Recent Comments
insidecroydon on Here is your chance to questio… Adrian Waters on Here is your chance to questio… insidecroydon on Sanderstead’s Gruffy get… Jim Duffy on Here is your chance to questio… Christopher Myers on Sanderstead’s Gruffy get… Hazel swain on Sanderstead’s Gruffy get…
Category Archives: Alison Butler
#PennReport: Negrini staged a power-grab over councillors
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The long-withheld Penn Report describes a dysfunctional local authority where the former CEO was accused of ignoring elected representatives and keeping vital information from them. In our latest extract, we reveal what one Labour cabinet member really … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Penn Report, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Penn, RIPI, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
12 Comments
‘No records’ after council hired Starmer ally to advise leader
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mystery surrounds how a Labour figure with connections to David Evans was recruited to provide political advice when Hamida Ali took charge of Croydon Council – because no one kept any records. Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Jo Negrini, Julian Ellerby, Katherine Kerswell, Sarah Hayward, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged #LabourFiles, #TheLabourFiles, Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Evans, Hamida Ali, Imogen Walker, Katherine Kerswell, Keir Starmer, Labour, Labour Files, Morgan McSweeney, Sandwell Council, Tony Newman
4 Comments
#TheLabourFiles: Source of hacked data worked for Evans
Further links to the Labour Party’s General Secretary have been confirmed since Al Jazeera broadcast The Spying Game documentary. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Further investigations since Al Jazeera broadcast their documentary “The Spying Game” have discovered that the person who … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Clive Fraser, Crime, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, David Evans, Inside Croydon, Local media, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged #TheLabourFiles, Al Jazeera, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Clive Fraser, Croydon, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, David Evans, David White, ICO, Information Commissioners Office, Keir Starmer, Labour, Labour Files, Morgan McSweeney, Open Our Roads, Robert Canning, Ruth Bannister, Stephen Mann, The Labour Files, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Croydon’s council close to the top of the table – for complaints
Croydon has proved itself to be outstanding once again – but in a manner in which no local authority should ever seek to shine. A study of official complaints lodged over a six-year period, from 2016, found that of local … Continue reading
#PennReport: Cover-ups and denial over Brick by Brick failure
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The ‘highly dysfunctional’ council had ‘no transparency or accountability’ over the way it handled millions of pounds of public money. And this latest extract from the Penn Report shows that some key figures refuse to accept responsibility … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIF, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report
7 Comments
#PennReport: Croydon has been let down by political leaders
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The report into the council’s financial collapse that has been withheld for nearly two years includes damning criticisms of some of the council’s most senior staff and political leaders. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s dysfunctional council went … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Ofsted, Penn Report, Richard Penn, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
3 Comments
#TheLabourFiles: MP Reed, Evans and the Croydon connection
By STEVEN DOWNES, Editor, Inside Croydon More than six months in the making, Al Jazeera’s investigations unit last night released the fourth part of their documentary series The Labour Files, this episode called “The Spying Game”, a detailed report on … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Clive Fraser, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David White, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Pat Ryan, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Stephen Mann, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged #LabourFiles, #TheLabourFiles, Al Jazeera, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Clive Fraser, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, David White, Labour, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, South Norwood, Stephen Mann, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Waddon
8 Comments
Part-time Mayor Perry to re-boot Negrini’s design review panel
The council is looking to re-set its Place Review Panel – now to be renamed the Design Review Panel – and is inviting applications from architecture and design experts to sign up for two or three days’ work each year, … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Alison Butler, Art, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Environment, Housing, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Place Review Panel, Planning, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Jo Negrini, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Place Review Panel, Tory
6 Comments
Fairfield: £300k council fraud investigation and still no answers
EXCLUSIVE: Council says its specialist investigators have yet to find anything around the £67m botched refurbishment of the arts centre which needs to be reported to the police. By STEVEN DOWNES An investigation to discover if there was any fraud … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Property, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Kroll, Labour, Robert Ward, Sarah Ironmonger, Tony Newman, Tory
14 Comments
Part-time Perry and Labour in playground squabble over park
After a decade of Town Hall squabbles, the legacy of Newman and Butler’s years in charge of the council is a playground for the children of tower block half-millionaires. WALTER CRONXITE on another late, costly and incomplete town centre project … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Queens Gardens, Taberner House, Tony Newman, URV
Tagged Alison Butler, Chris Clark, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Mayor, Hub, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of Croydon, Paul Scott, Queens Gardens, Taberner House, Tony Newman, Tory
9 Comments
Brick by Brick’s South Norwood library on the market for retail
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Fancy renting a public building? One less-than-careful owner. Going cheap-ish. Only a slight pong from leaking sewage and a risk of falling bricks… EXCLUSIVE by BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent Croydon Council has placed its new-ish, Brick by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Libraries, Paul Scott, Property, South Norwood, Stiles Harold Williams
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Norwood Junction, Pimp House, Pump House, SHW, South Norwood, South Norwood Library, Stiles Harold Williams
14 Comments
‘Disgrace’ as £110m of Brick by Brick homes stand empty
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Research conducted by a residents’ group has confirmed that more than 200 new homes, built with public cash by the council-owned company, remain vacant, in some cases for more than a year. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES and … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Philp MP, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Housing, Old Coulsdon, Planning, Property, South Croydon, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Drummond Road, Emma Gardiner, Heathfield Gardens, Lion Green Road, Pimp House, Pump House, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Croydon, South Norwood, Waddon
19 Comments
Negrini’s £437,000 pay-off: who is going to pay it back?
Council chiefs, auditors and lawyers are exploring the recovery of the golden handshake paid to the former chief exec, which has caused public outrage since Inside Croydon first revealed the amount. By STEVEN DOWNES The trade magazine for local councils … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
8 Comments
Council slips through £5m deal to buy Brick by Brick houses
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Already hugely subsidised housing built by Brick by Brick was bought back by Croydon Council in the days before the local elections. EXCLUSIVE by BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent Serious questions are being raised over the suspiciously generous … Continue reading
Newman and Negrini’s pay-off: no papers, no notes, no reasons
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Last week’s news that former chief exec Jo Negrini’s total reward for failure at the council amounted to an eye-watering £613,000 of tax-payers’ cash raised further questions about how such a payment was agreed and who authorised … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, £437000, Conservative, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tax Payers Alliance, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Tory
22 Comments
Butler and Scott broke Code of Conduct over Fairfield meeting
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Shawcross joins condemnation of senior Labour councillors after they are let off lightly for breaking ethics rules. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Right to the bitter end, Paul Scott and Alison Butler, the couple who were at … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Bensham Manor, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, John Jones, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Woodside
Tagged 2022 Mayoral election, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Mayor, Democratically Elected Mayor of Croydon, Fairfield Halls, John Jones, Labour, Paul Scott, Tony Newman
6 Comments
£67m arts centre – with no art gallery and few performances
EXCLUSIVE: The Fairfield Halls fiasco gets worse by the day, with Bournemouth-based venue operators BHLive staging shows on just 24% of available dates. Croydon is supposed to be London’s ‘Borough of Culture’ in 2023… By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon is London’s … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Arnhem Gallery, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Mayor of London, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sadiq Khan, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck, Theatre, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Oliver Lewis, Sadiq Khan, The Wreck, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Going, going… Labour council flogs off parkland for £600,000
The toxic legacy of Alison Butler, Hamida Ali, Tony Newman and the rest of his numpties was hammered home this morning, with an auctioneer’s gavel. Heath Lodge, the long-neglected park keeper’s cottage in Grangewood Park, Thornton Heath, was sold by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Business, Callton Young, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Grangewood Park, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Pat Clouder, Thornton Heath
Tagged Alison Butler, Callton Young, Croydon, Croydon Council, Friends of Grangewood Park, Grangewood Park, Heath Lodge, Jo Negrini, Labour, Steve Reed OBE, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
6 Comments
Council admits: We’re on the brink of bankruptcy. Again
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After a fortnight of unconvincing denials from the Fisher’s Folly propaganda bunker and the local Labour Party, official reports released ahead of budget-setting meetings confirm that Croydon could indeed have to issue a second S114 notice. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon Affordable Housing, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, James Goudie QC, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Ennis, Richard Simpson, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall
8 Comments
Met Police confirm fraud review into £67.5m Fairfield fiasco
KEN LEE reports on the latest twist in the council’s headlong rush towards bankruptcy, and perhaps worse, with the Town Hall’s fate in the hands of Michael Gove The Metropolitan Police have confirmed that they have opened an investigation into … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Housing Revenue Account, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Gove, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman, Tory
11 Comments
Labour group’s response to £73m scandal? Sack the auditors!
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Having been caught out with another multi-million-pound scandal, the councillors who have been running the Town Hall for the past eight years have now decided to pass the buck to accountants Grant Thornton. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Labour, Paul Scott, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Labour to sack councillor who voted against benefit cuts
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: The Tony Newman-led vendetta against one of his own council group seems set to reach a bitter conclusion this week when Andrew Pelling looks likely to have the whip removed for daring to vote in the … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Hamida Ali, Joy Prince, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Croydon, Croydon South, Joel Bodmer, Labour, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Steve Reed OBE, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman, Waddon
13 Comments
Council faces new storm over ‘missing’ £73m housing money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors are refusing to sign-off the Town Hall accounts because of missing millions from a complex nexus of housing companies, which could force the council to tip over the edge into bankruptcy for a second time in … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
21 Comments
Halls of shame: Butler and Scott referred to council legal chief
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Leading figures in the council’s financial crash failed to declare any interests before taking part in vote against calling in the police to investigate possible fraud at the Fairfield Halls. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Labour councillors … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, John Jones, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, John Jones, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Tony Newman
5 Comments
