What Brent's Chief Executive said about the death of Cllr Oladapo

Following a series of comments on the blog on the situation regarding the death of Cllr Tayo Oladapo  I reprint below an article I posted on April 28th  LINK which first made public the doubts about the Council's announcement.  After publication I was contacted by insiders alleging that the delay was an attempt to put off the by-election.  I could not find any evidence for this and at the same time could not see how a by-election delay would be of political benefit to Muhammed Butt. I also thought that such an action would have been so beyond the pale as to be unbelievable.

This is what I wrote to Carolyn Downs, Brent CEO:

I have been contacted by a number of people who expressed concern that the true picture regarding the death of Cllr Oladapo has not been given by Brent Council.

The claims are:

1. Cllr Oladapo actually died in January 2016 (January 29th has been given as the date).
2. That almost a month later Full Council on 22nd February agreed to approve his continued absence from meetings on the grounds of ill health.
3. That his death was not publicly announced  by the Council until March 11th
4. That his body is still in a morgue.

2 and 3 are a matter of public record.

Could you confirm the facts and explain the misinformation of February 22nd and the delay in the death announcement. In particular what checks had been carried out by officers/Brent Council with the hospital or Cllr Oladapo's family before seeking approval for continued absence on 22nd February?

 I recognise that there may be family reasons for 4.

Many thanks,

Martin Francis, Wembley Matters

This is Ms Down's response:

 Dear Mr Francis,

Thank you for your email.

In response to the point you have raised:

1. I have not received any formal documentation to confirm the death of Cllr Oladapo but understand that he died in late January.

2. The report which went to the Full Council meeting on 22nd February was drafted as the Full Council report which went in January 2016 stated that Councillor Oladapo's absence would be reviewed at Full Council in February if required. We believed Councillor Oladapo to be alive as we had not been informed of his death and therefore required a further exemption on this basis.

3.  I can confirm that Cllr Oladapo's death was announced by the council on 11th March which was as soon as I had been able to obtain certainty as to Councillor Oladapo's state of health.

4. The arrangements in relation to Cllr Oladapo's remains are a matter for his family as you suggest and I don't think it would be appropriate for me to comment on this.

Kind regards,

Carolyn Downs

Brent Council hails Wednesday's Planning Committee decisions

This is Brent Council's press release which I am sure everyone will find really reassuring.

Plans for 4,850 new homes, a new school and student accommodation around Wembley Stadium have been given the green light.

The creation of 7,000 new jobs, new retail and leisure space as well as new community facilities and parking spaces around the national stadium all formed part of the planning applications, which were submitted by property developer Quintain. More than £80million will also be provided by Quintain to improve local infrastructure.

After listening to a number of representations about the proposals, including hearing speakers from The FA, the council's Planning Committee granted approval to the applications yesterday evening (May 11).

During the three and a half hour meeting, Members discussed in detail matters relating to transport, safety and design and found that, on balance, the plans should be granted approval subject to a number of conditions including ones to improve transport, safety and the exit of fans from the stadium.

A council spokesperson said:

"These plans mark the next phase in the regeneration of Wembley and will create much needed new homes, jobs, leisure and educational facilities around the iconic home of football.

"While these plans will help accelerate the transformation of Wembley, the committee did consider all representations in detail and these concerns have been taken on board with the series of additional conditions which were imposed."

"Safety always comes first and we are confident that the plans will ensure that fans and other visitors to the national stadium can continue to enjoy these facilities while providing the significant regeneration which the area needs."

Quintain's plans will now be subject to consideration by the Mayor of London.

To view details of the planning applications, see the Planning Committee report.

Roe Green Village resident puts case against Lucozade Powerleague in TV interview

The email behind tonight's Evening Standard story on Tayo Oladapo

I am now in possesion of the full email sent to members of the Brent Labour Executive  on the 8th May on which today's Evening Standard article is based.  It was leaked because the person concerned was disturbed by the claim that Cllr Butt involved a junior member of staff in investigating a councillor's death, rather than because they throught Muhammed Butt was trying to avoid a by-election. The leaker says that neither Michael Pavey nor Bobby Thomas (apparently another possible leadership challenger tomorrow) passed on the email.

THE EMAIL

-->Although I very much enjoyed my time in Brent, there has been one serious incident which troubled me immensely. I felt very under-supported throughout this incident and am writing in the hope that systems can be improved so that my successors will not be exposed in the same way.
I find it extremely inappropriate that Cllr Butt involved myself - a junior member of staff - in investigating Cllr Oladapo’s death and deeply concerning that he appears to have misled both Brent Council and Labour Party staff regarding his knowledge of this sad occurrence. I am also disturbed that no investigation has been launched into this issue, despite my having raised these concerns with relevant party officials in early March.

My involvement in investigating Cllr Oladapo’s death

Cllr Tayo Oladapo died on 29 January 2016.  But this was not reported publicly until 11 March 2016. 
It was me who discovered that Tayo had died. I visited the Royal Free Hospital on 4 March 2016 to check on Tayo’s condition. I was informed that he died on 29 January 2016. I reported this to the London Regional Labour Party, who notified Cllr Butt on 7 March. 

The reason I visited the hospital (4 March, evening) was because on 2 March Cllr Muhammed Butt told me that he believed Tayo was dead, and that he had been dead for a month. 

Cllr Butt said that Tayo’s mother had taken Tayo back to Nigeria because she didn’t want any treatment for her son in the UK.

Cllr Butt told me that he had been in contact with Tayo’s family - but that they would no longer take his calls and had blocked his number. Cllr Butt asked me to call Tayo’s sister because he believed Tayo had been dead for a month. He urged me not to tell London Region if Tayo’s sister confirmed her brother had passed away. 

I was new to Brent and had only been working here for 5 weeks. I didn’t understand why Cllr Butt was asking me who had never even met Tayo to make such sensitive inquiries? 

I was shocked that Cllr Butt didn’t ask the Labour Group Whip or Brent Council’s electoral services department to investigate a matter of this level of seriousness. Cllr Butt told me that he didn’t want a by-election to take place in Kilburn, but I didn’t understand why this was the case.
 
I didn’t understand why he asked me to investigate at the Civic Centre, I was there to discuss how campaigning was going and how he could whip Councillors. 

The thought of calling Tayo’s sister (a complete stranger) out of the blue to ask her whether her brother had died made me extraordinarily uncomfortable. 

But because Cllr Butt is the Leader of the Council I felt obliged to do something, so I went to the hospital. On reflection I deeply regret this.

Once I found out that Tayo had indeed been dead for over a month I became even more uncomfortable. 

2 March 
I reported my concerns to Mark Walker, Regional Organiser for Brent & Harrow at London Region on 2 March. (After I saw Cllr Butt) I was told that this matter would be taken extremely seriously. Mark told me to speak to the sister and said ‘anything the sister tells me is the gospel’ 
I tried to contact Tayo’s sister several times but got no response. 

4 March 
I visited the Royal Free Hospital at around 8pm and was told Tayo had passed away on 29^th January. 

7 March 
On 7 March in the morning, I had a conversation with Mark and he said that Cllr Butt said he had no idea. 

I informed both Mark and Pat Harrison, Secretary of the Brent Council Labour Group at a meeting in Pavitt Hall that I was concerned that Cllr Butt may have known that Tayo had past away over a month ago. 

On 7 March I was told by London Region that Cllr Butt had been ordered to report this matter to the Brent Labour Group meeting on the 7 March. But Cllr Butt did not even mention Tayo at this meeting. At this point I started to become seriously concerned that this extremely serious issue was not being handled appropriately. 

These feelings were confirmed when I found out that in the Labour Group Executive premeeting on the evening of 7 March, Cllr Butt stated that when Region called to tell him that a Brent Cllr had died, he claimed he didn’t know which Cllr. 

But Region only knew Tayo was dead because Cllr Butt himself had asked me to investigate because he himself believed Tayo had been dead for a month.

I was told by Mark that Cllr Butt would contact the Borough Commander, as there needed to be evidence to call a by-election on 5 May. 

8 March 
On 8 March at a GLA Task force meeting, Cllr Butt at the end mentioned that Tayo was not dead and that I had got the details wrong. I immediately said that he should speak directly to Mark Walker. 

10 March 
On 10 March I was at the London Region office and Mark mentioned that Cllr Butt had not spoken to the Borough Commander, I made it clear that I felt very uncomfortable and said that Tayo’s death needs to be announced. 

In the end Mark Walker had to contact the Borough Commander to get confirmation of Tayo’s death.

11 March 
Tayo’s death was finally announced publicly on 11 March from this point onwards I have solely focused on the by-election. But I have become more and more troubled by the fact that there has been no investigation into these events.

I informed Pat Harrison and Mark Walker at London Region that Cllr Butt told me on 2 March that he believed Tayo had been dead for a month. This is an extremely serious allegation - not least because it means that the Full Council meeting on 22^nd February was knowingly misled. But there has been absolutely no investigation. 

Instead, I have been left to carry this immense burden. As someone who is completely new to Brent I think this is extremely inappropriate. I have been left alone to try and deal with the fact that a young man’s death may well have been covered-up by a senior politician and continue to work with him. 
Of course I recognise that an election campaign is an extremely charged political atmosphere, but on a matter of this seriousness there really should have been a formal investigation. 
Because I have been so determined to secure a Labour victory on May 5^th I have kept my mouth shut now for two months. This has been extremely uncomfortable. Now that the election is out of the way and I am leaving I feel it would be inappropriate not to raise these concerns.

I never met Tayo, but from everything I’ve heard of him he was an honourable and decent man. His memory deserves better than this.

Best,

Evening Standard alleges Cllr Butt concealed Tayo Oladapo's death to avoid by-election

The London Evening Standard LINK today said that it had seen e-mails that showed  a 'former Labour staffer' had been told to conceal Cllr Oladapo''s death because Cllr Butt did not want a by-election in Kilburn.  The article quotes 'Labour insiders' as saying Butt did not want a by-election in case an 'unsupportive' candidate was elected affecting his chances in the leadership election.

Cllr Michael Pavey, who is contesting the leadership, has called for a full investigation into these 'very serious allegations'.

The Kilburn Times has published a story on the Standard story which includes comment by Muhammed Butt and Cllr John Duffy LINK

'Agreed as recommended' - Record of Wednesday's Planning Committee

Here is the official record of the decisions made at Wednesday's Brent Planning Committee

	Declarations of personal and prejudicial interests Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, any relevant personal and prejudicial interests and discloseable pecuniary interests in any matter to be considered at this meeting.
	Minutes of the previous meeting (to follow)
	Red House building, South Way, Land and Pedestrian walkway between South Way and Royal Route, Wembley Park Boulevard, Wembley (Ref. 15/3599) PDF 1 MB Additional documents: 3S Red House Building 15 3599 , item 3. PDF 92 KB Decision: Agreed as recommended and a further condition that the width of boulevard to be 10 metres during construction.
	Olympic Way and land between Fulton Road and South Way including Green Car Park, Wembley Retail Park, 1-11 Rutherford Way, 20-28 Fulton Road, Land south of Fulton Road opposite Stadium Retail Park, land opposite Wembley Hilton, land opposite London Design Outlet (Ref. 15/5550) PDF 967 KB Additional documents: 4S Olympic Way 15 5550 , item 4. PDF 109 KB Decision: Agreed as recommended subject to revised S106 heads of terms requiring the submission of a revised Travel Plan which included increased targets for cycling and revisions to condition 40 (air quality) so that it refers to the consideration of particulate matter.
	Former VDC and Careys site, South Way, Wembley, HA9 OHX (Ref. 15/5615) PDF 433 KB Additional documents: 5S Former Careys site 15 5615 , item 5. PDF 92 KB Decision: Agreed as recommended, subject to a condition requiring the approval of details relating to the air quality impacts of the coach parking.
.	The Junction Wembley Retail Park, Engineers Way, Wembley, HA9 0EG (Ref. 16/1024) PDF 286 KB Additional documents: 6S Junction Retail Park 16 1024 , item 6. PDF 92 KB Decision: Agreed as recommended.
	Land Surrounding Wembley Stadium Station, South Way, Wembley (Ref. 14/4931) PDF 653 KB Additional documents: 7S Land Surrounding Stadium 14 4931 , item 7. PDF 106 KB Decision: Agreed as recommended.

Yellow Pavilion, Wembley - Open Mic and Stay & Play for adults

From Yellow Pavilion, Olympic Way, Wembley (don't be put off by the road works on Olympic Way - the Pavilion is still open)

Wembley Open Mic ◦ Wed 18th May ◦ 19:30-21:00 ◦ 18+ ◦ free

Come for a night of entertainment at Wembley Open Mic. Mix and mingle, see ten local talented singers, performers and artists as we put the spotlight on the stars of tomorrow. Contact wembleyopenmic@gmail.com for details or to enquire about volunteering (including filming) on the night.
 

Playshop for adults ◦ Sun 22nd May ◦ 14:00 - 15:15 ◦ age 18+ ◦ free ◦ booking not required

Come and let out your inner child for an hour or two! Join Leah for a light-hearted workshop of old-school games like tag, wink murder and grandmother’s footsteps, along with lots of others you may never have heard of. Contact Leah at hello@leahmarjoriecox.com for details.


We also have our regular programme including free 1-1 help using a computer for beginners, women only fitness, free jewellery making and free creative writing. Days and times of these and our other activities are at http://bit.ly/1rXnZCu

Resident launches petition to Sadiq Khan after Council agrees Wembley Stadium tower blocks planning application

I have received this from Sonia Shah. The petition can be signed HERE

Stop Brent Council from rushing through planning applications for big developments

I am a resident of Wembley, and an active member of resident-led campaign Keep Wembley Tidy. I would appreciate it if you could spare a minute to take a look at my petition, and circulate/publicise it. There is a great concern for public safety at Wembley Stadium and the surrounding area.

Brent Council approved all 5 planning applications related to the Quintain-owned lands around Wembley Stadium in just a single planning committee meeting on Wednesday evening. This is in spite of two councillors not being in attendance (under legal advice) and a third leaving before the final item was addressed. The new developments include high rise housing, more hotels and more student accommodation (with limited natural light which, according to Quintain, is irrelevant since it's temporary accommodation).

Plans for the car parks were approved last night by Brent Council, along with a scheme to bring 4,850 new homes, 350,000sq ft of new offices and shops, two new hotels, a new seven-acre public park, student accomodation and a 600-place primary school to Wembley Park as part of one of the biggest regeneration schemes in Europe.

Julie Harrington, operations director at the FA, last night told the council’s planning committee the location of the car parks off South Way “created genuine public order and safety concerns which would serve as a retrograde step for the stadium.” She said developer Quintain was ”working from a position to maximise profits” rather than to “protect fan safety”. “The holding of fans, the kettling of fans, that’s a return to the 1970s in my view. Even a short amount of time holding people, irate fans from teams that have lost, or rival fans mixing together is too much.” Ms Harrington warned that the FA “would not be able to attract major events to Wembley if fan’s can’t leave the car park.” “We cannot be complacent about the huge steps forward made in stadium safety in the past two decades. No-one should believe that its acceptable to herd fans like cattle. We must learn from past mistakes.”

The Football Association also argued that more flats by Wembley stadium would cause worrying safety issues http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/wembley-stadium-tower-block-plan-would-risk-fans-safety-a3245221.html What about the number of new residents needing to see local GPs and the effect on local hospitals? Having already closed Central Middlesex and Hammersmith A & E departments, they are now threatening to cut 500 hospital beds http://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/revealed-london-nhs-chiefs-to-axe-enough-beds-to-fill-a-hospital-in-battle-to-plug-1bn-black-hole-a3244251.html

Councillor Michael Maurice, the only member of the planning committee to vote against the proposals, told the meeting: “Up to 5,000 fans kettled? We don’t want to see another Hillsborough.” (A statement here on the original petition has now been removed by Sonia Shah - see comemnts below)

Objectors are also opposed to the size and scale of seven residential and commerical tower blocks of up to 19 storeys which were also given outline approval. Critics say they could block “iconic” views of Wembley from across London.

What chance do local residents have to try and make Brent Council see sense if they won’t listen to the FA, Sport England and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport?

Brent Council have given the go ahead for another 4,500 more homes in Wembley High Road and another 4,000 by the canal in Alperton.  They are also planning to build flats where the Fountain TV studios are and St Josephs social club (close to London Designer Outlet) is closing, it sits on a nice large piece of land just suitable ..for more flats?

Add to this the impact of events at the Stadium and the Arena - capacity of 90K plus staff at the stadium and 12K plus staff at the Arena = a potential extra 105K people in the area if events are on at both venues.  

What about public transport?
What about refuse collection – does the contract Veolia have with Brent Council include dealing with waste from all these new homes? 
What about services like sewers, water supplies, gas, electric?
What about the environment as a whole?
Brent Council has experienced a torrent of internal squabbles over the last few weeks, and rushing through such proposals, that'll have a huge impact on the surrounding area, is simply irrational.

This petition will be delivered to:

• Barry Gardiner MP
• Football Association
• Mayor of London
  Sadiq Khan