Letter to the Audit Commission regarding the liverpool evil cabal

tonyparrish1@yahoo.co.uk

8/9/06

Dear Ms Painter,

Please find enclosed a CD of the liverpool-evil-cabal blog which contains many of the substantive allegations which I wish you to investigate independently and properly.

I understand from your website that “suspicious activity” can be reported to you under the Public Interest Disclosure Act.

For the avoidance of any doubt, the suspicious activity which I wish you to fully investigate, includes:

• The chief executive of Liverpool Direct Limited, Dr David McElhinney and members of his family’s all-expenses-paid trip to Bahrain

• The alleged use of council resources by Paul King in his role as CEO of the Amateur Boxing Association

• Allegations that the city council footed the bill for sending an England ABA team to Puerto Rico

• Sir David Henshaw using confidential emails to blackmail the city council into a £250,000 retirement deal

• Henshaw using confidential emails to mount an attempted coup d’etat to try and get rid of the then elected Leader of the Council

• Henshaw using confidential emails to threaten Mike Storey’s job as a headteacher

• Henshaw being allowed to earn extra income during his six months notice period

• The pay-off for Robyn Archer

• A number of issues surrounding The 08 Place – the procurement of its only tenant, CMP Entertainment; the project’s £500,000 cost overrun; Dr McElhinney’s misleading account to the Select Committee that contractors were off site; which officers gave authority for work continuing without proper council authorisation; repeated breaches of Standing Orders, council rules and financial regulations by McElhinney; Louise Gray continuing to pay invoices without authority and acting against the advice of the council’s legal team.

• The free 10-year car parking pass, worth £16,500 given to Chas Cole, boss of CMP by McElhinney, the Project Director

• The eight-month rent free period, worth £28,933 given to Mr Cole by McElhinney.

• The relationship and social contact between a private contractor, Mr Cole and McElhinney, revealed in documents already presented to the chief executive of the council, Mr Colin Hilton.

• The relationship and social contact between Mr Cole and Mr Halsall, revealed in documents already presented to Mr Hilton.

• Sir David Henshaw’s response to Councillor Bradley’s questions last year regarding The 08 Place. Why, and how, was a draft reply from 20/20 changed by Sir David to delete any reference to free car parking or the free rental period for Mr Cole/CMP? This looks suspiciously like an attempt to mislead councillors and withhold relevant information as part of a cover up.

• The failure of the council to put the Summer Pops out to competitive tender for six years, contrary to all council rules and procedures (please see “We won’t get fooled again”…Mr Halsall blog for specific questions)

• The failure of the council to issue an OJEC notice for the Summer Pops

• The relationship between Mr Halsall and members of his family and Mr Cole

• The council’s failure to properly consider Cream’s alternative bid to stage the Summer Pops

• The new chief executive, Mr Hilton misleading councillors on the Leisure and Tourism Select Committee about the date and timing of the Cream proposal and its receipt by the council

• The cost of computer equipment purchased by Liverpool city council from Liverpool Direct, and the council’s evidence that this arrangement represented best value for council taxpayers

• The shareholdings in BT of senior council officers who were involved in the transfer of council services to the city council/BT joint venture, Liverpool Direct Limited

• The role and propriety of the interim chief executive of Capital of Culture, Jason Harborrow acting as a lobbyist for a private contractor tendering to stage the Summer Pops in 2007/8 contrary to council Standing Orders.
  

• The hosting of the ABA website by the city council (see specific questions in “What’s my name?…” blog)

• The use of council property and resources for other external work by an outside contractor, enterprise-liverpool

• The appointment by Henshaw and McElhinney of Senn Delaney to a £1million-plus training programme ‘The Liverpool Way’, without the work being subject to tender or OJEC notice.

• The appointment of Sarah Parr. This was very suspicious activity.

• The position of Mr Halsall whose son Liam’s band, ‘Abe’ was booked by Mr Cole to appear at the Summer Pops. This is even more suspicious activity.

I have a number of further allegations of suspicious activity which I will send to you in due course. But I thought this was probably enough for you to be going on with for the time being.

I am making a copy of this letter public in the interests of transparency, open government and the reputation of the Audit Commission and its whistleblower arrangements.

Yours etc,

Tony Parrish