Rowengate: Ugandan shenanighans?

Paul Rowen MP, champion of the full pint, protecting pubs, housebuilders and property developers, has had a very easy ride in the ongoing MP expenses scandal.

Last week, selected journalists were invited to Paul Rowen MP's Drake Street constituency office to view selected expenses.

Word on the street is that "Agent" Dave Hennighan was very strict in the remit. The chosen few were to have 1 hour. Guardian Media had a quick grope at the receipts. Rochdale Online took a little longer but the Rochdale Obscurer was a no-show. Was there a cat stuck up a tree being rescued by a boy scout, so the Obby's photographer was tied up and the lead journalist was on his way to Emma Street for a quote from Cyril?

1 hour to inspect over a million pounds of Paul Rown MP's salary, expenses and allowances?

And this is after the delay in an invite to view the documents. Rumour is that for the previous week the Lib Dem Drake Street office was like the last days of Saigon. Were the shredders going a full tilt? Was "Agent" Adam "the Power" sent to Staples to buy different sorts of pens to use on blank sheets of paper?

Apparently coffee and fag ash can be used to give that aged look to documents.

But we digress.

Last week's 60 minute pantomine was a distraction. Smoke and mirrors.

Some of the real questions were missed by Rochdale Online and Manchester Evening News.

Here is one question:

Where else has Paul Rowen MP derived an income?

Look no further than "They Work for You". The entry has JUST been updated (20/5/09). The old payments as a "consulatant" to other local authorities has gone but his Ugandan connection remains.

Paul is no shrinking violet when it comes to "charidee". But he remains rather coy about his Ugandan job.

Paul Rowen declares renumeration as a director of a Ugandan property company called Corinya. The amount he has received from this is not disclosed or whether he pays UK income tax on this pay. Why could this be relevant for Rochdale and the scrutiny of a British MP?

A quick shuftie on the Corinya website starts the intrigue. Although there is only one "Corinya Holdings" website, there are two distinct companies- one based in the UK, the other in Africa.

The website descibes itself thus-

"Corinya Holdings invests in and develops property in both the UK and Uganda".

To be absolutely accurate, it appears that Paul Rowen MP is a paid director of the Ugandan company and not the UK company. But the description of company activities is far from open and transparent. Are there clear "Chinese Walls" seperating day to day British and Ugandan activities?

The Ugandan Corinya does have a charidee element (a laudable children's home- following Cyril Smith's example of supporting the charity Rochdale Childer with its Moorland Home?).



On the Corinya Holdings' UK webite, click on the Uganda flag and follow the money.

Paul Rowen MP has his own Ugandan Page

The biog suggests Paul Rowen is expert in things Ugandan, as well as being an active Rochdale Rotarian. Paul's fellow Ugandan director Michael Muriithi is another active Rotarian in Kampala.

But which directors and shareholder link Corinya in Uganda with the UK?

Meet the Jungmayrs:

Hermann- Rotarian, former local authority planning officer, former Peel Holdings main board director and now Chairman of his own property investoment company. Keeping it in the family is Herman's wife Helen.

Then there is Hans Peter. Described in the biog as single, caring for his elderly mother who lives with him. The Corinya website also describes Hans Peter as a former Scout Leader. A fine upstanding Austrian citizen. He is also described as:

"residential estate manager for Corinya Holdings Limited and manages about 85 tenancies being responsible for all aspects of estate management and maintenance.

This includes Jung Bros Limited a company where he is a Director and jointly owns with Corinya Holdings".

So what has this to do with Paul Rowen and his Ugandan business activities?

First, the Coriya website suggests a very close connection with the work and activities of the Jungmaryrs' property development and investment in both the UK and Uganda.

Have any Uganda Rotary club dinners, journeys to the airport, or other such jolly opportunities to chew the fat with Paul Rowen MP, ever crossed the line between Uganda affairs to the interests of Coryina in the UK?

Paul Rowen before 2005 Cllr Paul Rowen was Leader of Rochdale Council and a Director of Rochdale Development Agency. When he became an MP, Paul Rowen kept his Rochdale Council seat (and allowances) for not one, but two, years.

In a recent 2am rant, Paul Rowen explained how he was instrumental in forming the new PFI/arms length "Impact Partnership" where a private consortium, for a tidy profit, now runs many Rochdale Council services (including planning and regeneration).

At the same time, Corinya was developing a considerble UK property portfolio during the market boom. This included a deal where Rochdale Council rents its Middleton Housing Office from Corinya.

Corinya also rents houses out in Rochdale borough .Hans Peter Jungmayr proudly declares his "management style has been accredited by the Probation Service and Rochdale Bond Board"

Is there any connection to Corinya and Paul Rowen MP's stout defense of the full pint and "seven days to save British Pubs"?

Corinya owns several northern pubs.

Well fancy that? "Million Pound Paul", Ugandan property investment, Roatarians and the Jungmayrs. Corinya's UK property portfolio that includes Rochdale Council offices and pubs.

Trebles all round!!!

Cyril Smith sex abuse allegations – lessons from Ireland?

How does this week's publication of the Ryan Commission Report in Ireland have relevance for Rochdale and its former MP Cyril Smith?

30 years ago, many years before the internet and blogging, Rochdale's Alternative Paper (RAP) published “The Strange Case of Smith the Man”.

Serious allegations were published of Cyril Smith sexually abusing vulnerable young lads (15-17yrs) at Cambridge House hostel in the early 1960's.

Although the Rochdale Observer did not print any mention whatsoever of these extremely serious claims of local sex abuse, the allegations were repeated nationally in May 1979's Private Eye magazine. Libel lawyers acting for both RAP and Private Eye were consulted. The advice was clear- if the claims are true and can be substantiated- then publish and be damned.

Cyril Smith NEVER sued.

The local Establishment shamefully swept the whole episode under the carpet. In the same way the original criminal investigation and questioning of Cyril Smith in the late 1960's was 'handled discreetly' to avoid much attention.

Are the files relating to Cyril Smith, supposedly taken by Special Branch in the early 1970's, still safe and sound somewhere in that there London?

With this week's publication of the Ryan Commission Report, the Irish Republic has been rocked by terrible accounts of sexual abuse of vulnerable young people by the Christian Brothers, Sisters of Mercy and other associated institutions.

Paul Rowen MP together with his political agent Dave Hennigan and other local Lib Demmers, such as Jimmy Cricket's son Cllr Dale Mulgrew, all play heavily in their political careers on their strong Irish heritage. They will know about the terrible news and shocking accounts coming from Ireland.

Any right-thinking person would feel disgust at the cruel and abusive treatment alleged by many Irish victims. Anyone with a conscience would want to ensure past abuse is never forgotten or repeated.

Yet why does there remain a shameful conspiracy of silence in Rochdale over the shocking allegations about Cyril Smith sexually abusing vulnerable young lads?

There are a number of lessons from Ireland that are relevant for Rochdale:

• Despite shameful attempts at cover-up, deals and collusion, Establishment figures eventually have to account for themselves.

• Victims do not forget and often demand justice.

• The public and media also demand justice.

• Decades do not fade the cruel damage caused by abuse.

Paul Rowen MP attacks priest - very late at night.

Not a case of bishop bashing... (as with fellow Rochdale Lib Dem Mohammed Shafiq)

Bishop Ali, previously bashed by Mohammed Shafiq- who claims to be an adviser to Nick Clegg's on diversity issues.

For troubled MP Paul Rowen, this is more a case of priest poking. At 2.06 am Saturday morning.

In his desperate defence of his Parliamentary salary, expenses and allowances, Paul Rowen (and frantic “agent” Dave Hennighan) has been pushing an urban myth of 80-100 hour working weeks.

Rather than working himself thin, portly Paul looks as though he has been living off the fat of the land.

Does sleepless Paul consider his trolling about on local internet messageboards as “work”?

In a week when the BNP have attacked the clergy for getting involved in politics, why has Paul Rowen (and associated local Lib Demmers) jumped on the bandwagon of publicly dressing down men of the cloth?

The answer is intriguing. The “Heywood Parish Priest” -Paul Daly- has asked some simple questions about Paul Rowen's income, including a time after 2005 when Paul Rowen MP remained a Rochdale Councillor (claiming civic cash).

Here is what the MP typed at 2.06am:

PaulRowen Bronze Member United Kingdom 138 Posts

Posted - 23/05/2009 : 02:06:27 What I used my Councillors Allowances On I've read with some interest the thread on MPs Allowances. Given what has been happening in Parliament in the last few weeks and the need for fundamental reform I'm disappointed at some of the comments. in particular: (a) Ian Duckworth - I appreciate that losing your Council seat to the Liberal Democrats TWICE is a personal disappointment and has nothing to do with the topic in this thread. If you cannot contribute positively to this discussion please shut up! (b) HeywoodPP - as a Catholic Priest I am disappointed that you cast doubts on my honesty. I was a Councillor for twelve months when first elected an MP. I continued to Chair the committee that set up the IMPACT partnership. I played a full part in the running of the Council and attended Council meetings. I made a voluntary decision to donate my allowance after tax to charities. I did not have to do this and my decision has nothing to do with council tax payers. The bulk of these were Catholic based charities hence my disappointment at your carping critism. If you spent as much time ministering to souls as you should be doing I would have more respect for you. However, in the interests of total transparency I will post up a full list of those charities over the weekend. After which I will expect a full public apology from you.

The ugly nocturnal gnashing by current Rochdale MP Paul Rowen is very telling. He has never been backward in coming forward as a good catholic boy. Lots of lame press releases from Dave Hennighan about associated Roman Catholic and 'Oirish' issues.

Was this designed for Paul Rowen to hoover up sectarian votes? Attending "Catholic brotherhood" dinners, wrapping himself in flags, and apparently giving his claimed council cash to charidee.

So taxpayers' money was claimed by the MP who refused to step down as a town councillor. Paul insists he gave OUR money to several, unnamed charidees. Which worthy causes have benefited from Paul's largesse (of our money)? Palestine perhaps? (no, he only discovered Palestine in late 2008). Abused, vulnerable young people? Drug and alcohol abuse treatment? Paul has promised to name the charidees and demands an apology from the Parish Priest for his nerve in asking where taxpayers' cash has gone.

In a nasty side swipe at the Catholic padre, Paul suggests much of the money went to... Catholic charidees?

Well fancy that.

Al Capone was known to be a generous businessman with other peoples' money. The Chicago gangster's downfall came from an unexpected source. Discrepancies in his tax records.

Here is a simple question.

What are the tax implications for Cllr Paul Rowen MP claiming civic cash in 2005-2006 but then giving it "after tax" to charidee? By giving this cash away, were there any knock-on tax benefits for other elements of Paul Rowen's income?

On that note, where else has Paul Rowen derived other income and benefits in kind from?

How much has Paul Rowen received in other jollies? "Fact-finding" trips to overseas tram factories and award dinners?

What about other expenses and allowances that might not fall under the Westminster remit? Council of Europe travel, lodging and food? There looks to be a large Paul Rowen shaped hole in those decalrations. We guestimated that it cost £6.66 a word for Paul's trip to Strasbourg earlier this year. Have these receipts been dusted down yet?

On overseas trips paid for by various sources, do UK taxes get paid?

Rochdale - a town still being "Rogered"?

In our last post we got it wrong...for now.
The Ides of May did not happen this weekend.

There was a toga party and a reshuffle, but the conspirators blinked so Cllr Alan Taylor retained his leadership and comfy couch at Rochdale Council.


Alan's bulging civic salary, expenses and allowances still mounted up whilst Irene was deputising. But Dave Hennighan made sure that Alan was occasionally still seen, Kim Il-Sung style, at the odd flag raising outside the Town Hall.





Meanwhile, poor "millionaire" Cllr Couzens will have more time to spend sharpening his hairdressing scissors or impersonating a Chancellor of the Exchequer by allowing photoshopped images of himself with the real Gladstone bag to be used in his council leaflets.

Tit.

With the Hothouses gone there has been a reshuffle of the "cabinet" (the one where the skeletons are kept?). In true Rochdale co-operative style, there has been a divvying out of the lucrative posts in what hardly could be described as a local Government Of All the Talents.

Word on the street is that the new RMBC portfolio holder for Education can bearly read or write.

Just the sort of dynamic sort to drive through hundreds of millions of pounds of PFI school building contracts without needing to worry about the small print?

So if Rochdale isn't made up of GOATs then who really runs Rochdale?



Rumours abound that Chief Executive Roger Ellis was the driving force keeping Alan Taylor in power.

Why?

And how come an unelected, unaccountable and overpaid mandarin holds so much power in Rochdale?

A town being 'Rogered'?

Crooning swinger gets cut short at charidee event

Paul Rowen has an expensive way with words. But that comes with claiming a very high Parliamentary communications expense.

In his [sic] latest missive on Rochdale Online there is a sorry tale that could be mistaken for a slur on local cuisine.

After yet another mysterious plug for local businessman Terry Mason, Paul (or is it Dave/Adam?) goes on to describe future Mayor, swinging Keith Swift's shortened stint crooning at the India Lounge. (Both still available for parties/coroporate entertainment at short notice)



No explanation about how poor Keith bacame ill. Just a quick plug for the charidee event then a description of the Rochdale Online "business development executive" being rushed to infirmary.

Is that a way to curry favour with local businesses that host local Lib Dem bashes?

Get well soon Keith.

It looks as though being an ambitious local Lib Dem is a hazardous activity. Especially after the heated competition to fill poor Cllr Alan Taylor's trunks as leader of Rochdale Council.



With the Hothouses now out of the frame, the competition for Alan's civic crown jewels is becoming nasty. Had the Lib Dem "Rat Pack" soprano been munching on a spiked onion bhajee meant for someone else? Was he about to sing like a canary about party shenanighans?

Poor Alan. Is he about to be "retired" this weekend?

Who will wake up next to a horses head this Sunday morning?

The hairdresser or the "acting" leader?

Rochdale's multi-million pound turd polishing

First, let's get something straight- We love Rochdale.

But we hate the fact that our town is turning into a shithole, because of (in no particular order):

Spin

Corruption

Cover-up

Mismanagement

Failed regeneration projects

All the above are connected, as are those who are most to blame for our town's failings. Just follow the pay grades. Those £100K salaries (plus benefits) are certainly not performance related.

Rochdale is not run by those who are elected.

The politicians are usually mere mouthpeices used to embellish press releases. They appear in photos cutting ribbons at the opening of white elephant schemes and “initiatives”.

Hard-hitting official political criticism might amount to the odd bit of pothole pointing.

By the next general election we will know just how much in excess of £1,000,000 Paul Rowen will have received in salary and expenses. Will he be judged on his performance?

But who really pulls his strings?

Rochdale is widely known to be an “officer run” town. The officers include the senior executives from Rochdale Council plus “partners” such as the Rochdale Development Agency, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing and Impact Partnership. The connections with paid advisers, consultants, “businessmen” plus the slippery lobbyists and public relations executives means the trough has had to become bigger in the past few years. Just how much this Mafia of the Mediocre are paid is sickening.

Millions of pounds have been wasted in spin, mismanagement and cover-up. You will never read about much of it in the 'local' newspaper, the Rochdale Obscurer. Ask yourself why?

Don't worry, RAW will investigate and publish the truth about what is going on. Perhaps, now that the Guardian Media Grope is leaving town, we should print a paper version of this website and call it ROP- Rochdale's Only Paper.

Our themes will be simple - to investigate the scandal of official Rochdale:

Spin, Corruption, Cover-up, Mismanagement, Failed regeneration projects.

Lets start with... SPIN

An “undisclosed amount” is currently being spent on council spin for a “marketing strategy” and “rebranding exercise”

Deputy Mayor Keith Swift Regeneration “portfolio” holder, Rochdale Online "business development" executive and Frank Sinatra impersonator (you couldn't make this shit up) is quoted saying:

“We have acres of green space and we could attract businesses and jobs, it is just about getting that message across”

Green fields? What about £350,000,000 muddy fields that were once green fields?

Not Kingsway Business Park- there are far too many people in the photo.

Kingsway Business Park is an example of a gold plated, highly polished turd that has failed Rochdale.

As many council employees are having their salaries slashed through pay and grading,Rochdale is just about to get a “Director of Transformation” - for the mere snip of £120,000 p.a.

Ms Smith, new £120k turd polisher

Rochdale Council has just announced its new internal promotion of

"Executive Director for Transformation".

Oldhamer Pat Smith (no relation to Cyril or T.Dan?) will:

“help to boost the town's image and tackle some of the negative perceptions following 12 months of bad publicity as Rochdale repeatedly hit the headlines”.

Smoke and mirrors. Useless form over substance. Tackling "perceptions"
and boosting the town's "image" is paper-based turd polishing.
It is not the systemic, root and branch reform Rochdale desperately needs.

Rochdale Council already spends almost £2,000,000
on media management every year.
The Chief Exec likes to have “positive messaging” for Rochdale.
Add to this the bloated salaries and expenses of the high fliers in all the public bodies serving (themselves in) Rochdale. Are all these senior officers fully accountable?

Roger Ellis - worth every penny?


The Rochdale Observer suggests RMBC Chief Executive Roger (the dodger) Ellis is the officer that costs our town the most to employ. Is this true? Are there any others that have been missed from the Taxpayers' Alliance's Rich List?

What scale should senior Rochdale Officers be judged on?

On a literary topic akin to that what Stephen Fry refers to as "Complete loose-stool-water. Arse-gravy of the very worst kind".... RMBC is very coy accounting for all the costs of its glossy, full colour, propaganda newspaper “Local matters”.

Freedom of Information requests by local blogger Matt Simms should uncover this - but only time will tell.

We repeat, here are the local scandals that RAW will be investigating- FOR FREE:

SPIN, CORRUPTION, COVER-UP, MISMANAGEMENT, FAILED REGENERATION PROJECTS.

Pardon our potty mouths, but it is time to flush out the turds rather than polishing them at great expense.

Rochdale deserves much better.

.

" Cyril Smith arrested for historic sexual abuse "...

...is not the sort of headline appropriate for an April Fool's jape.

The arrest hasn't happened - but should have.

The claims of sexual abuse on vulnerable young lads by Cyril Smith, late at night, in the Cambridge House hostel, has been subject to a conspiracy of silence by Rochdale's Establishment for years.

It is a serious scandal that will, one day, be fully investigated.

Cyril Smith remains the 'elephant in the room' in polite society.

Cyril never sued Rochdale Alternative Press or Private Eye when the details of his abusive spanking and non-consensual testicle squeezing were published in 1979.

For years, hacks and editors at the Rochdale Observer have known about the claims of Cyril's sexual abuse at Cambridge House- and elsewhere - but the Powers That Be in that great Liberal Institution have helped keep things quiet.

The founder of Scott Trust (that owns Guardian Media titles) - CP Scott - must be turning in his grave.



In today's All Fools' Edition of the Rochdale Obscurer, the grubby spanker Cyril Smith spits venom at the closure of the local Rochdale Observer offices as part of the GMG regional titles centralisation to Manchester

In testicle-squeezing fury, Cyril proclaims the Drake Street closure as:

"A tragedy, a disgrace and a real blow to Rochdale and destruction of part of its history over the last century".

How very telling.

Cyril Smith- The very man who has bullied Rochdale Observer journalists and editors with abusive phone calls and threats to get them sacked - many times over the past 50 years.

Cyril Smith- The very man who is well known in Drake Street for orchestrating bizarre letters for the Readers' Page.

Cyril Smith- The very man who has greased the cogs of the local Establishment- Rotarians, Freemasons, asbestos company directors and others for his own advantage and petty vanity. At the expense of the lives of his victims and those who blindly trusted him.

Cyril Smith- The very man who has helped ensure the Rochdale Observer never reported one word of the serious allegations of sexual abuse and financial impropriety that has dogged his political career.

No wonder Cyril Smith laments the departure of his local Rochdale Observer office.

This could mean he is losing his strong and infamous grip on Rochdale.

Cyril's letter in the Rochdale Observer on April 1st 2009 could also go down in infamy for another reason.

The Mother of All Freudian Slips !

On the loss of the Ob office he writes:

"Norman Scott must be turning in his grave".

NORMAN SCOTT ?!

Is this the same Norman Scott horribly satirized by Peter Cook as "a self-confessed player of the pink oboe"?

Norman Scott?
The male model who in the 1970's accused Jeremy Thorpe, his alleged former lover and Leader of the Liberal Party, of attempted murder. Poor Great Dane Rinka took a bullet for Norman Scott in a scandal that ripped the Liberal Party apart and ended Jeremy Thorpe's career.



A young David Steel then took control of the keys to the skeleton closet.
(The little chap that who defended Cyril Smith for "merely smacking a few bare bottoms").




Cyril was central to the Norman Scott/Jeremy Thorpe scandal. The Rochdale MP was Chief Liberal Whip (no pun intended) at the time.

In old Fleet Street circles Cyril Smith was known, back then, as a prolific leaker.
30 stones of grossly obese moving and shaking.

A friend at the Daily Mirror ghost wrote his autobiography "Big Cyril" and he protected his huge hide by keeping on the right side of the Daily Mail, Express and tabloids with a combination of his "cheeky chappie from Lancashire" persona plus illiberal "hanging and flogging" soundbites and the canny, shameless, liberal leaking of documents and confidences.

Recently released government archives confirm it was Cyril Smith who made the first approaches on behalf of the Liberal Party to help form the Lib Lab pact. He was the ideal choice given that he owed a huge favour to Home Secretary Jim Callaghan following the dropping of the investigation against Cyril of the Cambridge House sex abuse allegations.


Apparently Special Branch personally picked up the Cyril Smith "paedo" files from Lancashire Police HQ at Preston and sent them to that there London for safe keeping.

The Scott/Thorpe affair was manna from heaven for a troubled Wilson administration. There is much intrigue about the political shenanighans at the time- it is fair to say that Cyril Smith was very much out of his depth: MI5, "Operation Clockwork Orange" Very British Coups, Heath's little Helpers and a Paranoid Wilson in the mix was too much for the Northern bully used to being a big fish in a small pond.

However, in the early day's of his Parliamentary carrer Chief Whip Cyril Smith was a modest man who thought himself eminently suitable to be the next Liberal Party leader.
As Chief Whip of a minority party in a not very well hung parliament, Cyril was in a key position as whip-cracking kingmaker. Just what documents were leaked and by and to whom is still shrouded in mystery. Is that why arrogant and unrepentant Cyril Smith remains so confident to this day that he is "protected"? Even Minister of Justice Jack Straw remains somewhat coy.


At the time the Liberal Party Leader desperately needed help from his Chief Whip, Cyril Smith admitted himself to Birch Hill hospital with a dickie tummy. Two weeks of non-specific illness kept him out of the limelight.

Those with long memories recall that, although lying low, the public telephone was wheeled to Cyril's NHS bedside and kept there permanently. A huge stack of 2 pence peices were used by the fat Machiavelli as his party crumbled.



Anyone with an interest in the Scott/Thorpe affair can find lots of books and infomation to quench their curiosity.
This was certainly not Cyril Smith's finest hour.

Sexual abuser, bully, informant, sneak, disloyal, dishonest, criminal?
Such phrases shouldn't be for the Court of Public Opinion to decide. For far too long, the doors to that Court were blocked locally by the likes of the Rochdale Observer.

Natural justice must prevail. Cyril Smith should be held accountable for his past (mis)deeds.

CP Scott must be turning in his grave.

"a newspaper is much more than a business as it reflects the influences and life of a whole community"

Do those fine word include sexually abused young apprentices and asbestos cancer sufferers?

We wish the Rochdale Observer well in its new Manchester offices - well away from Cyril Smith's sweaty grasp.

But please - start exercising those Scott family values - for Rochdale.