now there's a surprise

[for fawkes sake]

anyone surprised by this?

http://www.hartlepoolpost.co.uk

[steveL]

I would expect Wells, as Chair of Audit and Governance, to come to the aid of his kindred colleague and make some comment about the behaviour of the public for The Mail's consumption.

[fred c]

Its as plain as the nose on our faces, they are going to lay the blame fairly & squarely on members of the public that were in attendance.

The fact Lying Ste started the meeting with a provocative  warning seems to have been completely ignored by HBC, it didn't take long for Lying Ste to lose the plot & it got worse the longer the Meatun went on.

The complaints were always going to be rubber eared, but the lasting memories of the Meatun for most people was that Lying Ste made a complete & comprehensive T**t of himself.

[angela]

Shocking. Going to council meetings is new to me but  I've been to quite a few now and this one was one of the first. I learnt that the council is a complete mess and run by nasty people with only there own interests at heart. This man was a disaster a complete embarrassment to everyone. he behaved more like a two year old than a man never mind a councillor. Whitewash.

[testing times]

I was astonished to see that The Hartlepool Mail has given full page prominence to Devlin's report compte with the headline CLEARED.

Having took the time to read the report, I make the following observations.

1. Too much emphasis has been placed on whether or not SAB used the word 'Close' as the meeting was first broken up. I was there and I, along with the rest of the audience, heard exactly what he said but he also used the same 'CLOSE' word said several times during the meeting as he made his threats so it would be quite illogical to suggest that he would suddenly change it to 'ADJOURN' at the last minute.

2. We saw over the Cranney business, how Andrew Atkin is prepared to say absolutely anything to protect his pension - a liar, pure and simple.

3. Although SAB has spent months denying that he used the word 'CLOSE', including a statement that he used the word 'adjourn' in response to a question during a subsequent meeting of the full council, the report now states that he has admitted to saying that the meeting was CLOSED.

4. Devlin's thin mitigation revolves around an acceptance that SAB had lost control of the meeting and was incapable of restoring order and therefore his 'unfortunate' use of the word CLOSE was understandable.

So we could go on forever. Why did SAB insist at a subsequent full council meeting that he had ASDJOURNED the meeting but then later admit to Devlin that he had said' I'm CLOSING the Meeting?' Yet another lie from a man to whom lies seem to come naturally - and prolifically.

And why are we the public employing a man as deputy Chief Executive when he is prepared to lie through his teeth at the drop of a hat so that his head can remain firmly up Labour's ar** where he presumably thinks he will find his fat pension.

[mk1]

The Mail clearly still have it in for the fat boy. The online article calls him 'controversial' and uses a non too flattering pic of the man that just reeks of  his arrogance. His ample girth is also front and centre. The print version now makes sure the word 'Ceromonial' is included in his title and they crop a photo so just his piggy face is shown but it looks to me as if they have altered the apect to make him look even more dorky. Joyce has a long memory  and the panto dames are now on their way down the greasy pole. They will find out the truth of that well known saying  "Be nice to people on your way up because you'll meet them on your way down."

[steveL]

I've just been reading the on-line article and it has this extract, "Coun Akers-Belcher accepted he said he closed the meeting, but told the inquiry it was intended to try to restore order and, if necessary, lead to a period of adjournment before carrying on"

I guess this is what you're on about TT. There's a video somewhere of the following meeting which has SAB saying that he 'adjourned' the meeting, denying that he closed it. Perhaps someone could dig it out and post it.

I read the report as Devlin saying. "Look, this man is an idiot - so no one should have been surprised that the whole thing ended up as a farce.'

[Hartlepudlion]

Council officers used to sit on the left of the public gallery behind the opposition. They now sit on the right behind the Labour crowd. Is this a show of solidarity with Labour? Labour demand obedience (loyalty) from their Councillors so is it now from the officers? Perhaps it is just a case that they are all Labour Party members.