Boris Johnson insults Londons Firemen

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson seems to have it in for our brave firemen. One of his lackeys this week said the following about the Fire Brigade Union :-

Most of the union officials, if they had half a brain cell, they’d be dangerous. Most of them are thick, can’t string a sentence together and frankly are incoherent.

Given that this particular lackeys job is to negotiate with this union, one must question why the incompetant dolt wasn't immediately and summarily sacked. The only conclusion can be that Boris Johnson endorses his stand and believes this to be the way to achieve good industrial relations. Boris Johnson is very good at distancing himself from the gaffes of his staff. His mantra is "Nothing to do with me mate". Contrast this with David Cameron who immediately sacked Lord Young for a far less offensive outburst.

BTW The incompetent lackey happens to be a Barnet Conservative Councillor - Brian Coleman

Brian Coleman and the missing fire engines - Barnet Unaffected

Am I the only person to notice that when the Fire engines were removed (a move Brian Coleman seems to want to make permanent) to Assetco, None were from Colemans own Borough of Barnet. Here's the list of stations which have lost out. Seems like Brian is happy to remove engines so long as they are from other Boroughs. FYI Barnet is Londons second biggest Borough. It stinks

Chelsea

Chingford
Croydon
Dagenham
Enfield
Hammersmith
Hayes
Heston
Hillingdon
Holloway
Homerton
Kingston
Lambeth
Leyton
North Kensington
Old Kent Road
Plumstead
Poplar
Shoreditch
Sidcup
Southall
Stratford
Sutton
Tooting
Wembley
West Hampstead
Whitechapel

London Fire Dispute : Brian Coleman - Boris Johnsons sock puppet

People have been driving me bonkers today. As we've had the joyful spectacle of Brian Coleman spouting forth about the firemen and the strike, people seem to think I'm the man for a quote. Well sorry to say that I'm not going to play today. You see, for once I'm really not that bothered about Brian Coleman and his views on the subject and I don't think anyone else should be. You see Brian Coleman is really just Boris Johnsons sock puppet. Boris appointed Brian Coleman to the job. It is inconceivable that Brian Coleman has a different view on the matter to Boris. There may be differences in style, but Boris must be where the buck stops. Boris used to lecture Ken Livingstone on the need to talk to the RMT when there were tube strikes. Now the firemen are on strike, Boris is nowhere to be seen.

Boris isn't stupid. Coleman is doing his dirty work. If he wins, it's a victory for Boris, if he loses, Coleman will carry the can. What is truly amazing is the fact that Boris Johnson isn't mentioned at all. His strategy is working like a charm and all of the Unions, all of the media and all of the blogging community has bought this.

Except the Barnet Eye. If you really want to see the dispute resolved, forget the oily rag. Don't mention Coleman, blame Boris. He appointed the sock puppet. he must agree with his strategy and his comments. Coleman is and easy figure to vilify and Boris is an easy figure to warm to. It's a classic routine, good cop, bad cop.

I don't buy it, write it everywhere in big letters -
BORIS JOHNSON IS 100% TO BLAME FOR THE FIREMEN STRIKE

Why the FBU and London can't trust Brian Coleman

Barnet Councillor Brian Coleman has been coming out with all manner of nonsense about the Fire Brigade Union and the strike. Coleman is the chair of the fire authority and is hell bent on provoking war between the Fire Brigade and its workers. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have history with Brian Coleman, having won  a standards complaint battle against Coleman.

What newer readers may not realise is that in his testamony to the investigator, Brian Coleman told a stack of lies about me to try and win the case. He even went on the Vanessa Feltz show on BBC London half an hour before the hearing and repeated some of the most outrageous lies. The nastiest and most hurtful of these was Colemans allegation that I'd insulted his mother. He made this vile lie up, purely to try and portray me as a nasty piece of work. I immediately called up Feltz, went on air and told her, in no uncertain terms, the truth.

She immediately got a researcher to check out what I said and when it completely vindicated me said of Coleman "What sort of a man drags his own mother into a dispute like this, purely to smear an opponent".

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/09/coleman-tells-vanessa-feltz-pack-of.html

A few of the other porkies are detailed here :-

http://barneteye.blogspot.com/2009/09/roger-tichborne-vs-councillor-brian_10.html

People are either liars or they are not. If you can't trust a man in small things, how can you trust them with big things.

Planet Earth to Boris, come in please

Boris Johnson has decided to reappoint Brian Coleman to run the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA). As I read the news, I pondered the question. Does Boris not know what Brian Coleman has been up to or does he just not care? Does Boris actually enjoy sticking two fingers up at "the little people"? As I understand it, Boris (along with David Cameron) was a member of the "Bullingdon club". As far as I can see, the whole point of this club is to make the lives of any "little people" who they come across as miserable as possible. The philosophy seems to be to be as horrible as possible and then show that you can get away with it because you are stinking rich.

Whilst it is pretty clear that David Cameron seems to have grown up, I can only conclude that Boris hasn't and he sorely misses the days of blissful mayhem. I've often pondered the question of how Boris actually views Brian Coleman. Whilst I can only speculate, I have a theory. I think that Boris Johnson has a "King Arthur" complex. That is why he's so keen on the Boris bus. It's his trusty chariot. He has his round table of advisers at the GLA. So where does Coleman fit in. He's the court jester, the naughty little boy who entertains Boris and winds up all of his other advisers. Boris, for all his sins, is fiercly intelligent and an avid student of history. Boris the lionheart is the boss. The rest of his Tory GLA members are his lackeys and bag carriers. After his own job and the Met Police chair, which Boris did till he got bored, the LFEPA is probably the best paid and most important. Firemen are universally liked, trusted and admired by Londoners. Boris knows this and views them like errant Knights of the realm. Useful when there's trouble in the realm, but troublesome the rest of the time. What better way to keep them in order than making the village idiot their boss. Boris knows that ultimately the firemen will do their job when they have to, but the obnoxious Coleman will wind them up no end in the meantime, and distract them from actually causing real trouble. Sure Coleman also embarrasses Boris and the rest of the Tories, but so what? When doddery old Aunty Flo takes off her knickers at the family get togethers, once you get over the embarrassment, it is actually rather funny.

The only trouble with Boris and his Camelotic view of the GLA is that we are living in London in 2010. The GLA isn't Camelot. It doesn't need a village idiot as its jester and fire chief. It needs competent people who know how to run complex administrations. Before Coleman took over at the LFEPA, I'd not heard of the organisation. It just got on with running the fire service. When I was canvassing, I spoke to several firemen and a couple of their mums. They were universal in their vitriolic disdain for Coleman. Why? Because Coleman has launched all sorts of petty rule changes, which are designed only to make the jobs of firemen more unpleasant. Beds where fire crew relax between callouts are being removed. Coleman has made sexist remarks in his role. He described a female Lib Dem MP as an airhead, for calling out the Fire Brigade when she thought her gas boiler was going to explode, even though the Brigade said she did the right thing. Coleman criticised the British Olympic Athletics team after the 2008 games, claiming they had "blood on their hands" because they competed in China. What about his own hands, following the cuts to the service which he's trying to push through?

Boris appointed Coleman in his first flush and has found him "good entertainment value". At the Met, Boris chaired the committee himself. When he got bored and couldn't be bothered anymore, he appointed boring old Kit Malthouse to run it. Malthouse, actually being a half decent administrator has got on with the job. As a result no one has heard of him. Is it too much to ask Boris to appoint a similar figure to the LFEPA? Let's just hope Boris tires of his clown.

Planet Earth to Boris, come in please -  we need a Mayor who wants to sort our problems out. A Mayor who doesn't appoint people to important and well paid jobs, purely to amuse themselves and wind everyone else up. We want a Mayor who cares about all Londoners and who values brave public servants such as our Firemen. There is a time and place for clowns like Coleman. Sadly that time and place passed long ago.

Brian Coleman and his sleazy crew, hellbent on ruining the Fire Service

The depths to which Brian Coleman will sink to have his wicked way never cease to amaze me. Boris Johnson appointed Coleman as chair of the London Emergency Fire Planning Authority as one of his first acts as Mayor. Coleman is hellbent on imposing a whole new structure of penny pinching cuts on the brave men and women who keep us safe in our beds at night. Measures such as removing beds from Firestations, so officers on nightshift can't sleep are typical of this disgusting Tory attack on the bravest public servants of all (would you enter a building which was on fire and may collapse?).

There are 17 members of this panel. To push through the measures, Coleman needs a majority. There are currently 9 Tories on it. That means he has just enough. The only problem is that two of those members are currently serving bans from office as Councillors. Normally this would preclude their membership of such a panel, but we all know what Coleman thinks of the rules. It is truly amazing that Boris Johnson has picked a panel of Tories, who three out of 9 have been found guilty of breaches of the the stanndards code in the last couple of months. What does this tell you about the Clean Administration" Boris wanted to run.

It even appears that one of this motley crew tendered her resignation in shame, only for Brian Coleman to refuse it, because he needs her. Brian Coleman thinks the rules don't apply to him. He thinks the rules don't apply to his Tory mates on the committee. As to the rest of us? Well it appears that he thinks they apply to other Barnet Councillors, as he's the only Councillor to report a Councillor from another party.

Are there any decent Tories left in the Barnet Conservative party? Are there any decent Conservatives left in London? Surely, no one can think this sleazy crew are the right people to be running something as important as the Fire Service. I urge ALL Conservatives, for their own good and the good of all London, to contact Boris Johnson and David Cameron to get them to remove this bunch of chancers. This whole episode is a stain on Boris, a stain on Cameron and a stain on London. Our brave Firemen deserve better.

Click here to read the FULL STORY in the Evening Standard :-

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23758989-boris-banks-on-axed-councillors-in-bid-to-control-fire-authority.do

Boris must sack Brian Coleman for this misuse of his expenses.

Boris Johnson set a very useful precident with his treatment of Ian Clement's abuse of expenses. If you do not declare them accurately, you get the sack.

The Barnet Eye has uncovered a rather alarming discrepancy in Brian Coleman's declaration of his expenses. Boris knows what he must do now. Let me explain.

The Barnet Eye has a very useful rule. If you tell porkies and we find out, we tell the world. Brian Coleman told his closest friends in the Barnet Conservative Party that I'd been monstrously unfair to him regarding my blog last November about his Free Dinner register. Brian told his friends that I'd cruelly misrepresented the fact that he declared everything possible on his GLA register (even a pair of cheap cufflinks) whilst some of his colleagues were less transparent in their declarations. How has Brian Coleman acted since I ran the blog?

I recently followed up the story with an update detailing all of the free dinners since then. In the course of researching the blog, I found that the Tory Troll blog had uncovered an entirely different set of free dinners, not covered by the GLA list. This list was solely devoted to the free dinners Brian Coleman had as a result of his membership of the London Fire and Emergancy Planning Authority (LFEPA). The full list of this hospitality is listed at the bottom of this blog. So you've got it so far. A free dinner list for GLA work (as detailed by me) and a free dinner list for LFEPA work (as detailed by the Troll). Now Brian Coleman has two expense accounts. One for business conducted for his role as a GLA member and one for business conducted as a LFEPA member. If Brian Coleman's work as chairman of the LFEPA demands that he goes to a free dinner, requiring a cab home on LFEPA expenses, then the dinner must appear in the LFEPA free dinner list. Dave Hill of the Guardian reported that Brian Coleman ran up a near £400 taxi bill on his LFEPA account attending the Lord Mayors Banquet on the 10th November 2008. This dinner does not appear in the LFEPA list below. It does however appear on original GLA list in my November 2008 Blog as :-
MEMBERS GLA EXPENSES - BRIAN COLEMAN
10-Nov-08
Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Guildhall
The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of the Corporation of London

Brian Coleman has declared that his attendance of the Banquet was on GLA not LFEPA business. He claimed the cab on his LFEPA taxi account. This is the man who told everyone that he "scrupulously declared every event, even if it wasn't really relevant". So why did he do this. Could it be because he knew his GLA expenses would be published and we'd spot it? The LFEPA expenses were only divulged after a Freedom of Information request was lodged.

Boris Johnson promised honesty and transparency in his regime. Quite apart from the fact that expecting the Taxpayer to foot a £400 bill is grounds enough for sacking, to try and hide it in this way is clearly not on. Boris really has no choice. He appointed Brian Coleman to the LFEPA chairmanship, with it's huge salary for a part time job (around £25,000 pa). How has Brian Coleman repaid him, to use it as a free taxi service for his other job. I really can't see how he can avoid sacking Coleman now?

Brian Coleman's LFEPA declarations (from the Tory Troll Blog).

Councillor Brian Coleman (LFEPA Chair)

• Lunch on 27/9/07 provided by Deputy Fire Commissioner
  
• Dinner on 23/10/07 provided by Sir Ken Knight
  
• Lunch on 30/10/07 provided by Asset Co
  
• Lunch on 26/11/07 provided by James Flynn, LFEPA Head of Communications
  
• Dinner on 21/4/08 provided by Licensing Committee of the City of London Corporation
  
• Lunch on 28/5/08 provided by Mr David Cartwright
  
• Lunch on 2/7/08 provided by 4Ps
  
• Dinner on 2/7/08 provided by T-Systems (sister company of T-Mobile)
  
• Dinner on 17/7/08 provided by Sir Ken Knight
  
• Dinner on 23/7/08 provided by Mr John Shannon
  
• Lunch on 26/8/08 provided by Mr John Smith
  
• Dinner on 1/12/08 provided by Chief Fire & Rescue Adviser
  
• Harvey Nichols hamper provided by John Shannon Asset Co on 24/12/08
  
• Dinner on 19/1/09 provided by John Shannon
  

The Brian Coleman Free Dinner register - July 2009 Update

Stop Press : The Barnet Eye has uncovered even more free dinners, hidden from the main GLA list and uncovered by the Tireless Tory Troll. I've added the new entries in in italics. These were in a FOI request sent to the London Fire Authority(LFEPA).
*******************************************
To MISQUOTE BOB DYLAN
"How many dinners can a man gobble down,
before he gets the sack,
The answer my friend, is ask Boris Johnson,
The answer is ask Boris Johnson"
*******************************************

Since the inception of this blog, the most popular entry has been The Brian Coleman Free Dinner register - This was published on the 15th November 2008. The MINIMUM weekly visits to this blog page has been 61, most weeks it's far higher, especially when our much loved GLA representative is in the news. I suspect that if I deleted every blog other page I've written and just left this one, I would still have one of Londons favourite BLOGS !

It has been much copied, often without a hat tip (you naughty old sausages). Anyway, today, the day Brian Coleman bows to public pressure, I thought I'd give an update to your favourite story. So here it is - all Mr Coleman's hospitality since the 15th November blog.

Just remember though, Brian Coleman has said that the more you sponge, the harder you work. I remember Norman Tebbit telling benefit "spongers" - "get on your bike and find work" - Mr Coleman has transformed and rewritten the paradigm for the 21st Century "Get in your Taxi and find Dinner!" - Please note that not all of his taxi journeys are listed here. He claimed the £496 fare to the Lord Mayors dinner from his London Fire Brigade account, although the dinner is listed as GLA hospitality.

For your enjoyment, I've put in his taxi expenses for these engagements where he's claimed them back from the GLA.

By the way, please note :- The Barnet Eye in no way criticises Mr Coleman for receiving lots of hospitality. I'm told it's all scrupulously declared and well within the rules, as they stand. This list is purely provided to give bloggers, such as myself, who Mr Coleman quite righly describes as Mad, Bad and Sad a good chuckle, and the voters of Barnet and Camden the opportunity to see how hard Mr Coleman is prepared to work to further their interests. If eating dinner is the secret of hard work as he claims, Mr Coleman is still London's hardest working GLA member by a Country Mile !

Brian Coleman 18-JUN-09 Conservative Friends of Israel Annual
Business Lunch at the Dorchester
Lord Steinberg Andrew Heller Conservative Friends of Israel
Brian Coleman 13-MAY-09 Board of Deputies of British Jews
President's Dinner at the Park Lane Hotel
Mr Henry Grunwald QC President,
Board of Deputies of British Jews
Brian Coleman 02-MAY-09 Ticket for Barnet Football Club match against
Port Vale, lunch and refreshments
Mr Robert Shutler Metropolitan Development Consultancy
Brian Coleman 15-APR-09 Two tickets for Spring Remembrance Concert at the
Wigmore Hall in Memory of Armenian Victims of 1915
Mr Vahe Gabrielyan, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia
Brian Coleman 31-MAR-09 Heron International Annual Luncheon at the
Dorchester Hotel
Mr Gerald Ronson Heron International
Brian Coleman 19-MAR-09 dinner at the Adjournment, Portcullis House,
House of Commons SW1 Mr Ross Lydall The Scotsman
Brian Coleman 12-MAR-09 Lunch for myself and my mother at Italian Restaurant in
High Cross Shopping Centre, Leicester
Mr Tom Nathan, General Manager,
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Brian Coleman 02-MAR-09 Community Security Trust Annual Dinner at
Grosvenor House Hotel
Mr Gerald Ronson, Chairman, Community Security Trust
Brian Coleman 24-FEB-09 Dinner at the Bulgarian Embassy Dr Lachezar Matev,
Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria
Taxi 32.83 24/02/09 N3 to Hyde Park Gate, SW7
18.13 24/02/09 Hyde Park Gate, SW7 to N3
Dinner on 19/1/09 provided by John Shannon (LFEPA)
Brian Coleman 14-JAN-09 Lunch at Strada, More London Tim Donovan, BBC London
Brian Coleman 13-JAN-09 Dinner at the Toby Carvery Motel, Borehamwood
Mill Hill Rotary Club in return for speaking engagement
Brian Coleman 09-JAN-09 Lunch at the Haven Restaurant in Whetstone N20
Ms Emer Coleman
Brian Coleman 08-JAN-09 London Government Dinner at the Mansion House
The Lord Mayor of London
Brian Coleman 27-DEC-08 Bottle of Kosher Wine
Tzivos Hashem Organisation
Harvey Nichols hamper provided by John Shannon Asset Co on 24/12/08 (LFEPA)
Brian Coleman 23-DEC-08 Bottle of Bushmills Malt Whisky
Mr and Mrs Rico Andreopoulos
Brian Coleman 22-DEC-08 Bottle of Glenlivet Whisky
Mr Mark Styles, Managing Director, Thomann-Hanry
Brian Coleman 22-DEC-08 Bottle of Armenian Brandy
Mr Vahe Gabrielyan Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia
Brian Coleman 18-DEC-08 Lunch in Restaurant at Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Mr Tom Nathan General Manager,
Brent Cross Shopping Centre
Dinner on 1/12/08 provided by Chief Fire & Rescue Adviser (LFEPA)
Brian Coleman 22-NOV-08 Dinner in honour of the Mayor and Councillors of Morphou
at the Greek Cypriot Community Centre,
Brittania Road, N12 9RU
Mr Chris Ioannou, Chairman, Morphou Area Organisation
Brian Coleman 21-NOV-08 Sikh Forum International Annual Dinner and
Sikh of the Year Award at Lincoln's Inn
Mr Ranjit Singh OBE Chairman, Sikh Forum International
Brian Coleman 12-NOV-08 Middlesex University Civic Dinner
Professor Michael Driscoll,
Vice Chancellor of Middlesex University
Brian Coleman 11-NOV-08 Two tickets for Music for Youth Concert at the
Royal Albert Hall and refreshments
Michael C Doughty, Music for Youth
Taxi 58.57 11/11/08 Taxi Royal Albert hall to N2 & N3
96.03 11/11/08 Taxi N2 & City Hall
to Royal Albert Hall Sw7

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following gifts/hospitality were in the period covered by the previous blog but not included on it

• Lunch on 27/9/07 provided by Deputy Fire Commissioner
  
• Dinner on 23/10/07 provided by Sir Ken Knight
  
• Lunch on 30/10/07 provided by Asset Co
  
• Lunch on 26/11/07 provided by James Flynn, LFEPA Head of Communications
  
• Dinner on 21/4/08 provided by Licensing Committee of the City of London Corporation
  
• Lunch on 28/5/08 provided by Mr David Cartwright
  
• Lunch on 2/7/08 provided by 4Ps
  
• Dinner on 2/7/08 provided by T-Systems (sister company of T-Mobile)
  
• Dinner on 17/7/08 provided by Sir Ken Knight
  
• Dinner on 23/7/08 provided by Mr John Shannon
  
• Lunch on 26/8/08 provided by Mr John Smith

Click here for full details of how a £12 Million contract was awarded to one of the companies providing this hospitality.

Brian Coleman Exclusive : Coleman the dangerous hypocrite is exposed

Here's a question for you. What is a higher priority for the London Fire Brigade

a) Attending to a house where a Mother with young children thinks the Boiler is about to explode.

or

b) Providing a nice story for a Conservative MP's website & publicity material.

Well I know what I think is more important. What does Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority think ?

a) "It is an utter disgrace that Lynne Featherstone rang 999 for fire fighters to come her home after she reported a knocking noise coming from her central heating system."

b) "I am delighted that under my leadership, all Barnet Residents are entitled to a free Home Fire Safety Visit. Theresa has led the way in having one and I would encourage all Barnet Residents to do likewise. "

So what is the difference between Lynne Featherstone and Theresa Villiers. Villiers is a colleague of Brian Coleman. She's the MP for Chipping Barnet and the Shadow Transport spokesperson. Lynne Featherstone is a Liberal Democrat MP and an opponent of Brian Coleman. Brian Coleman is prepared to sacrifice issues of public safety to score cheap points at the expense of opponents. In this case opponents who were behaving rather sensibly. Lynne Featherstone details the incident in her blog - http://www.lynnefeatherstone.org/2008/12/brian-coleman-and-fire-brigade.htm . I found this whole story completely disgusting. The crass sexism of Coleman's comments were appalling. I would go as far as to say he brought his committe into disrepute and should be sacked from his £25,000 a year post as chairman of the committee

So ask yourself this. If your neighbour in the flat above you thinks their gas system is about to explode and the neighbour below you want's a visit from the fire brigade to advise them on home safety, which would you rather they attended to first?

Don't get me wrong, I think it is good that the Fire Brigade do home safety visits. I even think it's good that Theresa Villiers used her website to get a bit of publicity for herself and the brigade to publicise the service - http://www.theresavilliers.com/article/?id=367&PHPSESSID=95f90abf3176c5d36cd5f0593e719a50 - I just can't stomach the way a man in public office twists the role to help his friends and harm his enemies.