Police threat as Mathew Street report faces more delays

Oct 30 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

FRUSTRATION was mounting last night as the report into the Mathew Street Festival cancellation was yet to be published.

Labour leader Cllr Joe Anderson threatened to report council leader Warren Bradley to the police if it was not published in 48 hours.

But last night Cllr Bradley said he had been proved right to insist that the report was checked over, as some names had been removed for legal reasons.

He said he hoped the finished report would be released “as soon as possible” because he too wanted it out in the public.

Cllr Anderson threatened to report Cllr Bradley to the police on the grounds of malapropriation of public funds because the report had been paid for with council tax payers’ cash.

He said he would also report the council leader, over his behaviour in with- holding the report, to the Standards Board for England which acts as a watchdog over councillors’ conduct.

Cllr Anderson also threatened to report the council to the Local Government Ombudsman over the way it had dealt with the matter.

“Public money has paid for the report, but it is being changed by people implicated in it, so there is public money at stake,” said Cllr Anderson.

Cllr Bradley said: “I got a written assurance from the city solicitor at the end of last week, that I could not be held responsible [for publishing the report] and there could be no challenge to the report.

“People were named right the way through the whole report which I thought was inappropriate. That has now been changed.”

He said there would be an appendix detailing where changes had been made.

Last night he was waiting for the return of chief executive, Colin Hilton, who was off sick yesterday before the report could be released.

He said the report would be out as soon as possible.