As you may remember, the investigation by Gloucestershire police into the pension and libel indemnity scandals in Carmarthenshire Council failed to find evidence of criminality and was concluded last month.
It remains the case that as far as the Wales Audit Office are concerned, the pension payment and the libel indemnity are both unlawful.
Following the conclusion of the police investigation I made a freedom of Information request to Gloucestershire police. The response came today and there is a link at the end of this post.
I asked for;
1. A list of any persons interviewed, and /or job titles, and whether any of these were
interviewed under caution
2. Correspondence between Gloucestershire Constabulary and Carmarthenshire County
Council
3. Whether or not the Crown Prosecution Service were involved and if so, any relevant correspondence.
The responses were that;
....nobody was interviewed,
....there was no correspondence between the council and the police and
....the CPS weren't involved.
I also asked for;
4. The final report following the conclusion of the investigation
5. A list, or summary, of all documents in either paper or electronic form which formed part
of the investigation.
These were refused under the Section 30 exemption in that the release of this information may jeopardise police tactics in the future...presumably they're expecting a flurry of similar local authority unlawfulness.
A thorough investigation? We'll have to take their word for it. I remain of the view that in both instances there was, amongst other matters, the deliberate prevention of proper scrutiny as documented in the two Wales Audit Office reports.
The full FOI response can be read here.
I am now considering whether to request an internal review of their response.
It remains the case that as far as the Wales Audit Office are concerned, the pension payment and the libel indemnity are both unlawful.
Following the conclusion of the police investigation I made a freedom of Information request to Gloucestershire police. The response came today and there is a link at the end of this post.
I asked for;
1. A list of any persons interviewed, and /or job titles, and whether any of these were
interviewed under caution
2. Correspondence between Gloucestershire Constabulary and Carmarthenshire County
Council
3. Whether or not the Crown Prosecution Service were involved and if so, any relevant correspondence.
The responses were that;
....nobody was interviewed,
....there was no correspondence between the council and the police and
....the CPS weren't involved.
I also asked for;
4. The final report following the conclusion of the investigation
5. A list, or summary, of all documents in either paper or electronic form which formed part
of the investigation.
These were refused under the Section 30 exemption in that the release of this information may jeopardise police tactics in the future...presumably they're expecting a flurry of similar local authority unlawfulness.
A thorough investigation? We'll have to take their word for it. I remain of the view that in both instances there was, amongst other matters, the deliberate prevention of proper scrutiny as documented in the two Wales Audit Office reports.
The full FOI response can be read here.
I am now considering whether to request an internal review of their response.