highlights: council leader Iain Malcolm rigs ballot to cheat tory Pat Piggott out of victory

Election fraudster - council leader Iain Malcolm

Mr Monkey would like to take readers back to April 2000.

Councillor Iain Malcolm was up for re-election and it was widely believed that he faced a tough fight against Patricia Piggott, a strong Conservative candidate.  

 

Many people including Iain Malcolm believed that he would lose his seat to the Conservative so he decided to take matters into his own hands and rig the ballot to ensure he won and there was no better way to do this than by manipulating the postal vote – Labour’s recently introduced new election fixing tool. 

Councillor Iain Malcolm ensured that every elderly person in his ward was registered to vote and encouraged them to vote by post. He assured them that there was nothing complicated about the process especially as he and his associates would be on hand to fill the ballot papers in for them and even offered to post them on their behalf.

Councillor Iain Malcolm particularly targeted care homes, sheltered accommodation and OAP bungalows. As a sitting councillor no council employee was going to deny him access so he was free to come and go as he pleased.

 

As the election was nearing its climax, councillor Iain Malcolm was increasingly worried about the reaction on the doorstep and decided that it was time for drastic intervention otherwise he would lose his seat.

 

Around the same time the sitting MP for South Shields, Dr David Clarke was planning to retire at the next general election which was due to be held within the next year or so.

 

The only problem was that councillor Iain Malcolm had been selected to sit on the Parliamentary panel and was likely to be selected to replace Dr Clarke as Labour’s parliamentary candidate at the forthcoming election – something Dr Clarke was desperate to avoid, he even raised the matter with the then Prime Minister Tony Blair.

 

Dr Clarke despised everything Iain Malcolm stood for, he didn’t trust him and questioned his integrity. It wasn’t long before Dr Clarke was proved right.

 

Prior to polling day councillor Iain Malcolm instructed all Labour party members in Horsley Hill to go around people’s homes collecting any postal voting envelopes that hadn’t been posted on the pretext of “we’ll post them for you”. But instead of posting them he asked his supporters to hand them over to him.

 

A crucial part of Iain Malcolm’ strategy was to ensure that the postal votes from care homes, sheltered accommodations and OAP bungalows were collected in person. He entrusted this task to an unsuspecting Labour party member called Tom Taylor. He told him to take all the envelopes to his house and that he would come and collect them later.

 

After he had collected them he called Iain Malcolm to tell him that he had finished his task and that they were at his house awaiting collection. Shortly after Iain Malcolm arrived.

 

Tom’s wife Mary, asked Iain Malcolm to step inside the house and when he saw that Tom was as good as his word and had collected a large number of envelopes he sat down and started to sort through them. Then to the total and utter dismay of these life long Labour supporters he started to open the envelopes in their front room and removed the ballot papers. Any votes for Labour were returned to the envelope and resealed for posting and any votes for Pat Piggott, the Conservative candidate were destroyed.

 

In the early hours of May 5^th the election result was announced and as people had predicated it was a close run thing. Iain Malcolm was declared the winner with 785 votes with Pat Piggott polling 709 votes, a difference of just 76 votes.

 

Iain Malcolm celebrated his victory by announcing to a handful of associates that he had cheated Pat Piggott out of victory by destroying her votes and said that he’d done what he’d needed to do to ensure that no Tory took his seat.

 

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Part 2 of this disgraceful act of betrayal will follow shortly.

 

UPDATE: Saturday 28th March at 10.35am

Yesterday was a record breaking day for Mr Monkey’s Blog with 4,163 hits being recorded. Bloggers also helped set an all time record for the highest number of hits on a single post.

 

UPDATE DATE: Friday 27th March at 20.55pm
Apparently Mr Monkey’s blog was mentioned at yesterday’s meeting of the full council and by all accounts it caused quite a stir. Some councillors appeared to want a hole to open up and swallow them. Others managed to raise a wry smile but sadly one or two just sat there with a blank expression on their face.

get help councillor potts .. before it’s too late

'Mr Monkey is worried about you Tory Boy, get help before it's too late'

If any of you have witnessed councillor David Potts, aka the King of Sleaze’s erratic behaviour over the past 10 months you can’t help but agree with this chimp, that Tory Boy has become mentally unstable.

Mr Monkey is seriously worried about Pudgy Face and reckons he’s lost the plot – apparently he’s even started going to church in anticipation of meeting his maker. Well this chimp doesn’t want to be responsible for pushing him over the edge.

Bloggers will have noticed that councillor Potts has been going downhill ever since he was de-selected by the Scottish Conservatives after Mr Monkey brought the King of Sleaze’s antics to the attention of blue rinse brigade in Edinburgh. He’s never recovered from the rejection or come to terms with the fact that his political career was ended by a chimp.

It now seems that Tory Boy is behaving like a spoiled child who cries and whines, because nobody, but his lone ally Jeff Milburn takes any notice of him. Mr Monkey reckons Pudgy Face is mentally ill and needs to seek professional help before it’s too late.

This poor excuse of a man is becoming more and more unstable. His mental illness is affecting not only his decision-making at the Red Lion, but is now hurting the image of the local Conservatives, which probably explains why rising star, Karen Allen, the Parliamentary candidate for South Shields wants nothing to do with him.

Councillor Potts reminds Mr Monkey of President Nixon in his final days as President, he drank too much, started to talk to pictures of past Presidents and became overwhelmingly paranoid. Please councillor Potts, seek help, before it’s too late .. this chimp is worried about you.

South Shields Daily Pictures

Today’s South Shields Daily Picture Monkey Clip is dedicated to two of South Tyneside’s most self opinionated fuckwits – the King of Sleaze, aka conservative councillor David Potts and The Fat Mackem Hobbit, aka Graham Rigg.

It seems that these two have much more in common than Mr Monkey thought and this short clip shows what happens when the King of Sleaze demands total obedience from his subjects lackey.

 

But what does councillor Potts do when the council leader, Iain Malcolm summons him to his office?

miliband and hepburn caught with their snouts in the trough

The Pig Sty House of Commons has finally published details of MPs’ expenses claims – more than a year after the High Court ordered their publication and weeks after they were leaked to the Daily Telegraph.

Revelations about their claims have forced some MPs to announce their resignations and yesterday junior Treasury minister, Kitty Ussher became the latest MP to quit the Government following allegations that she avoided paying capital gains tax by “flipping” her second home.

The list of MPs expenses includes printed documents and receipts relating to claims made between 2004/05 and 2007/08 for a series of parliamentary allowances, but it seems they are still a bit coy about telling the public the whole truth – many details have been blanked out or have been left out altogether.

These include claims under the £24,000-a-year Additional Costs Allowance, which reimburses MPs for the cost of having to maintain a second home while serving at Westminster; the £22,000 Incidental Expenses Provision, which pays for running an office; and the £10,400 Communications Allowance, which covers the cost of newsletters and websites to inform constituents about their activities; as well as details of expenditure on stationery and postage.

Many of the expense claims and supporting receipts feature large blacked out areas where it’s not always clear what has been obscured or why.

The list does not include the addresses of MPs’ homes, which means it’s virtually impossible to identify so-called flipping – where MPs switch the designation of their second properties to maximise their claims and avoid paying capital gains tax.

Also blanked out are the details of people and companies to whom payments were made using expenses and correspondence between MPs and the Commons Fees Office have also been removed.

But despite this cover up it seems our local MPs have well and truly had their snouts in the trough, CLICK HERE for details of Jarrow MP, Stephen Hepburn’s expenses and HERE for details South Shields MP, David Miliband’s claims.

how much does a progressive councillor cost the taxpayer?

It’s the Progressives turn to face Mr Monkey’s how much do they cost the taxpayer test. 

Like the Real Independents, these closet Conservatives have effectively been bought by Miss Piggy as he tries desperately to cling on to power. Sadly this once major force in South Tyneside politics has been reduced to a handful of has beens that are well past their sell by date, but they do all have one thing in common – they’re useless, and in some case clueless. 

Take councillor Hetherington, one of the Ugly Sisters from West Park, she accepted the position of vice chair of the Riverside Community Area Forum thinking it was a paid position and when she found out it wasn’t she spent the rest of the year sulking. 

Name	Allowances	Travel	Subsistence	Total	Weekly Cost
J. Capstick	£11,760			£11,760	£226.15
K. Hickman	£11,203			£11,203	£215.44
E. Hetherington	£7,056			£7,056	£135.69
M. Robinson	£7,056			£7,056	£135.69
L. Nolan	£7,056			£7,056	£135.69
TOTALS	£44,131	–	–	£44,131	£848.66

 The cost of each Progressive councillor to the taxpayer in 2008 – 09 was £8,826.20

exclusive: Editor of the Gazette desperately tries to silence his critics

Yesterday Mr Monkey revealed that editor of the Shields Gazette and chair of the Northern region of the Society of Editors, John Szymanski had complained to council leader Iain Malcolm about the contents of a newsletter that criticised the Gazette’s less then healthy relationship with the ruling Labour group. CLICK HERE.

This chimp can now confirm that Mr Szymanski has brought his profession into disrepute by attempting to silence his critics. Unfortunately his actions have made a mockery out of his so called commitment to free-speech and has raised some serious questions about his integrity and judgement as well as his suitability to continue as a editor of the once proud Shields Gazette.

It seems that Mr Szymanski took exception to the following statement published in the spring edition of the Independent newsletter for Westoe: 

WITH ALL OF THIS ACTIVITY why is our local rag not full of accounts of all the questions, discussion and debate raised by the Independent Alliance? It has been suggested that the Gazette has become part of the Malcolm Fanzine Cavalcade. Since Cllr Iain Malcolm stepped out of the shadows and took on the role publicly that he has always had, leader of the Council, the editor of the Gazette is seen more often at the jollies previously mentioned than the Mayor! The Alliance has no need to depend upon the Gazette for reporting its activities, we can do it ourselves. As you know we distribute newsletters four times a year, produce special leaflets for specific issues e.g. Gypsies Green and the disappearing ballot boxes, knock on doors and talk to people throughout the year and hold public meetings. Never the less, it is sad to think that free press is not that free and has been bought for an onion baghee from the buffet! 

 … apparently the truth hurts.

A source close to Iain Malcolm has confirmed that he alerted Mr Szymanski to the article who in turn was so incensed by the critiscim he faced that he contacted the council leader to see if there was anything he could do about it. Councillor Malcolm told him there was nothing he could do officially and that the best course of action would be for him to make a formal complaint to the local Standard’s Board. Councillor Malcolm explained the process in more detail and even told him which sections to quote in his complaint.

Mr Monkey can now reveal that John Szymanski has complained to the Standard’s Board about councillor Jane Branley whose name was on the newsletter and that following a confidential report to a sub committee the matter will now be investigated further.

What councillor Malcolm didn’t tell John Szymanski was that when a complaint is made to the Standard’s Board the person who the complaint is lodged against is told who made the complaint. Poor Mr Szymanski thought he was making an anonymous complaint and that no one would find out about it, least of all councillor Branley and especially his own staff – nothing could be further from the truth.

Mr Szymanski’s desperation to silence his critics and his willingness to please his paymaster has back fired and he has been labelled a hypocrite with no integrity. He’s also become the laughing stock of his profession – but worse is to come.

Mr Monkey will be contacting senior managers staff at Johnston Press in Edinburgh and will be sending hard copies of this post to every member of the Society of Editors and not just in the North East.

Mr Monkey has also learned that a further 20,000 newsletters containing the same article have been distributed in Hebburn South, Whiteleas, Biddick and All Saints, Horsley Hill and Whitburn and Marsden – apparently there’s more to follow.

Mr Monkey can’t help wondering how Mr Szymanski is going to explain this latest in a long line of gaffes to his senior managers? 

exclusive: Gazette editor John Szymanski clamps down on freespeech

John Szymanski 'The Pride of South Tyneside?'

Mr Monkey is currently looking into allegations that the editor of the Shields Gazette and chair of the Northern region of the Society of Editors, John Szymanski has complained to council leader Iain Malcolm about the contents of a newsletter that criticised the Gazette’s less then healthy relationship with the ruling Labour group.

Councillor Malcolm advised Mr Szymanski to lodge a formal complaint against the individuals concerned and as usual John Szymanski has followed his paymaster’s advice to the letter.

Mr Monkey is trying to establish more facts concerning these allegations and hopes to update bloggers in the next 24 hours.

Interestingly, the Society of Editors recognises the universal right to freedom of expression, the importance of the vitality of the news media in a democratic society, and the promotion of Press and broadcasting freedom and the public’s right to know and this is what Mr Szymanski had to say when he was elected, 

“A free Press is essential to any democracy and I will strive to ensure the Society does its utmost to protect the freedom of all sectors of the media to report on behalf of the public.”

Sadly it seems that Mr Szymanski is now singing from a different hymn sheet and his actions, if true, speak volumes for what he really believes in.

exclusive: tory councillor David Potts gets almost £1,200 for every council meeting he attends

'No wonder the bastard's smiling, he can afford an escort when he gets £1,176 for every council meeting he attends'

Mr Monkey would like to thank the other local blogger for drawing his attention to the attendances of certain councillors.

He seems to have selectively singled out the poor attendance record of councillor Allen Branley, the not quite as bad record of councillor Jane Branley and the “ever present” records of councillor Victor Thompson and Ahmed Khan.

So Mr Monkey thought he’d take a closer look at the Hobbit’s hero – the King of Sleaze and ‘Totty Magnet’ – Tory Boy David Potts attendance record, and what an eye opener it was.

Below are Pudgy Face’s attendance rates up to 15 April 2009 and they have been taken from the council’s own website.

Clearly, he only attends full council meetings for the attention. He has no respect for sub committee’s, and cant be bothered to go to even 1 CAF meeting, they only council structure that deals directly with his ward members.

Labour council leader Iain Malcolm bought Tory Boy’s loyalty by giving him a Scrutiny vice-chair position, which the members allowance scheme shows pays £7056 in addition to his basic allowance of £7056  and this is how he conned more than £14,000 out of the public purse earned his money.

1. BOROUGH COUNCIL
11 MEETINGS
10 ATTENDANCES 
= 90 % RATE

2. LICENSING COMMITTEE
17 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCE  
= 0 % ATTENDANCE RATE

3. BOLDON CLEADON AND WHITBURN CAF
9 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCES
0 % RATE

4. REGULATORY COMMITTEE
8 MEETINGS, 7 CANCELLED
0 ATTENDANCES
0 % RATE

5. HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
8 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCES
0 % RATE

6. SELECT COMMITTEE ENVIRONMENT HOUSING AND TRANSPORT AND SAFER AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES COMMITTEE – VICE CHAIR
8 MEETINGS
2 ATTENDANCES
25 % RATE

7. APPOINTMENTS SUB COMMITTEE
8 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCES
% RATE

8. SCRUTINY COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT – VICE CHAIR
7 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCES

9. SCRUTINY COMMISSION ON IMPROVING DELIVERY OF TRANSPORT AND PEDESTRIAN INFRASTRUCTURE -VICE CHAIR
2 MEETINGS
0 ATTENDANCES
0 % RATE

SUMMARY AS AT 15 APRIL 2009
POSSIBLE MEETINGS -71
ATTENDANCES – 12
OVERALL ATTENDANCE RATE % – 17%

Total amount that can be claimed by Pudgy Face, councillor David Potts is £14,112 or £1,176 per meeting attended – not bad work if you can get it!

so what is the gazette waiting for?

Mr Monkey’s investigations have revealed far more about council leader Iain Malcolm and the local Labour party than than this chimp ever imagined.

It seems that after year’s of watching the corrupt and devious practices of Iain Malcolm and his stooges, there’s literally dozens of people who are now prepared to reveal what really went on behind closed doors and the Malcolm’s kitchen table.

Apparently the inner circle made up of a handful of power hungry individuals led by the Malcolm brothers did anything and everything to get their hands on the reigns of power.

Over the next few weeks Mr Monkey will be revealing some of the shocking and frankly despiclable methods these gangsters politicians and their stooges used to get their own way. Nothing or no one was sacred, even their own loved ones.

Iain Malcolm’s ballot rigging antics are now in the public domain and judging by the comments made on this site it would seem that some of you have taken matters into your own hands and have contacted the police asking for a full investigation. Others have contacted the Standards Board, the Electoral Commission and the Conservative Party.

Mr Monkey has also been told that pressure is building on the local media to expose the shameful antics of council leader Iain Malcolm, but for some reason they seem reluctant to publish the biggest local political story in years.

So what are you waiting for Mr Szymanski? 

Mr Monkey has been told that internet start, ST Central have already stolen a march on the Gazette and are apparently in possession of some pretty incriminating documents.

It appears that they did not know what to do with the story and given the political implicationsof the subsequent cover up at the highest levels of the Labour party and perhaps government they contacted the BBC. Apparently their other company Jag Productions has strong links with the BBC as they produce TVprogrammes for them, including investigative news programmes and documentaries.

Mr Monkey has also been told they’ve now passed the documents onto the police and asked them to carry out an investigation into the matter – in effect they have made a formal complaint about election fraud.

Mr Monkey reckons in this instance the local media should be working together rather than competing against each other. This story has huge public interest value and surely the local media should be leading from the front instead waiting to pick up the scraps others leave behind.

Mr Monkey also thinks it time for the public to up the anti by contacting the local press themselves instead of leaving comments here about what should or shouldn’t happen. Why not contact the editor of the Gazette yourself and tell him how you feel?

You can e mail him at john.szymanski@northeast-press.co.uk or ring him on 0191 427 4800. If you prefer pop into the Gazette office on Chapter Row and ask to speak to John Szymanski or the paper’s political reporter Paul Myles Kelly.

exclusive: council leader iain malcolm reported for ballot rigging .. who knew about it and why was it covered up?

council Iain Malcolm was reproted to the police for ballot rigging by the town's MP Dr David Clark

A fortnight ago Mr Monkey exclusively published the findings of his in depth investigation into allegations of ballot rigging by South Tyneside’s Labour council leader, councillor Iain Malcolm.

Mr Monkey’s revelations confirmed what a handful of people already knew, and what many others suspected, councillor Iain Malcolm will stop at nothing to cling on to power, including rigging elections in his favour – in this case by deliberately destroying postal votes intended for other candidates. CLICK HERE to read Mr Monkey’s revealtions in full.

On 31st March, Mr Monkey posted a second article in which he revealed the dilemma faced by Tom and Mary Taylor. They’d witnessed councillor Iain Malcolm opening postal vote envelopes and destroying ballot papers intended for the Conservative, Pat Piggott. They agonised for months about whether or not they should tell anyone about what they’d seen before finally telling all.

Mr Monkey also revealed how Iain Malcolm was willing to sign off the local party’s accounts ‘on behalf’ of Tom Taylor (he was the party treasurer) without his knowledge or approval until Geraldine White (a then executive committee member) objected to councillor Malcolm’s proposals and suggested that she should visit Mr Taylor so that he could sign off the accounts in person. CLICK HERE for more details.

TOM TAYLOR REVEALS ALL ..

True to her word Mrs White visited Mr and Mrs Taylor to discuss the annual accounts and during the course of the conversation Mrs White mentioned that councillor Iain Malcolm had proposed signing off the party’s accounts in his absence. This angered Mr Taylor who then proceeded to tell her what he and Mrs Taylor had witnessed Iain Malcolm do in their front room and explained in detail how Iaian Malcolm rigged the ballot to ensure the result went his way.

Mrs White, whose loyalty to the party was unflinching and who was “taken in” by Iain Malcolm couldn’t believe what she was hearing but knew that both Tom and Mary Taylor were extremeley honest and she had no reason to question their integrity.

It was now Mrs White’s turn to agonise over what to do next. Should she put loyalty to Iain Malcolm above loyalty to the party? She choose the latter.

SOUTH SHIELDS MP, DR DAVID CLARK TOLD ABOUT IAIN MALCOLM’S ELECTION FRAUD

Mrs White was aware that the then member of Parliament for South Shields, Dr David Clark was hoping to stand down at the 2001 local elections and that he’d been offered a life peerage and a seat in the House of Lords by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The only thing that was stopping him was his contempt for councillor Iain Malcolm who he blamed for splitting the local party into several factions and for the infighting that resulted.

He did’nt trust Iain Malcolm and believed that he was dishonest, had no integrity, was devious and had been corrupted by power.

But what worried him most was that Iain Malcolm was on the Parliamentary Panel and would be the person most likely to succeed him if he was to quit at the 2001 elections – something he was desperate to avoid.

In the meantime Mrs White decided to put the party first and contacted Dr David Clark and told him what she’d been told by Tom and Mary Taylor.

Dr David Clark asked Mrs White to arrange a meeting with Mr and Mrs Taylor as he was keen to hear for himself what they’d seen Iain Malcolm do. He also wanted to know more about the methods he’d used to ‘fix’ the election result. 

A meeting was hastily arranged at which both Mrs White and Dr Clark listened intently to what Tom and Mary Taylor had to say. Tom confirmed that he’d been asked (by Iain Malcolm) to collect completed postal vote envelopes from care homes and sheltered accommodation and that he’d witnessed Iain Malcolm open the envelopes before either destroying or resealing them depending on who the person had voted for.

Dr Clark asked them to keep this matter confidential and reminded them that this highly sensitive was potentially very damaging for the Labour party. He also asked them if they were prepared to make written statements to support what they’d seen. To Tom’s credit and in spite of his illness, he agreed to provide as much information as possible and help in any way he could.

After the meeting Dr Clark and Mrs White discussed the matter at length and agreed a course of action. Dr Clark said he needed to take advise and thought that the party should be investigate the matter. However, he was deeply concerned that both the local and regional Labour party had been infiltrated by supporters of Iain Malcolm and his employer Alan Donnelly, who at that time was a member of the European Parliament and had close links at the highest levels of the Labour party.

Dr Clark felt Iain Malcolm’s antics had major implications for the party especially in view of the party’s support for postal voting. He was also worried about the press getting hold of the information and the damage that this would causes the party, especially with a General Election looming. 

He was concerned that the matter would not be investigated seriously at a regional level and opted to tell senior officials at Millbank House, Labour’s national office in London. 

A senior party official was subsequently asked to initiate an investigation into the matter and within days Iain Malcolm had been removed from the Parliamentary Panel of possible election candidates which put paid to any hopes he had of replacing Dr Clark as the town’s MP. 

Iain Malcolm had played right into the hands of the Labour party’s hierarchy and he was solely responsible for his own deselection. His ballot rigging antics had cleared the way for someone else to be ‘parachuted in’ and it seems that the Prime Minster, Tony Blair just happened to have someone in mind.

POLICE ASKED TO INVESTIGATE

Having taken advise from Labour HQ, Dr Clark and Mrs White contacted the police and arranged to make a formal complaint about the incident. They also agreed to be interviewed and to make written statements.

They were asked to do this separately; Dr Clark attended Jarrow Police station and Mrs White attended South Shields Police station where she was interviewed by a senior police officer called Gallop.

The police agreed to carry out an investigation into the matter and Mr Monkey can confirm that councillor Iain Malcolm was subsequently arrested and interviewed under caution.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

About the same time, senior officials within the Labour party decided that they could not risk details of the incident or the subsequent investigation being made public as they felt it would harm their election prospects, especially in South Shields were the Prime Minister’s chosen candidate was about to contest the seat.

Without warning the police contacted both Dr Clark and Mrs White and advised them that no further action would be taken because the complaint had been made outside of the permitted time frame. They were dismayed by this sudden and unexpected decision and whilst they didn’t understand it, they accepted it.

Tom Taylor discussed the matter with Mrs White and expressed his concerns. He felt the party was deliberately attempting to cover the whole affair and in his opinion Iain Malcolm had got away with election fraud. Mrs White in turn sought advise from Millbank House and Dr Clark and was assured that the investigation was ongoing although the General Election would now take priority.

A full investigation was promised after the election but this never materialised.

Mr Monkey has carried out some additional research and can confirm that there is a time limit of 12 months in relation to election matters if complaints are brought under the Representation of the Peoples Act. But this complaint was about a crimes involving fraud and the interception and interference of mail and therefore should have been treated differently.

There are numerous examples of people being charged with crimes committed decades ago – CLICK HERE for details of the latest example.

TONY BLAIR EARMARKS SOUTH SHIELDS AS A SAFE SEAT FOR RISING STAR DAVID ‘BRAINS’ MILIBAND

Meanwhile in Downing Street, Prime Minister Tony Blair had recently hosted a garden party and had pulled one of his senior advisers and head of his Policy Unit to one side and asked him join him in Parliament. He told him that a General Election was imminent and that he’d earmarked a traditionally safe Labour seat for him in a place called South Shields. Apparently he also mentioned that there some issues within the local party that needed sorting out. He assured him that he’d have the help of the sitting MP, Dr David Clark and a handful of reliable party members.

This rising star was none other than David Miliband, affectionately known in Labour party circles as ‘brains’ and now the Foreign Secretary and member of Parliament for South Shields.

WHAT HAPPENED TO DR DAVID CLARK?

Sources close to Dr Clark have confirmed that he intended to stand down at the 2001 general elections but publicly he continued to deny it – that was until Iain Malcolm had been removed from the Parliamentary Panel and before the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair announced the date of the General Election.

Within days of the election announcement, Dr Clark confirmed that he would after all be standing down. This effectively allowed Labour’s National Executive Committee to ‘parachute in’ Tony Blair’s chosen candidate and rising star, David Miliband.

Shortly after Labour won the 2001 general election, Dr Clark was given a life peerage and became Baron Clark of Windemere. He was also made chairman of the Forestry Commission and he quickly disappeared off the local political scene.

WHAT NEXT?

This murky affair raises a number of serious issues and brings into question the integrity and honesty of the council leader, councillor Iain Malcolm.

In the 2000 local elections he cheated his way into office and surely from that moment on the public has a right to question the validity of his position – once a cheat always a cheat .

It’s time for him to stand aside whilst this matter is investigated and he should actively be encouraging the appropriate authorities to dig deep in an effort to clear his name – if you’ve got nothing to hide councillor Malcolm what are you afraid of?

If like Mr Monkey, you are appalled by this shameful act of betrayal contact the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police and ask him to investigate the matter on the grounds of public interest. At the same time you might also like to ask for an explanation as to why the original police investigation was hastily brought to an end.

The local media has a major role to play in exposing the fraud that is councillor Iain Malcolm for the benefit of the people of South Tyneside.

For months the Shields Gazette has been cynically manipulated by councillor Iain Malcolm and his minions in the press office. It’s time for the editor to make a stand on behalf of the people. Its time for the Shields Gazette to give this matter the priority it deserves and for the whole editorial team to put it’s weight behind the growing calls for a full and open investigation into this despicable act of betrayal by the borough’s most senior local political figure.

A MESSAGE TO COUNCILLOR IAIN MALCOLM

If you think things can’t get any worse, think again – Mr Monkey will shortly be publishing details of some of your other exploits including how you used a dead man’s details to join him up as a party member and how you and a handful of people illegally deselected numerous candidates by fixing the selection ballot results.