Well this story has been scrutinised more closely than Tiger Woods’s mobile phone bill!
It is probably the story of the year, the action really started in February this year.
The story’s origin goes even further back and is now indisputably linked to the absurd attempted closure of the popular splash pool at Dimensions leisure centre in Burslem.
After making a serious complaint to the council’s executive regarding the action of certain high flying elected representatives and senior officers a low key council investigation was initiated.
The complainant, Roger Ibbs, was allowed to carry out his duties to his usual high standard [all be it in a different portfolio] until February this year. Ibbs was called to a bogus meeting by the council’s legal officer. Upon his arrival, Ibbs was abandoned by the said legal officer and subsequently arrested and taken away for questioning.
Two further high profile arrests followed and a lengthy police investigation followed. Eventually there was an announcement that there was insufficient evidence to secure a prosecution against any individual. Hardly an endorsement of innocence.
Later more details emerged about the fiasco relating to Dimensions which led to a certain amount of clearing the waters. Ibbs started looking more like the victim instead of the accused.
Then a meeting of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Standards Committee on the 9th December gave the best clue yet that there was more to this fiasco than meets the eye. The Standards Committee all but completely exonerates Ibbs which has left the issue somewhat up in the air.
Who? Why? What? When? – Those questions are still waiting to be answered. However, those answers will come as there are calls [which are councillor led] for an independent enquiry into the circumstances and facts surrounding this whole issue.
Today a new twist emerged, Roger Ibbs has released a copy of the letter that he has written to the Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police, Mike Cunningham. Here it is in all it’s glory:
Dear Chief Constable,
Re: Dimensions Leisure Centre – Stoke-on-Trent
On the 27th February 2009 I was arrested in connection with enquiries being made by your officers re: the above.
At no time was I informed as to why my questioning regards this matter was required to be made under caution.
I would therefore ask you to answer the following 2 questions:-
1. Why was I arrested when there was no evidence against me and subsequent to the conclusion of your enquiries, no evidence against me has been found ?
2. Why when you understood that my arrest would create a public outcry did your officers not act with caution rather than rushing to place me under arrest, when simply asking me to attend an interview would have sufficed ?
Finally I have tried to ascertain why it was felt necessary to place me under arrest. I look forward to your speedy reply.
Yours faithfully,
Roger M. Ibbs
I think we should now take it as a given that Ibbsy is completely innocent of all allegations.
Will those who alluded to the theory that he was up to no good now admit they were totally wrong?
Furthermore we should also consider the impact that this issue has had on the political scene of our City.
Ibbs was the leader of the Conservative and Independent Alliance. The leader that succeeded him went on to be voted in as Council Leader.
Would that have meant that Ibbs should have been the Leader of the Council should this whole sorry episode not have happened?
Would he have been a stronger leader? Would he have taken a firmer line with the officers?
I’ve known the guy for a while now and he is a cock sure arrogant son of a gun.
But the one thing I am assured of is that he loves this City and the vast majority of the officers I have spoken to privately, really think he is a very competent and fair politician.
Apart from the fact that he is a Tory he has a great deal of respect from his fellow councillors. As one commented to me a while ago:
"You either love the guy or loathe him, but what you can not deny is the fact that he is one of the most knowledgeable councillor ever to have served this City"
Well, what has happened can not be changed no matter how we would all like to turn back time. But there should now be an independent enquiry into this whole sorry affair.
Rumours are rife that the legal officers and chief executive knew that Ibbs was completely innocent way back at the start of June. So why has it taken until December for the details to start to emerge?
OK so Ibbsy might be in the clear, but there is something a whole lot more sinister about this issue and we the public need to find out the whole unedited, no spin, unsanitized details that makes up one of the darkest periods in our City’s history.
I call upon those who have the power and to those who represent every normal decent man, woman and child to not let up in the search for the truth.
After all we ALL deserve that…. Don’t we?
Tony as chief exec now left and id he was involved the council compliants will be in willing to investigate. If certain private individual had made deals with officers under the belief that councillors would not be involved. So council won’t do anything police won’t do anything all for the common good
The letter from Cllr Ibbs to the Police is very weak nad misses many points of law that the Police are under a duty to answer to him under PACE rules as well as FOI and SAR.
Questioning the police is something i used to do indepth in my role as a police miss conduct lawyer and if Cllr Ibbs would appreciate some real help and assistance in getting to the bottom of the issues with the Police then i would be more than willing to help him, not only to clear his name, but to continue to help expose exactly what did happen over the whole affair…. Cllr Ibbs, this is a genuine and honest offer of help, you know how to contact me.
“I think we should now take it as a given that Ibbsy is completely innocent of all allegations. Will those who alluded to the theory that he was up to no good now admit they were totally wrong?”
I think you’re getting a little bit carried away with that very bold statement, Tony.
Clearly there was not evidence to prosecute. But that does not mean that the entire thing was a politically motivated fabrication with the sole purpose of bringing down one of the great and the good of the city. That seems to be the impression that Tony is trying to give here. And the evidence isn’t there to support it at this stage either.
I don’t know whether Cllr Ibbs is guilty of anything or not. To be honest I’m not that bothered since he’s already well out of our group now and certain to lose his seat on the council next year.
But with the utmost respect, Tony seems to be letting his enthusiasm for clearing Roger’s name and perhaps somehow ressurrecting his political career run away with him.
Shaun it runs deeper than Ibbs, there maybe others involved in this that we have never heard about and may well still be in the employment of the civic.
Whilst i certainly dont want to resurect Ibbs carear i am keen to see that the truth comes out and if he has been wronged than the only real justice would be to clear his name, or at the very least show that the actions he took were distorted and that the legal process may have been fettered.
Shaun, do you have any friends, real or imaginary?
When someone is totally innocent, you are supposed to accept it and give them the benefit of any doubt.
YOU, want him to have the benefit of guilt and YOU doubt anything other than that.
If you know something that we should know, then walk into Hanley police station and have a word with a sergeant who has nothing to do.
Tell him Gary sent you.
then come back and put it up on the blog.
Shaun,
What I am really interested in is finding out if there is or has been any wrong doing relating to this issue. I think that is what any right minded individual would want to find out.
Forget that it is Roger because I would feel the same over ANY of our councillors.
Top & tail of it is:
1] If the police were out of line and went about this in the wrong way – The public deserve to know.
2]If the council exec handled this issue incorrectly – The public deserve to know.
3] If the council exec knew that Ibbs was innocent way back in June why did it take so long to tell him/ and the rest of us? – The public deserve to know.
Your dislike of Ibbs comes across very strongly Shaun and it does not look good.
Word on the street is that Ibbs is about to re-join your beloved Tories any time now…..
Tony, in principle you are absolutely right. And I want to make my position quite clear in that I am by no means accusing Roger of anything. Neither am I suggesting that he should have been prosecuted or found guilty of wrong doing or anything like that. If it turns out that this has all been some huge conspiracy to snuff out a blossoming political career, then I shall be right alongside you complaining about it.
But I felt when I read the article above that the implication was that it is now proven that Roger was the victim. The implication is that it is clear that a conspiracy to bring him down was taking place.
Perhaps that was not the intention, but that is how it reads. As a story it is a great scoop I’m sure, and we all enjoy a good gossip don’t we. But at this stage that is all it is-gossip presented as hard evidence.
I simply say to you, let Roger show that he was treated badly, and let the evidence emerge. Do not present tittle-tattle and open questions as evidence of wrong-doing.
“Word on the street is that Ibbs is about to re-join your beloved Tories any time now…..”
Well I can’t claim to have as many contacts in the party as you Tony
But I hear very different things about it. Perhaps you are only talking to Roger’s cheerleaders within the group? Perhaps you would get a more accurate impression by talking to the people that will actually decide and not just the group?
Lol. I have more friends in my party than you have in yours Gary! Why were you deemed unfit to stand as a Labour candidate again?
Glass houses? throwing stones? ring any bells?
And I suspect that I shall still be a member of my party long after you have left yours to stand against them as an Independent-unless of course you would like to rule that out for us right now?
Of course, I suppose if I really wanted to make friends and influence people in my party I could adopt the Gary Elsby book and threaten to take them to court if they don’t do what I want…then again I think I’ll wait for a second opinion.
Absolutely spot on Tony. I can’t quite fathom Shaun’s dislike but could be a class issue, after all is Shaun part of the party’s traditional class demographic? Age perhaps? Different end of the party spectrum? I’m sure with my background and his, me and Shaun also have that difference. Anything to do with why Shaun’s no longer deputy chairman (apart from coming from a working class area, can’t have that)? Pretty open ended really.