Andrew Dismore

Dear Editor,

The fact  that Barnet has been heavily criticised  for not having a senior lawyer is hardly surprising, given the  number of cock ups; nor is the departure of the non legally qualified  Monitoring  Officer ( in what was  really  the lawyer’s job)  who has  become the fall guy- I wonder what her payoff was and whether  it has a ‘gagging clause’ attached? Surely those who take the rap should include  those at the top, though in  Barnet it is always the small fry who get the blame and the Leader and Chief Executive see  egg on their faces slide off like from a  Teflon pan.

Now we have a Westminster City Council lawyer on secondment to mind the gap, whilst  Barnet’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee at the top ponder  what to do. Can I suggest one of the first items in the secondee lawyer’s  in-tray should be  Barnet’s  illegal secret meetings – so called ‘working groups’- which are holding discussions behind closed doors and with unpublished papers  about budget cuts. Out of the public eye, they are making vital de facto decisions about slashing Barnet Council’s public services for later formal rubber stamping under the new committee system. Those discussions should be argued in public, not just for transparency and good governance, but also because otherwise the Council is wide open to further legal challenge.

Yours sincerely

Andrew Dismore

Labour Parliamentary candidate  for Hendon

London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden