Labour's Legal Costs Shocker!

Hold on to your hats, pants and socks because they will be blown off with this one!

The new regime under Steve Eling is now having to cope with the fallout from the disastrous Cooper/Britton regime and costs are being cut and cash scrimped from all quarters. Even the pathetically cowardly staff who were too afraid to speak out about Cooper, Hussain. Britton, Dudley, Sharma, Bubalo and others are whining about having to pay for car parking. But if you are a top lawyer, there is no restraint and the unpopular "Assistant Chief Executive" Melanie Dudley will spend, spend spend.....

(Dudley herself claims she went over Britton's head and arranged a huge payoff for herself next year DIRECT with Dickhead Dazza before he died. Cooper thought he was above the law and could walk on water - though he was seemingly unable to repeat the Messiah's "resurrection" on Easter Sunday - even though - if such a deal was made - he had no legal authority to make it. I have written to the Department for Communities and Local Government (and my MP) asking what they are going to do to block this alleged deal but still await a response. I am also waiting to hear what Cllr Eling is doing to block it and will keep you posted).

Despite a very long outstanding Freedom of Information request as to, inter alia, the costs of the infamous "Wragge Report" narrowly commissioned in respect, mostly, of various land sales involving the Hussain clan there has been no response from Jan Britton's useless administration. (I am chasing that today). It is said that the original draft report from Wragge's was received by the conning comrades in or around August, 2015.

In tandem with the horrendous costs of this report, Labour Sandwell started to seek legal advice, Not for them some experienced junior counsel but off they went right to the top - straight to the excellent and highly-rated James Goudie QC. It seems they also instructed him when Mahboob Hussain and proven liar Cllr [sic] Ian Jones starting bellyaching about its release.

We know the useless Head of Legal, Neeraj Sharma, has been booted out but we might have suspected that, as a long-standing solicitor (even if of dubious talent), she might be involved in this process but Sandwell's payments over £500 list shows the payments coming under the jurisdiction of non-lawyer Dudley.

(As an ex-lawyer I am very familiar with dealing with Barristers' Clerks and how they will skin you alive for fees if you don't know what you are doing).

Now a caveat here. We don't know - yet - what the top QC, Mr James Goudie has done recently for the cunning comrades and the payments over £500 list doesn't say. Accordingly I am calling on new Leader Steve Eling to clarify the position forthwith in the shocking light of what follows below and also to confirm that no other fees in respect of the Wragge/Hussain/Jones debacle have been incurred eg with the QC or in respect of the appointment of junior counsel as well.

Please note the following figures almost certainly include VAT which should be discounted for present purposes and I have shown that.

I am showing screenshots of the actual payments since one is so fantastic it is either an error - in which case useless Jan Britton needs to pull his finger out and get some cash back or else the comrades have, yet again, taken leave of what senses they have.

We can say that Goudie did a couple of small jobs for "Sadwell" in late 2014/early 2015 including in March, 2015 shortly before Wragges were also commissioned (without the contract going out to tender).The next entry is this:

This is just £600 (£500 fee plus VAT) in August,2015 which may or may not be connected with the Wragge Report but we need clarity on this.

We do know that. even though in my opinion, the Wragge Report is rubbish (eg it doesn't, just by way of one example alone, deal with the highly irregular land deals surrounding Cllr Mohammad Rouf) it was not what the late Smethwick Scumbag and Hussain were expecting and the excrement started to hit the fan. 

In March, 2016 Melanie Dudley's Department [sic] approved a further payment to the Silk of £2,500 (£2083.33) and this must surely be related to the Wragge Report?

Another bill came in from Goudie QC in April, 2016 for £1,050 (£875 plus VAT). Again this was the "right" period to be connected with the incredible sums already being paid to Wragges. Mel got the taxpayers' checkbook out again:

WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT......

And so we come to June, 2016 when Mel handed over, er, £67,500 (a cool £56,250 to our London clever clogs ex VAT)!!!!!! Yes, I couldn't believe it either but here it is in black and white:

Now if this is not a mistake and this figure has been substantially inflated by legal challenges from Hussain and the Liar Jones we need to know what steps Britton and Dudley are taking to recover some of these legal costs from them! Come on Steve Eling - you publicly said outside a full Council meeting that the pathetic Britton had been told "doing nothing is no longer an option" so what are these very highly-paid members of staff doing to protect the public purse?

If the fees involve other work then tell us what Goudie did score from one of the poorest, most deprived and most unpleasant areas in the land?

But hang on - there IS MORE! Goudie picked up another £4.650 (£3.875 plus vat) in July, 2016 which is still in the right timeframe to be part of the Wragge fiasco:

(Incidentally, this shot also shows over £1,500 for caterers for some civic knees-up......).

A lot of this is down to the megalomaniac dimwit who ran [sic] the Council since he was desperate to clear Hussain's name and would have insisted on a top QC rather than a cheaper option. Britton, Dudley and Sharma were very highly-paid to arse-lick him. How on earth did they agree to this in the first place Steve Eling? And so the "socialist" shower have forked out £63.583.33 ex VAT to Goudie in the last year (there may even more payments to come....) and possibly ALL in respect of the Wragge Report. This is, quite frankly, incredible.

Corruption under the Cooper/Britton regime is still costing Sandwell folk and the taxpayer very dear.....

INFO PLEASE

I am very anxious for further info on the allegation that a very senior male SMBC employee is shagging a 42 year-old female West Midlands Police Inspector. Usual contact details below......

THE SANDWELL SKIDDER - COMMUNITY NEWS - READ THE SKIDDER, KIDDER!

Confidential phone no:  07599 983737        Email:  thesandwellskidder@gmail.com

Facebook:  Julian Saunders

PROUD TO HAVE BEEN TROLLED BY DICKHEAD DARREN COOPER.