Monday 11 April 2011

Sign the MetPro letter - hand-in tomorrow

If you would like to sign the statement calling on Barnet council to hold an independent public inquiry into the relationship with MetPro Rapid/Emergency Response, please drop me a line c/o info@barnettuc.org.uk.

We would like to hand the letter in to Lynne Hillan at the council meeting tomorrow. However, I've been informed that there is no facility for us to present the letter during the meeting itself. As we know, when it comes to bossing residents around, this administration likes to do everything by the book.

(By the way, Barnet CPZ Action, who are opposing Barnet council's hike in CPZ charges, are in the High Court on the Strand today at 3pm if anyone is in the area and feels like lending them support!)

We won't get to do much more, I suspect, than sliding the letter under the door of the Conservative group office in the town hall. But we can at least do that! I understand the Labour group are going to raise the issue during the council meeting itself...

A statement elicited by the Barnet Press in their latest MetPro article is alarming:
Barnet Police Partnership Superintendent Neil Seabridge added: “I can state categorically that police did not authorise any intrusive surveillance at the council meeting.

“Nor did we tell anyone else they could use covert or intrusive surveillance, which is a highly regulated area which requires specific written authority by a police superintendent or above when police initiate it for very specific reasons linked to investigation or prevention of crime.

“Such a meeting at the town hall would not fall under any of these categories.”
Barnet council made a lot of their "safeguarding" duty in justifying their cuts package, implying that residents who would not swallow closure of museums, etc, were putting vulnerable residents using social services at risk.

In their management of the contract with MetPro, Barnet council has failed to "safeguard" residents from possible illegal filming: if that isn't an extaordinary situation I don't know what is! The promised "internal audit" at an unspecified date is not enough. We'll be at Hendon Town Hall tomorrow from 6.15pm (meeting starts at 7pm) to make that clear.

No comments: