunerated "Director- Governance" (who had such an impressive career with Walsall Council back in the day):
"The only recorded detail available [for 14th September] shows that transport was booked for the Leader to travel to Birmingham City Centre at noon. On this occasion the Chief Executive offered and agreed the use of a council car for a private appointment by the Leader of the Council, because the Leader had a number of important council meetings on that day and using a council car was the best way to ensure that the Leader could attend all of these meetings and his private appointment on time. Authorisation to use Council cars in this way is very rare but it is sometimes the best way to meet all diary commitments in a busy day.
We do not hold any information on the mileage logs, any passengers transported or the purpose of the journeys."
Lets just analyse this b*llocks shall we?
Firstly, as with everything connected with Jan Britton's shambolic organisation, there seems to be a dearth of proper records kept. Cooper did have a female companion with him for the journey. If it was not his wife (as it is believed it was) then who was she being ferried about in the Mayor's limo? Why aren't mileage logs kept for Council cars? Did the chauffeur claim from the taxpayer for the parking charges whilst he was waiting for the Great Helmsman?
Secondly, haven't SMBC heard of taxis if time was of the essence? The former Deputy Leader, and still current Councillor, Mahboob Hussain operates a taxi firm and won over £100,000 in SMBC contracts in mysterious circumstances and having failed to declare his and his wife's interest in the firm and so you would have thought he could have laid one on at "very cheap rate" for his old pal!
Thirdly, Ms Sharma claims SMBC didn't know the purpose of the journey and yet the Chief Exec, no less, "offered" and authorised use of the limo for a private jaunt! What if Cooper and his wife (?) had just fancied going into Brum for a bit of shopping? Would Britton have taken his tongue out of Darren's backside long enough to say, "yes, Leader?" I think Britton should personally reimburse the taxpayer for this outrage, don't you readers?
Fourthly, there were no Council committee meetings that afternoon as shown below. Who books important meetings in Sadwell on a Monday afternoon? Why did Cooper allegedly book meetings when he would have had no idea how long he would be at the nick (I understand he was interviewed on tape and under caution and this can be a lengthy process)? Why are we paying Jan Britton over £160,000 per annum if he cannot manage one afternoon without the class dunce at his elbow? Perhaps Darren Cooper will make his diaries available to show all these "important meetings" - just as he, er, didn't when challenged to do so to show his taxpayer-funded "sessions" with former Brum Labour Councillor, Steve Bedser?
How would Sadwell have managed to cope if the Dear Leader had been delayed all afternoon at the nick and he had not have been there to add his guttural gruntings to the great issues exercising the Borough's bigwigs that day? Still, with this sort of 24/7 dedication to duty, Darren Cooper will obviously make an excellent metro mayoral candidate for what is left of the Labour Party.
Incidentally, Darren Cooper has just changed the profile picture on his infantile Twitter account to this - taken in Sadwell's Council chamber:
Why were so many of the taxpayer-funded staff taken off duty to glorify the cult of the "leader"? Did Jan Britton authorise this stunt too? Who took the picture and were they paid?
There is a very grave danger, if people do not wise-up, that this doltish buffoon may actually become metro-mayor and turn our great city-region into a world-wide laughing stock (he is already deputy chair of the "shadow" authority). Still, if you elect him, don't be surprised if we aren't all forking out for a luxury "metro-mayoral limo" and chauffeur (or two)!
THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - A COMMUNITY BLOG - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!
email thesandwellskidder@gmail.com facebook Julian Saunders
Confidential phone no: 07599 983737 twitter @bcrover (Vernon Grant)
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