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Suspended Brent councillor Bertha Joseph gets £12,000 appointment (From Harrow Times)
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Original Comment
I am shocked at the venom of Jackdaw, towards Cllr Joseph, and the other respondent sincere, if I did not think more highly of you, I would suggest you are not an ordinary member of the public, making an honest comment, but maybe from another party causing trouble, which we have seen used many times before. I note the name of Ms Ann John in all the negative articles and this aways leaves a trail to the Labour group office.
Surely we do have a right to comment on things in the news, but to add something, on facts we know not to be bitter and vile to a person we do not know and a situation we cannot understand without ALL the facts.
Like Jackdaw, I have read the newspaper article, and I have seen where the cllr, says she declared things late, not did not declare things.
I know in this climate, where the MP's and the Bankers are getting away with murder almost, that it is easy to pick on the little people in life.
But I ask what is fair, and why are you so angry towards this woman.
When commenting on anything a little balance is always a good thing and some knowledge of the facts is even more desirable, thos who get their facts from newspapers are often distorted in their opinions.
Please try and take a deep breath now before blasting my head off as mine does have its uses and it is not filled with newspaper driven filler.
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Suspended Brent councillor Bertha Joseph gets £12,000 appointment
5:30pm Friday 23rd October 2009
A COUNCILLOR suspended for using charity sponsorship to buy a ball gown has been promoted on an emergency planning committee.
Councillor Bertha Joseph (Cons/Kensal Green) has been kicked off Brent Council for six months after being found guilty of bringing her office into disrepute during her second term as mayor from 2007 to 2008.
She was also found to have used her position as mayor to gain an advantage, in a Standards Committee hearing on Tuesday, October 13.
But Tories on the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, which runs London's fire services, have made her deputy chair, giving her an extra £12,000 a year of public money in allowances.
On top of the £7,000 she already gets as an ordinary member of the organisation, she is now on £19,000.
Councillor Navin Shah, London Assembley member for Brent and Harrow, said: “This smacks of croneyism.
“This smacks of absolute contempt for the residents and members of the public who expect better standards and better conduct.”
Councillor Ann John, leader of the Labour Group on Brent Council, said: “The Tories are using public money to reward a woman who has been found guilty of serious breaches of the Local Authorities Code of Conduct.”
Cllr Joseph intends to appeal the ruling that led to her suspension, claiming she was entitled to use the funds in that way.
Last week she told the Harrow Times: “I accepted that I failed to declare the sponsorship on time. However, it was my honesty in declaring the sponsorship which resulted in the investigation.
“I was not caught, nor was I prompted or reminded by the trigger of an investigation. It was an honest mistake.
“The committee also decided that I made a personal gain from the sponsorship, despite the fact that two years ago, I gave the 'material gain' - a sponsored ball gown - to charity.”
The Harrow Times contacted Cllr Joseph and Brian Coleman, London Assembly member for Barnet and Camden, who chairs the organisation, for a response and is awaiting a reply.
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