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Prescott faces police questions on stadium (Independent on Sunday)



Edward Scissorhands

New member
Feb 20, 2005
6,979
Prescott faces police questions on stadium (Independent on Sunday)

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1215984.ece

Scotland Yard has widened its inquiry into whether John Prescott broke anti-corruption laws after detectives were given new evidence about the Deputy Prime Minister's dealings with a property developer. Allegations have been made about a visit by Mr Prescott to the office of the developer before granting planning permission to build a £50m football stadium in Sussex.

The Deputy Prime Minister officially opened the offices of Adenstar Construction, a property company owned by Derek Chapman, in May 2002. In October, he overruled the advice of the planning inspectors to allow Mr Chapman, a director of Brighton and Hove Albion, to build the all-seater stadium.

Publicly, the Metropolitan Police say they are still deciding whether to launch a full corruption probe, but sources close to the investigation say detectives have already requested information about the meeting. Police in the specialist crime unit, studying whether Mr Prescott broke the 1906 and 1916 Prevention of Corruption Acts, have already spoken to one potential witness.

Detectives are examining whether he breached the Acts when he accepted an invitation to stay with Philip Anschutz, billionaire owner of the Dome, who is bidding for a licence to open Britain's only super-casino. Last night, Downing Street said Tony Blair privately met Mr Anschutz's most senior executive during his trip to California last week.

Tim Leiweke was among 100 guests at a champagne reception at the Getty Villa near Malibu. In an interview last year, the AEG chief executive said the "gaming licence is critical" to the firm's plans for the Greenwich site.

Anti-corruption laws say ministers and civil servants should not accept hospitality from a person or organisation that has obtained or is trying to obtain an official contract. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, who made the initial complaint to the police about Mr Prescott's visit to Mr Anschutz's ranch said it was "odd" that Mr Prescott had agreed to open the offices of the property company.

"I am pleased the Metropolitan Police is taking seriously my complaint and I have now provided more context for my complaint including Mr Prescott's dealings with Adenstar Ltd and proposals for a football stadium in open country," he said.

Mr Prescott and Mr Chapman have denied any wrongdoing or talking about the planning application for the stadium. Permission for the stadium was withdrawn in April because of a wording error in Mr Prescott's approval letter.

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister said: "There is no suggestion that there has been any impropriety. He wasn't responsible for planning policy when he met this gentleman; Stephen Byers was. The main reason he was at Adenstar was because he was invited by the local MP. All the facts about this have been in the public domain since 2003. It is interesting that Norman Baker is only now making an issue of it." The encounter between Mr Blair and Mr Leiweke has led to renewed calls for an independent inquiry.Hugo Swire, the Shadow secretary of state for culture, said: "John Prescott's actions and the Government's failure to answer questions about them have ensured no private meeting between a minister and AEG is free of potential controversy."
 
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Wardy

NSC's Benefits Guru
Oct 9, 2003
11,219
In front of the PC
More f***ing stiring from the nimbies
 


Scotty Mac

New member
Jul 13, 2003
24,405
:nono:
 


trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,354
Hove
Baker: ".. building a stadium in open country"...

I'm all for people fighting their corner (even when they're wrong), but this bloke makes me sick. That is just a plain LIE.
 






Uncle Spielberg

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 6, 2003
42,781
Lancing
Feck off Baker and get a life.
 


B.W.

New member
Jul 5, 2003
13,666
What worries me about this is that our club's good name is being associated with Prescott, who seems to be lurching from one political fcuk-up to another...
 


Lawro's Lip

New member
Feb 14, 2004
1,768
West Kent
Good. Lets hope they investigate these allegations quickly and find there is nothing to them. That will be one less piece of ammunition for the anti Falmer brigade.

After all, we know Pescott did not overrule the findings of both planning inspectors. This keeps being stated in all these articles and surely is factually incorrect.
 






Bakesy

Farting for ENGLAND!!!
Feb 13, 2005
9,667
How would i know?I'm pissed.
Surely all this is irrelevent, as Prescotts decision is being quashed anyway, and it's going to be up to Ruth Kelly to do the decent thing and say "YES"???
 


Ex-Staffs Gull

New member
Jul 5, 2003
1,687
Adelaide, SA
I have to say, that usually, I give politicians the benefit of the doubt as most of them are actually trying in their own way to help their constituents. Norman Baker however, is a manipulative, scheming, self publicising, wind bag, who will walk over peoples lives in the persuit of his own political ambitions. Bellotti was and still is a man of no standing and has drifted out of the public eye, quite rightly. Baker is however postioning himself to move up the ranks. If I were Derek Chapman I would sue for his comments. He couldn't care less about the cowboy hat etc. He just wants to force the government to turn down Falmer so he can say 'look what I did'. I make this promise right now, I will do anything within the law, to stop this man continuing to treat his constituency as his person play thing. If that means I have to find the deposit to stand against him in the election, (even if we do get Falmer), then so be it. This individual is what is SOOOOOO wrong with British Politics at the moment.
 




The Clown of Pevensey Bay

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
4,327
Suburbia
Re: Prescott faces police questions on stadium (Independent on Sunday)

Edward Scissorhands said:
A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister said: "There is no suggestion that there has been any impropriety. He wasn't responsible for planning policy when he met this gentleman; Stephen Byers was. The main reason he was at Adenstar was because he was invited by the local MP. All the facts about this have been in the public domain since 2003. It is interesting that Norman Baker is only now making an issue of it."

And herein hang the actual facts. For f***'s sake, Baker really is a slimy, devious, oily, cretinous shit.

I am convinced that this is all to do a) with Norman Baker attempting to kick Prescott when he's down; and b) with the Seagulls Party's candidacy in a Lewes DC by-election later this month.

And yes, if I was Derek Chapman, I would sue.
 
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We'd already sent this Press Release to the Independent. Shame they didn't read it.

1 August 2006 -

Baker Scrapes the Barrel


Recent statements by Norman Baker, LibDem MP for Lewes, alluding to corrupt practices in the Falmer Stadium decision making process, demonstrates that the Liberal Democrats have descended to new depths of desperation in their latest round of anti-Stadium spoiling tactics.

Leader of The Seagulls Party, Paul Samrah commented:

"Baker should stick to facts rather than misrepresentation of events. The facts are that the brief meeting between John Prescott and Derek Chapman was wholly unrelated to the community stadium at Falmer and took place on 13 May 2002 - before the Falmer planning application had even been decided on by Brighton & Hove City Council and a long time before the matter had been called in by Mr Prescott for a Public Inquiry. In any case, this is hardly hot news! It is almost three years since Baker asked questions in The House on this subject and was given a full answer by the Minister, Yvette Cooper. With the Seagulls Party contesting its first seat at a Lewes District Council by-election in just over two weeks time, Norman Baker has again shown his true colours with the timing of his disingenuous and thoroughly Machiavellian allegations".


NOTES TO EDITORS:-

Yvette Cooper’s reply to Norman Baker’s Parliamentary Question (Commons Hansard, 15 December 2003) makes it quite clear that, at the time of his meeting with Derek Chapman, Mr Prescott was unaware that he was a Director of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.

This is the relevant passage from Hansard:-

15 Dec 2003 : Column 744W—continued

Brighton and Hove Albion

Norman Baker:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which directors of Brighton and Hove Albion football club (a) he has and (b) other Ministers in his Department have met since 1 January 2002; and if he will make a statement. [142431]

Yvette Cooper: Pursuant to my answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 342W, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister met Derek Chapman, Managing Director of Adenstar Construction Group, when he opened Adenstar's new offices in Portslade, Hove on 13 May 2003. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, was not made aware until last week that Mr. Chapman was a Director of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.

Correcting extract: Hansard 9th January 2006:

Norman Baker:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for (a) 13 May 2003 and (b) 16 December 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister had a number of routine departmental meetings in his London office on 13 May 2003. Due to an administrative error, a previous parliamentary response to the hon. Member of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 744W, indicated that he was on a regional visit in Hove on this date. This in fact took place one year earlier, on 13 May 2002. On 16 December 2005, he was on a regional visit to Portsmouth, Worthing and Brighton
 
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BRIGHT ON Q

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
9,089
Lawro's Lip said:
Good. Lets hope they investigate these allegations quickly and find there is nothing to them. That will be one less piece of ammunition for the anti Falmer brigade.

After all, we know Pescott did not overrule the findings of both planning inspectors. This keeps being stated in all these articles and surely is factually incorrect.

Yes but then the investigation will be corrupt...................and so it goes on.........
 


Mr Burns

New member
Aug 25, 2003
5,915
Springfield
And they say the Tabloids print a load of shit.
It's when you see a story like this, you wonder is a free press really accceptable.

I'm 100% in favour of freedom of speech, and a so called 'free press', but when papers print total under utter bullshit like this, its makes you wonder if they really should have the freedom they do.
 


British Bulldog

The great escape
Feb 6, 2006
10,889
Somehow, somewhere, there's gotta be some dirt we can dig up on the likes of Baker & De veggie! Nobody who gets to they're position can be squeaky clean. Get searching people!
 




Curious Orange

Punxsatawney Phil
Jul 5, 2003
9,934
On NSC for over two decades...
The Seagulls Party said:
We'd already sent this Press Release to the Independent. Shame they didn't read it.

1 August 2006 -

Baker Scrapes the Barrel


Recent statements by Norman Baker, LibDem MP for Lewes, alluding to corrupt practices in the Falmer Stadium decision making process, demonstrates that the Liberal Democrats have descended to new depths of desperation in their latest round of anti-Stadium spoiling tactics.

Leader of The Seagulls Party, Paul Samrah commented:

"Baker should stick to facts rather than misrepresentation of events. The facts are that the brief meeting between John Prescott and Derek Chapman was wholly unrelated to the community stadium at Falmer and took place on 13 May 2002 - before the Falmer planning application had even been decided on by Brighton & Hove City Council and a long time before the matter had been called in by Mr Prescott for a Public Inquiry. In any case, this is hardly hot news! It is almost three years since Baker asked questions in The House on this subject and was given a full answer by the Minister, Yvette Cooper. With the Seagulls Party contesting its first seat at a Lewes District Council by-election in just over two weeks time, Norman Baker has again shown his true colours with the timing of his disingenuous and thoroughly Machiavellian allegations".


NOTES TO EDITORS:-

Yvette Cooper’s reply to Norman Baker’s Parliamentary Question (Commons Hansard, 15 December 2003) makes it quite clear that, at the time of his meeting with Derek Chapman, Mr Prescott was unaware that he was a Director of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.

This is the relevant passage from Hansard:-

15 Dec 2003 : Column 744W—continued

Brighton and Hove Albion

Norman Baker:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister which directors of Brighton and Hove Albion football club (a) he has and (b) other Ministers in his Department have met since 1 January 2002; and if he will make a statement. [142431]

Yvette Cooper: Pursuant to my answer of 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 342W, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister met Derek Chapman, Managing Director of Adenstar Construction Group, when he opened Adenstar's new offices in Portslade, Hove on 13 May 2003. My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, was not made aware until last week that Mr. Chapman was a Director of Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.

Correcting extract: Hansard 9th January 2006:

Norman Baker:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list his engagements for (a) 13 May 2003 and (b) 16 December 2005.

Jim Fitzpatrick: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister had a number of routine departmental meetings in his London office on 13 May 2003. Due to an administrative error, a previous parliamentary response to the hon. Member of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 744W, indicated that he was on a regional visit in Hove on this date. This in fact took place one year earlier, on 13 May 2002. On 16 December 2005, he was on a regional visit to Portsmouth, Worthing and Brighton

Send it again.
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,522
Baker is pissing the PR battle over us.

I can't believe some of the anti-Falmer guff he has managed to get published in the regional and national press.

Basically, Baker is getting the message across that everything that has happened up until now with Falmer has been a waste of time because the clown / bent politician Prescott was in chargeof decision-making.
 



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