Taxi Driver Online

And Finally.

Manchester Evening News

November 24, 2006 Friday

Police check on Labour councillors

THE Labour party is to run police checks on all its councillors and candidates in Tameside after the M.E.N exposed the criminal past of disgraced councillor Peter Wright.

Wright, a Liberal Democrat councillor for Audenshaw, was jailed for 23 weeks earlier this month for assaulting his partner Karen, who is also a Lib Dem councillor.

The M.E.N. revealed Wright was a "dog of war" put on trial after the Angolan civil war in the 1970s and served eight years of a 16-year sentence for mercenary activities. When he returned to Britain, after the Foreign Office negotiated his early release, he received a string of convictions for assault. In 1988 he was given a suspended sentence for three assaults and criminal damage.

When standing for election each candidate is required to declare whether they meet the necessary criteria, including not being convicted in the United Kingdom of any offence. Wright never disclosed his convictions.

Now all sitting Labour councillors and candidates in Tameside will have to volunteer to be police checked.

Council leader Roy Oldham said the move would reassure the public the person representing them is squeaky clean. He said it was a necessary step after the conviction of Wright.

The members of the Labour Group have agreed to the checks and although a candidate can object, if elected they will have to undergo one as it is a group decision.

The move will only affect candidates from the Labour Group, neither the leader nor the council has the power to impose the decision on any other political parties - each has to volunteer for the police check.

The borough solicitor has asked the independent chair of the Statutory Standards Committee, to consider whether the council can adopt a process whereby, following an election, all elected members are police checked.

A spokesman for the north west Lib Dems said: "In the modern environment it's very important that all members of all parties have these checks."
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Maybe they should make these councillor crb checks public just so we can see who we are electing?

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

They should all have advanced crb checks, like we have to, and all there employees, whats good for the goose is good for the gander

I have been thinking about this, could a driver who is up before some council comity use this in there defence, stating that he was unsure that anyone on that comity was fit and proper, and therefore could not except there decision

The chances are that none of them would pass the "fit and proper test", then where would you be? lol

Regards

JD

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Copyright notice © The contents of this post are copyright of JD and are not to be reproduced outside of TDO without written permission.

Have to agree. It seems ludicrous that those who licence the trade are not subject to the same checks as those who are licenced

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

I don't agree. If you follow this through to a logical conclusion, would it also mean that every one in the licensing department must have a taxi badge and an alcohol license to be able to do their job?

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Grandad,

Now now grandad just becouse you have to licence your limos from today
No they dont need badges to do there job just checked to see if they are fit and proper, like school teachers council employees who all have to go through one

Where have you been? You obviously don't read the posts properly otherwise you would know that my limos have been licensed for years.

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Grandad,

Not so. We are only suggesting the same CRB checks they require of others.
Wouldn't you prefer to know that the people who deal with your applications are honest? Or does that not bother you?

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http://wingsoverscotland.com/ http://www.newsnetscotland.com/

Aren't Liberals meant to be fluffy puffy tree-huggers?

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IDFIMH

Every person in the licensing department that deals with our CRBs has to be fully CRB enhanced checked.

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IDFIMH