West Ken: Greenhalgh in clear

Stephen Greenhalgh has been found innocent of corruption charges levelled at him by residents of the West Kensington & Gibbs Green Estate who are fighting the Council's plan to sell the estate to property developers. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which I reported in January had launched an investigation into secret lists of tenants being promised new flats if they supported the Council's plans, has found there to be no evidence which supports the allegation.

The review threatened Mr Greenhalgh's present position as Deputy Mayor for Policing, and the big man had this to say:

"The IPCC has finally concluded that there is no basis to these defamatory allegations which were entirely politically motivated. I am extremely proud of my record as Hammersmith and Fulham Council Leader and I remain focused on serving London in my important role as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime."

Note Mr Greenhalgh's deliberate use of the word "finally" - he and fellow Tories are known to be furious at the delay this review caused and the cloud it placed over the plans for the estate. Here's his replacement Nick Botterill, who has taken a similarly hardline approach to the estate:

"Stephen Greenhalgh was both an inspirational and transformational council leader and the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham have much to thank him for. The IPCC has concluded that the allegations against him, which were wholly politically motivated, had absolutely no merit or substance whatsoever."

And here's Harry Phibbs writing on Conservative Home:

"It is important part of our open society for genuine complaints to be investigated. But some accountability is needed against these malicious complaints. Wasting police time is an offence. Making bogus complaints amounts to the same thing. How much of the IPCC's £32 million budget is devoted to them? How many beat police officers could that fund? How much police time is diverted from crime fighting to deal with ridiculous complaints?"

Regular readers will know I completely disagree with this Council's approach to the estate and its residents, but it is difficult to disagree that the system for handling complaints of this nature needs to be a lot better than it is now.