Neil Wilby Media

So goes the 1970’s song by reggae artiste, Johnny Nash, from his iconic, chart-topping album ‘I Can See Clearly Now’. And so it is with my dealings with the slightly less famous Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner. Who is now recognisable to at least 10% of the populace at the rural end of God’s Own County.

For the past eighteen months, Julia has ducked my every question over the funding and conduct of a controversial civil harassment claim, brought by the police force to which she was elected to provide oversight. Indeed, her reputation as a ‘question dodger’ extends far beyond my own domain. Even the nodding placemen on the local Police and Crime Scrutiny Panel have admonished her over poor community engagement.

But, back to the matter in hand. Her reasoning was that by commenting on the court case it might prejudice proceedings. Which, actually, has little merit given that it was heard by a very experienced single judge sitting firstly in the High Court and, latterly, in the County Court in Leeds.

If ever a day comes when His Honour Judge Gosnell is influenced by anything said outside of his courtroom that is exactly the moment when the sky falls in on the entire civil justice system.

On 29th July, 2016, three days after the case concluded at a final hearing, I posted an open letter on this website which posed fifteen public interest questions about the case, the way  it had been handled, the conduct of Julia’s two most senior police officers and, of course, the funding. That letter can be read here in full. It is by no means an exhaustive list and there at least as many more yet to be posed.

On the same day, I emailed Julia’s Chief of Staff, Will Naylor, and invited a response from the Commissioner. With a promise that an appropriate reply to the questions would be published in full.

What was provided, almost exactly a week later, could scarcely be described as adequate. Or, in any way appropriate, in the present circumstances.

Indeed, the letter has been passed to my solicitors for appraisal. As to publish it may well be defamatory of well known Whitby citizen journalist, Nigel Ward. It is understood that Mr Ward has also passed the letter to his own solicitors, who will be seeking clarification over some of the remarks made by the disengaged Commissioner. Particularly, as Julia contends that Mr Ward has ‘harassed’ some of the claimants, which is not the finding of the court. She has also made what appear to be similarly misinformed comments concerning the matter of costs that have been ordered, by the court, against the claimants.

I have the overwhelming advantage over the Commissioner by not only being in court for every hearing of this case except the first (when I was ill) but also having read, with appropriate care, all the relevant court pleadings and orders.

There are also concerning references in her letter to my ‘close’ association with the three defendants in the civil claim. This is the latest in a lengthening number of attempts to smear me, by association with Grandma B campaigner and military historian, Peter Hofschröer, who was recently sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to two and a half years in prison over thousands of indecent images found on computer equipment connected to him (read York Evening Press coverage here).

The plain facts are: I have never met Mr Hofschröer; never spoken to him on the telephone; and never emailed him, as far as I can trace. The only time I have ever seen him is when he has twice given evidence, via video link from HMP Hull, whilst I have been sat on the press benches in Court 19 at Leeds Combined Court Centre.

It matters little – and I certainly didn’t scream ‘harassment’ – that Mr Hofschröer has also been abusive towards me in open forum. Simply because I wouldn’t assist in his campaign. That is not to say that the Grandma B crusade was without merit. It certainly raises many questions about the conduct of a number of NYP officers, but it was the manner in which the campaign was being handled that caused me deep concern. A view shared by everyone else I represented at the time, as police complaints advocate.

My friendship with Nigel Ward is not a secret. I respect him as a courteous and helpful man, and a relentless warrior in the battle against public sector misconduct and criminality in his local area. Interestingly, he has just registered another notable success against the notorious Scarborough Borough Council over the ‘whitewash’ of yet more corruption within that ‘Rotten Borough’, part of which entailed the victimisation of a whistleblower.

All this came to light this week in Employment Tribunal proceedings in Hull, before Judge Humphrey Forrest, in a case that saw whistleblower, Ben Marriott, succeed in his claim against the Council. North Yorkshire Police are very tightly aligned with Scarborough Borough Council and the latest corruption exposure will not have gone down well with the boys in blue who, on past experience, will be happy to look the other way.

As far as the third claimant goes, I have not spoken to, or heard from, Luxembourg-based Tim Hicks via email or phone since May, 2016 and have met him just the once, apparently surveilled by North Yorkshire Police, at the Hilton Hotel in Leeds in February, 2015. I discovered that Mr Hicks claim with NYP had reached a compromised settlement at the end of June, via my own enquiries and sources. Not from him. That is entirely his prerogative, of course, but scarcely supports the PCC’s assertion that we are ‘close’.

Turning now to the fifteen questions that were asked of Julia Mulligan in the open letter. They can be usefully grouped together so that it is easy to see just what the Police and Crime Commissioner wants to bury out of public sight:

Operation Rome

Questions 1,2,3 and 4 all concerned the ill-starred criminal investigation that sought to prosecute Messrs Hicks, Hofschröer and Ward for harassment. The whole episode has been shrouded in deceit and my questions essentially sought to identify the senior officer driving it and publication of the investigation report. If, as Julia has consistently maintained, £409,970 was spent by North Yorkshire Police then the public are entitled to see what they got for their money.

In her letter, Julia makes no reference whatsoever to Operation Rome and does not address ANY of the questions, let alone provide the answers.

Much more background on Operation Rome can be found in earlier articles by me here and here.

Operation Hyson

Questions 5,6,7 and 8 (part) all concerned Operation Hyson. The codename given by North Yorkshire Police to the civil harassment claim. All four questions are not only ignored by Julia in her reply she doesn’t rate Operation Hyson worthy of mention. The pointed question as to how much she, herself, knew about the civil action is, of course, ducked as well. Just as she ducked the same question repeatedly throughout the proceedings.

The public, quite rightly, expect their elected representative to not only know about key issues affecting finance and performance of the police force serving their constituency, but to report on them openly and honestly as well and where necessary challenge them.

Much more on Hyson can be read here and here.

Finance and budget

Questions 8 (part), 9, 10 and 11 all concern public funding with particular focus on the grotesque sums allocated to Julia’s Conservative Party crony, Jane Kenyon-Miller, whose evidence against Nigel Ward in both the civil claim and the failed criminal prosecution before it, left a great deal to be desired and appeared, on its face, highly vulnerable to forensic cross-examination.

In her letter, Julia makes no reference whatsoever to the financing of the claim, except a vague threat about me not repeating that costs had been awarded against the claimants. In short, she does not address ANY of these four questions, let alone provide the answers.

Misconduct matters

Questions 12, 13, 14 and 15 all concern alleged misconduct by her most senior officers. The matters cited in the questions are well evidenced and would not have been introduced in a public forum, otherwise. Julia has, not only a duty as the elected policing representative to deal openly and effectively with these issues, but a statutory duty as well. One in which, she has performed less than satisfactorily of late, and her reply to my open letter leaves the very strong impression that she is perfectly prepared to tolerate any sort of behaviour from the senior ranks of North Yorkshire Police, provided their, and her, reputation doesn’t get damaged in the process.

Having not answered one single question out of fifteen, Julia signs off her letter by imploring that I do not challenge her again on the subject of Operations Hyson and Rome. She doesn’t want any more well-founded journalist’s questions about her senior officers making false statements in court proceedings, scandalous frittering away of public funds, and cronyism.

This, from a Police and Crime Commissioner who freely, and persistently, proclaims that she is ‘open and transparent‘ in everything she does. Readers of this article are invited to form their own view on that. They may even be minded to hum, or sing, Johnny Nash’s ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ whilst musing on that question.

In the meantime, I will conduct further, legitimate enquiries in order to winkle out the answers that so many in North Yorkshire are keen to learn. This will include another round of freedom of information requests, involving further needless expense both to me, and to North Yorkshire Police.

It is, of course, also my prerogative (or that of anyone else) to ask public questions at successive ‘open and transparent’ North Yorkshire Police Scrutiny Board meetings over the next year or so. Or, who knows, some bright spark may ask all fifteen at once?

All because the public’s elected policing representative can’t face unpalatable truths about the way her own staff, and the police force she monitors, go about their work.

 

Page last updated: Saturday 6th August, 2016 at 1945hrs

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