Tag Archives: #PennReport

Mayor Perry: we’ve reported no one for bankrupting borough

Tory Mayor now blames police for slow investigation – after having submitted complaint over former council leaders more than two years after the council received recommendations that it should do so. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter In an extraordinary … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Policing, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tory Mayor Perry admits to another broken election promise

No more ‘rewards for failure’ was the Tory promise before last year’s local elections. Now the council’s executive Mayor has conceded that he cannot act against Newman, Negrini or others accused of bankrupting the borough. By our Town Hall reporter, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Didn’t I do well?! Kerswell gives herself a pat on the back

CROYDON IN CRISIS: It is three years to the week since the emergency committee meeting, attended by Jason Perry, that decided in secret to give £437,000 to Jo Negrini to leave her job as council CEO. Today, Negreedy’s replacement, Katherine … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Perry admits he can’t take action against council’s bankrupters

Croydon’s part-time Mayor has always known that the actions of councillors and senior council staff ‘can decimate an authority… without any fear of recrimination’. But he’s been very reluctant to admit his impotency to the borough’s residents. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Kerswell’s council keeps payments to top earners secret

Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on how Croydon’s backlog of unsanctioned accounts is being used as an excuse to disguise the latest round of top-level recruitment The Tax Payers Alliance, one of those deliberately opaque, far-right lobby groups from … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Three former exec directors are back on councils’ gravy train

Having avoided any disciplinary difficulties over the bankrupting of the borough, some of those with key roles in Croydon’s financial collapse are doing rather well for themselves, reports KEN LEE Richard Simpson, once in charge of Croydon Council’s finances, as … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

94% want Met Police to investigate Labour’s Newman and Hall

CROYDON IN CRISIS: An online poll conducted for this website shows an overwhelming number of the borough’s residents think that the former council leadership should face police action for an offence that carries a maximum life sentence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Jewitt says there was no wrong-doing – by her charity’s boss

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Many senior figures in the local Labour Party continue to try to deny that there was anything wrong with the way the former leaders behaved in the lead-up to the borough’s bankruptcy, as a speech at the … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, CVA, Karen Jewitt, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, South Norwood, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Kerswell condemns councils’ accountability as inadequate

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yesterday’s meeting of the cash-strapped council’s disciplinary committee may have committed Croydon to tens of thousands of pounds of additional legal costs, with no guarantee of any success in the cases which might eventually be brought. And … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Newman’s defence slips: there’s ‘no evidence’ of wrongdoing

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest in-depth coverage of the borough’s bankruptcy by a national newspaper sees the former Labour council leader dump blame on his erstwhile colleagues. By STEVEN DOWNES The council leader who oversaw Town Hall meetings and gatherings … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Manju Shahul Hameed, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Kerswell still holds out over Penn Report’s recommendations

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Those with the biggest responsibilities and with statutory duties let the organisation down’ according to the investigation into the council’s financial collapse. The two-year delay in publication appears to have let down the borough’s residents and council … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Newman breaks his silence to tell Mail: I did no wrong

CROYDON IN CRISIS: With the Penn Report into possible wrong-doing at the council expected to be released by officials shortly, the former council leader has responded to reports in the national press. By STEVEN DOWNES The Daily Mail today became … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Taxing times for Perry as he deploys Negrini as his ‘dead cat’

Try not to get your hopes up too much ahead of next week’s Penn Report meeting, suggests STEVEN DOWNES. The Mayor might be over-promising before under-delivering again Is Jo Negrini being used as a “dead cat” by Croydon Mayor Jason … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Kerswell finally prepares to publish long withheld #PennReport

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s £193,000 per year CEO has descended into the realms of Alice In Blunderland with her latest excuses for ignoring elected councillors and the public. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive, claims that it … Continue reading

Posted in Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Mayor Perry: ‘It’s going to get worse before it gets better’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: It didn’t take very long once he became Croydon’s first executive Mayor after telling the electorate that he had a plan, that Jason Perry was forced to admit that he never had a plan at all. By … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Fisher, Section 114 notice, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Bankrupt council paid firm of solicitors £2m over two years

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council used to have a senior official known as the ‘Borough Solicitor’. These days, the cash-strapped council is out-sourcing much of its legal work to a single firm of solicitors, at huge cost. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Julie Belvir, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Three PMs and a Funeral: tumultuous months for Croydon

Being featured in a television documentary, standing up against Croydon Council in the High Court and getting a mention in despatches from Private Eye were among some of the highlights of the end of 2022 for Inside Croydon, as this … Continue reading

Posted in Inside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Negrini’s dodgy pay-off now gets attention from the trade press

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Borough’s most senior lawyer, responding to advice the council received almost nine months ago, says that the meeting that agreed to pay £437,000 to departing chief exec was ‘potentially unlawful’. By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s glacially slow … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Croydon Council, Inside Croydon, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

#PennReport: No referrals sent to staff’s professional bodies

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Recommendations for action made by auditors, a Local Government Association report and two sets of legal experts have not been acted on by the current CEO. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Confidential legal advice provided to Croydon Council … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Council threatens injunction over reports it published itself

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having published two confidential reports on its own website last week, today Croydon Council’s top legal official threatened this website with a High Court injunction. By STEVEN DOWNES The myth that Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time Mayor, has … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

‘Better than evens’ chance of winning Negrini legal case

CROYDON IN CRISIS: After doing their utmost for almost two years to suppress the findings and recommendations of the Penn Report investigation into the council’s financial collapse, Katherine Kerswell’s blundering local authority managed to publish two confidential legal reports on … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Stuart King, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

#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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

#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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Judge orders CEO Kerswell to face tribunal over racism claims

Our Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the latest development in the increasingly messy aftermath of Croydon’s bankruptcy Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,474 per year chief executive, will have to face up to 11 days in an Employment Tribunal and claims … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

#PennReport: Staff speak out about ‘scandalous’ bullying

CROYDON IN CRISIS: In an online poll conducted over the weekend, the overwhelming majority of iC readers – 92.5% – said that wanted to read more from the Penn Report into ‘possible wrong-doing’ at their local council. So, because Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Nathan Elvery, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments