A WHISTLEBLOWING councillor has hit back at after being publicly blasted during a Sandwell Council meeting by leader Councillor Darren Cooper.

Langley Independent Socialist Cllr Mick Davies was on the end of an unprecedented personal attack by Cllr Cooper during his leader’s address at full council on Tuesday.

Cllr Cooper was irate about Cllr Davies’ critcial remarks in the Halesowen News about the recent appalling Ofsted report into the safeguarding of children in the borough. Cllr Cooper accused Cllr Davies of wildly exaggerating how many questions he had asked about the children’s department and of “learning his socialism from textbooks” whilst living in a “£450,000 house.”

Following the meeting Cllr Cooper said he was “delighted to put the record straight.”

After keeping his counsel for nearly a week a seething Cllr Davies, who constitutes a quarter of the opposition on the council, hit back today.

He said: “I was shocked, he spent more time attacking me and the Halesowen News for reporting the crisis than he did apologising about the vulnerable children his council group have let down for years.”

"Instead of accepting responsibility for the shocking failures of children's services in the borough following another disastrous Ofsted report, Darren Cooper resorted to a childish attack on me over the fact that I had consistently raised concerns about these services.”

He added: "However, in doing so he revealed his own ignorance and showed he just hasn't got a grip of things.

“Councillor Cooper said I had only raised issues on three occasions, smirking and repeatedly holding up three fingers to emphasise his point.”

He added: “I have looked back through my records and found almost 30 questions I have raised - 10 times more than he was able to count - in addition to a meeting I had with the chief executive and the cabinet member for children's services.”

After this month’s Ofsted report, which laid bare the systematic failure to safeguard vulnerable children, Cllr Davies called for both Cllr Cooper and his deputy Cllr Mahboob Hussain, who is in charge of inspections, to follow children’s services supremo Cllr Bob Badham’s example and resign.

Cllr Davies said: "I didn't expect they would resign, and thought they would blame others instead, and so it proved. This petty-minded and childish personal attack on me is typical of the way Councillor Cooper runs Sandwell Council, it is all bluster and no substance."

 

 

Cllr Davies, who resigned from the Labour party three years ago, sent an email to all council members concerning the attack on his reputation.

“Colleagues and Comrades, With reference to Full Council on Tuesday and a number of the statements made in an attack on me. Slurs are typical of the modus operandi , why should truth stand in the way of deflecting personal embarrassment.

The leader made great play, of the fact that he had been doing some trawling himself and he had found out that I had only asked three questions to Councillor Badham. In fact thrusting three fingers triumphantly into the air on a number of occasions .

For the record and I can verify every question, please see below.

27/02/12 - FOI - Contained 15 questions - received response on 26 April (only 8 weeks after my request) 09/05/12- responded to The letter of 26th April - contained two questions.

20/7/12 - Question to Cabinet Member at full council contained two questions.- 23/07/12 Told by Mike Keay cant be asked at Council 'too political'

1/10/12 - Letter via email Containing three questions - 11.10.12 received response 18/10/12 - Responded to letter of 11.10.12 contained four questions.

4/11/12 - Email outlining problems within the service with particular individuals identified to me.

8/1/13 - Met with Cllr Badham and the Chief Executive reassured that things were improving etc. Ssked a number of questions around Children's services and Childrens Centres.

7/3 /13 Email containing two questions (since passed these onto the new Cabinet member).

So whatever the question three is definitely not the answer.

There may be more that I have missed but at least eight emails /letters and in excess of 28 questions. I know that truth is a strange bed fellow for some but I'm sure that most members of Council what ever their persuasion have a sense of what is just and fair.

I take my responsibilities as a corporate parent seriously and will continue to.Truth will always out.

Oh and my house isn't worth £450k (thank god for new Labour and house inflation) but £379k at the moment so if anyone is interested? Sadly the wine cellar which is full of Bollinger and my extensive library of textbooks wont be included in the purchase price.

Veritas et probitas.

Cllr Mick Davies.”