LBWF spin

Islamist extremism in Waltham Forest: a disturbing new episode

March 12, 2018 ISIS, LBWF spin, Martin Esom, Prevent

In the past week or so, much of the press has covered the trial and conviction of Forest Gate Isis supporter Umar Ahmed Haque on a number of serious terrorist offences. During Mr. Haque’s trial, the court heard extensive evidence about his activities at two schools and a madrassa in East London, where (amongst other things) under the guise of teaching ‘Islamic Studies’ he ‘re-enacted attacks on police officers and showed…videos of beheadings’. It is estimated that 110 of his pupils were ‘radicalised’, a third so seriously that they are now receiving long-term safeguarding support, of course at... »

Waltham Forest’s Safer Neighbourhoods Board and MOPAC funding: the scandal continues

February 16, 2018 Gang Prevention Programme, LBWF spin, Policing/crime

A post of September past (see link below) reported that, though in FYs 2015-16 and 2016-17 the Waltham Forest Safer Neighbourhood Board (WFSNB) had been allotted £78,000 of Mayor’s Officer for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) funding, and promised to rigorously track how this was spent, it had so far failed to submit anywhere near the required number of monitoring reports. Now it has just emerged that nearly five months down the line, this regrettable situation persists, with MOPAC admitting that the WFSNB’s end of year monitoring forms for 2015-16, plus the mid-year and end of year monitoring... »

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LBWF, Community Ward Forums, and freedom of speech

December 29, 2017 Cllr. Saima Mahmud, LBWF spin, the Labour Party in Waltham Forest

As this blog regularly points out, LBWF devotes a surprising amount of time and attention to what PR spinners call ‘controlling the narrative’, that is vigorously promoting a particular, and self-serving, version of events, while at the same time seeking to sideline criticism. Recent developments add a further concerning illustration. Trevor Calver is a community activist in Chingford, a leading member of the Waltham Forest Dyslexia Association, a determined campaigner on issues ranging from asbestos to the preservation of free parking bays throughout the borough, and a one time Independent ca... »

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LBWF’s perfidies in microcosm

November 14, 2016 LBWF, LBWF spin

A couple of weeks ago, one of my neighbours showed me the letter pasted below. The story it relates to begins some months ago. LBWF announced that it wanted to place a cycle storage pod in Odessa Rd., and contacted 100 households living on both sides of the road near the proposed site in order to get their response. As the letter reveals, 12 households replied, and of those, the (albeit narrow) majority were against. At that point, LBWF could have gracefully admitted defeat. But what it actually did – as the letter candidly admits – was fiddle the figures. Outside of the consultati... »

LBWF Chief Executive Martin Esom’s evidence at the Town Hall asbestos trial: the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

September 18, 2015 LBWF, LBWF spin, Martin Esom, Town Hall asbestos

The following speaks for itself. 18 September 2015 Dear Mr. Esom, We write to you about the letter dated 30 January 2014 that you submitted to the HSE and the courts prior to LBWF’s recent prosecution over Town Hall asbestos contamination. We remind you that this letter was produced in lieu of an interview under PACE; and that you explicitly recognised it might ‘be used in the event of any enforcement proceedings’. We further remind you that in the letter, you underline that you are intent upon ‘frankly’ dealing with the issues at hand. All this being the case, we are very surprised at some of... »

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LBWF, Prevent, and the Freedom of Information Act: censorship in action?

August 16, 2015 Freedom of Information Act, LBWF spin, Martin Esom, Prevent

On 17th July 2015, I used the Freedom of Information Act (FIA) to ask LBWF: ‘At a recent hearing in City Hall, Martin Esom (LBWF CEO) claimed re the Prevent programme: “We try to identify output measures to see how successful we are or otherwise….Our output measures are things like referrals through to Channel and all sorts of things like that. We have quite a broad range of indicators in terms of whether or not we are making any inroads”. Please can you forward me these output measures/broad range of indicators for 2013 and 2014′. On 14 August 2015, I received th... »

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LBWF and the anti-terrorist Prevent programme: is it wise to keep it in the closet?

July 28, 2015 LBWF spin, Martin Esom, Past failures: overview, Prevent

In early June of this year, I asked LBWF under the Freedom of Information Act for a list of its current Prevent contracts, with for each its start and finish dates, the name of the contractor, the value of the contract, and a brief description of what the contract aims to achieve. A few days ago, my request was refused, with LBWF arguing as follows: ‘Waltham Forest Council recognises the public interest in transparency and openness in local government; and in the context of this Freedom of Information request, such openness would increase public understanding and inform public debate about the... »

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LBWF spinners

April 17, 2015 LBWF spin

A recent Press Gazette story highlights the large number of press officers and other communications staff who are now employed in local government – see here  http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/local-councils-now-employ-least-3400-comms-staff-more-double-total-central-government. Its author, William Turvill, has been kind enough to send me the figures for Waltham Forest. Apparently, there are currently 11 permanent staff working in Town Hall communications, whose job titles are: * Head of Communications and Councillor Services * Media Communications Officer (x3) * Deputy Head of Communication... »

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Asbestos matters: Waltham Forest Council, PR, and keeping stum

February 11, 2015 LBWF spin, Town Hall asbestos

So you are an employer who has just been found guilty of breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 – of running your affairs, in other words, in such a way as to endanger your employees and those who visit your premises. What do you do? Publicly apologise? Offer everyone involved some advice and support? Perhaps even take action against those who directly presided over the negligence? Most of us would expect (and do) all of these things. Yet after the recent court case, which has left LBWF in exactly the position I’m talking about, the o... »

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