Uncovering Kilburn’s History – Part 7

Thank you for joining me again for the final part of this Kilburn local history series.

 

 

1. New flats in Cambridge Road, opposite Granville Road Baths, c.1970. (Brent Archives online image 10127)

 

In Part 6 we saw the major rebuilding that took place, particularly in South Kilburn, between the late 1940s and the 1970s. Many of the workers on the building sites were Irish. The new wave of Irish immigration to Northwest London, which reached its peak in the 1950s, was quickly transforming the area. As well as abundant work, Kilburn offered plenty of cheap accommodation, and a bustling High Road with cultural and eating establishments, many of them catering for the Irish population, who soon represented a majority in the area. ‘County Kilburn’ was dubbed Ireland’s 33rd county

  

2. Kilburn's Irish culture – an Irish Festival poster and Kilburn Gaels hurling team. (From the internet)

 

The Irish community, close-knit and mutually supportive, hit the headlines in the negative way in the 1970s, when Kilburn became a focal point for “the Troubles” in London. On 8 June 1974, an estimated 3,000 came out onto the streets of Kilburn for the funeral procession of Provisional IRA member Michael Gaughan. An Irishman, who had lived in Kilburn, Gaughan was imprisoned for an armed bank robbery in 1971 and in 1974 died as the result a hunger strike. Gaughan’s coffin, accompanied by an IRA guard of honour, was taken from the Crown at Cricklewood through Kilburn to the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Quex Road, before being flown to Dublin for another ceremony and funeral.

 

3. Michael Gaughan's funeral procession in Quex Road, June 1974. (Image from the internet)

 

The maximum publicity stirred by the IRA only confirmed the general belief that Kilburn was becoming a focal point for the Irish republicans, and their meeting place was Biddy Mulligan’s pub at 205 High Road. Dating from about 1862, the pub on the corner of Kilburn High Road and Willesden Lane was originally called the Victoria Tavern. It became Biddy Mulligan’s in the 1970s, named after the character of a female Dublin street seller performed by 1930s Irish comedian Jimmy O’Dea.

 

 

4. Sinn Fein's Kilburn Branch, marching through Cricklewood in the 1970s. (Brent Archives image 317)

As claimed by Ulster loyalists later, Biddy’s attracted ‘militant Irish extremists, far left activists, revolutionaries and their sympathisers’. Leaders of Sinn Fein in London said they collected about £17,000 a year in Kilburn – a lot of it came from the pub collections and went across the Irish sea to fund IRA activities. On 21 December 1975 the pub was shaken by an explosion from a holdall left at its doorstep by members of the Ulster Defence Association, who said they wanted to stop the spread of IRA in England. It was the first time the UDA struck outside Northern Ireland. Out of 90 people who were in the bar at the time, a small number were hurt, but no one was killed. The perpetrators were quickly arrested and put in prison.

 

5. The former Biddy Mulligan's pub in 2009. (From the internet – picture by Ewan Murray, on Flickr)

 

The pub remained ‘Biddy’s’ for a few years, then it traded as an Aussie sports bar called the ‘Southern K’. It closed about 2009 and today the building is a Ladbrokes betting shop. 

 

The look and feel of Kilburn is changing fast – Woolworths, at 100-104 Kilburn High Road, which was a big feature of the area since 1920s, closed in 2008 and is now Iceland. The elegant 1930s Art Deco building at 54-56 Kilburn High Road is Primark – part of the usual mix of shops found on any major high street in the country. 

 

6. The Lord Palmerston in a c.1900 postcard, and as Nando's, 2017. (www.images-of-london.co.uk / Anne Hill)

 

The Lord Palmerston, 308 Kilburn High Road, is another example of how Kilburn has changed over time. It originally operated as the Palmerston Hotel when it opened in 1869, and served as a terminus for several horse bus services. In 1977 the pub re-opened as the Roman Way, in deference to the road’s historic roots. Now it is a branch of Nando’s. The Cock Tavern, The Old Bell, the Sir Colin Campbell, North London Tavern, Earl of Derby and others continue the area’s tradition of historic pubs, which we saw in Part 2, but now alongside Italian, Japanese, Thai, Afghani, Persian, Turkish, Indian, Moroccan, Burmese eateries on the High Road. 

 

7.  A collage of some of Kilburn's historic public houses. (Photos and collage by Irina Porter)

 

From the 1970s onwards the Irish population started to move out of the area, and immigrants from the Caribbean, Middle East and Asia started to come in. The area is now multicultural - in 2017 the vicar of the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Quex Road said that he regularly welcomed 64 different nationalities to mass. The Maida Vale Picture House at 140 Maida Vale (1913) is now the Islamic Centre of England.

 

“The window logs Kilburn’s skyline. Ungentrified, ungentrifiable. Boom and bust never come here. Here bust is permanent. Empty State Empire, empty Odeon, graffiti-streaked sidings rising and falling like a rickety roller coaster. Higgledy-piggledy rooftops and chimneys, some high, some low, packed tightly, shaken fags in a box. Behind the opposite window, retreating Willesden. Number 37. In the 1880s or thereabouts the whole thing went up at once – houses, churches, schools, cemeteries – an optimistic vision of Metroland. Little terraces, faux-Tudor piles. All the mod cons! Indoor toilet, hot water. Well-appointed country living for those tired of the city. Fast-forward. Disappointed city living for those tired of their countries.”

 

8. Three scenes from Kilburn High Road in 2020, still with a W.H.Smith connection! (Photos by Irina Porter)

 

The 1970s was not all doom and gloom, and music provided one of the bright spots. The band ‘Kilburn and the High Roads’ (local connection unknown!) and its singer Ian Dury were one of the inspirations for the later punk rock movement. In a comment on Part 3, Wembley Matters reader Trevor shared with us his recollections of growing up in Kilburn and taking part in the The Jam’s video for their song ‘When You’re Young’ in 1979. This was filmed in Kilburn Square shopping precinct and in Kilburn High Road (with Woolworths!). The bandstand is in Queen’s Park, and the 12-year old Trevor is wearing a red and blue jacket.

 

 

Another famous 1970s singer/songwriter who has lived locally was Cat Stevens. He became a Muslim in 1977, having found his spiritual home through reading the Qur’an, and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. His many charitable works in promoting education, peace and mutual respect between faiths since then have included setting up the Islamia Primary School in Salusbury Road in 1982, the first full-time Muslim primary school in England. For more about musicians and music businesses in Kilburn, visit North-West London Music Maps, by Dick Weindling. 

 

Kilburn had 10 cinemas in the last 110 years, but today only one remains, and that is part of the cultural focal point of modern Kilburn, at 269 Kilburn High Road. The building dates from 1928, when it was opened as the London headquarters of the Foresters’ Friendly Society, which provided financial help to members in need. In the 1930s it had a music and dance hall, on occasions hired by Oswald Mosley’s fascist ‘Blackshirts’, who used to meet in the area. During the World War II it served as an air raid shelter and a food distribution point.

 

9. The Foresters’ Hall and Tricycle Theatre, late 20th century. (Images from the internet)

 

The Foresters’ stayed in the building until 1979, when they sold it, and moved into a small office nearby. The building was being used by local community organisations, when it was discovered by Shirley Barrie and Ken Chubb, who founded their theatre performance Wakefield Tricycle Company and were looking for permanent premises. In 1980 Tim Foster Architects re-designed the theatre, but in 1987 the building was destroyed by fire and the re-building took 2 years. In 1998 a new cinema was opened next to it, which also offered extra rehearsing space.

 

 

10. The opening plaque on what is now the Kiln Cinema, in Buckley Road. (Photos by Irina Porter, 2020)

 

The Tricycle Theatre was successful and acquired a reputation for political and outspoken, diverse and innovative plays. One of the best known was the Colour of Justice (1999), based on the Stephen Lawrence inquiry and directed by Nicholas Kent who became Artistic Director in 1984. In 2018, after another re-design project, the Tricycle re-opened as The Kiln, with a new café, rehearsal rooms, improved accessibility, better sightlines, comfortable seats and flexible stage. The Kiln has a 300-seat cinema and a slightly smaller theatre complex.

 

11. The 60s/70s South Kilburn today, with Crone Court and the OK Club (left) and Dickens House (right).
      (Photos by John Hill, and from Facebook on the internet)

 

Despite the hopes of planners, and like the Chalkhill and Stonebridge estates elsewhere in Brent, the South Kilburn estate of typical 1960s brutalist style high density housing, in low rise flats and 11 concrete tower blocks, did not deliver an ideal neighbourhood. In 1988, unemployment in South Kilburn was 20%. The estate was plagued by crime, shootings, gun and drug trade. There was ongoing rivalry with gangs from the nearby Mozart Estate, just across the borough boundary in Westminster. Several high-profile police raids in 2007 and 2011 and the shootings of innocent by-standers as the gangs wage their wars against each other continue to contribute to the adverse reputation of the area.

 

12. Network Housing's Kilburn Quarter, in a computer image and 2020 photograph. (Internet / Irina Porter)

 

In 2004 Brent Council started working on a 15-year plan of drastic demolition of much of the estate and creating a new living environment, at a cost of £660 million. The demolition of the old estate started in 2014 with two of the 18 storey housing blocks, to be replaced with 4 ‘smart’ blocks and amenities for the local community. Several different housing associations and architects are involved in the project, which so far has resulted in an overall loss of council housing, as many of the flats are for private sale. Despite the council’s efforts to improve the quality of the area, it continues to be plagued by problems connected to its history of gang violence and drug dealing, as well as issues with maintenance of the newly built homes and cladding for fire safety regulations.

 

One effort aimed at engaging with young people on the fringes was the Signal Project in 2004. The mural they sponsored under the bridges at Kilburn Station brought together graffiti artists and the local community. The subjects painted reflected Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, H.G. Wells’s ‘War of the Worlds’, the Gaumont State and Kilburn’s Irish heritage, and it won Time Out magazine’s best mural award in 2006.

 

13. Some views of the street art murals under the bridges at Kilburn Station. (Irina Porterx3/ John Hill)

 

In recent years Kilburn has been regarded as on the way up – as have been many London locations which are within easy transport links to Central London. The long-suffering South Kilburn estate is not without its crime problems, and occasionally developers cause an uproar too, as in the case of the Carlton Tavern, a pub in Carlton Vale on the border of Kilburn and Westminster. This dated from 1921 and was the only building on this part of the street to survive the Blitz during the Second World War. In 2015 it was bought by an Israeli property developer and demolished overnight, without permission, while being considered for Grade II listing.  Westminster Council ordered the developer to rebuild the public house, recreating the exact facsimile, which has been done, but as of October 2020 it still has not re-opened. 

 

14. The Carlton Tavern, after its 2015 demolition, and in 2020 after being rebuilt. (Internet / Irina Porter)

 

Brent was chosen to be London’s Borough of Culture for 2020, and one of its highlights was to be a summer festival on Kilburn High Road, with a mile-long street party. Unfortunately this was cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation. Kilburn does, however, have two Brent Biennial artworks by British-Filipino artist Pio Abad, just off the High Road in Willesden Lane and Burton Road. There is also the premiere of Zadie Smith’s debut play, ‘The Wife of Willesden’ at The Kiln theatre to look forward to as part of the delayed LBOC 2020 celebrations.

 

15. Pio Abad's two Brent2020 Kilburn artworks, and a Borough of Cultures sign. (Internet / Irina Porter x2)

 

Whatever Kilburn’s future will bring us, I hope you have enjoyed discovering its rich and colourful past, which this series will remain as a record of.

Irina Porter,
Willesden Local History Society

 

A special thank you to local historian Dick Weindling, co-author of 'Kilburn and West Hampstead Past' and History of Kilburn and West Hampstead blog

 

Thank you, Irina, for what has been a fascinating series on Kilburn. Where will our local history journey take us next? If we head west along Kilburn Lane to Kensal Green, then up the Harrow Road for a few miles, we’ll come to …. Find out next week, when another writer joins our “local history in lockdown” team, with a one-off article for you.

Cllrs Butt and Sangani blame their confusion over Covid restrictions for breach when they attended a place of worship

Debra Norman has issued the result of her investigation of a complaint by former Brent Council Liberal Democrat leader Paul Lorber about the conduct of  Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council and fellow Labour councillor Cllr Trupti Sangani in attending a place of worship during Covid19 restrictions. Norman partially upheld the complaint.

Cllr Anton Georgiou, the sole Lib Dem currently on Brent Council has called for Butt's resignation as a consquence of the findings:

Muhammed Butt today posted a message on the Brent Council website urging residents to comply with the new restrictions that come info force tomorrow. LINK

 

The Decision Notice:

 

MONITORING OFFICER DECISION NOTICE
Brent members’ Code of Conduct
Complaint about the conduct of Councillors Butt & Sangani

The Complaint

A complaint about the conduct of Cllrs Butt & Sangani has been considered under the Council’s procedure for considering complaints that the Members’ Code of Conduct has been breached. The complaint was received from Mr Paul Lorber and contained 5 allegations:

1.     That 2 days before the COVID related restrictions on members of the public attending places of worship were lifted, Cllr Butt and other unspecified Labour Councillors attended prayers at the Ealing Road Temple.

2.    That Councillor Sangani shared a recording of the occasion on Twitter and referred to Councillor Butt as the Leader of Brent Council.

3.    That Councillor Butt publicly criticised other members of the public for breaking lockdown and social distancing rules after his own alleged breach.

4.    That Councillor Butt and the other Labour Councillors, by their actions, failed to show leadership and placed Brent Council in an impossible position in undermining the authority and the credibility of the Council in trying to send out important health and safety messages and insisting on public acceptance and compliance with the rules.

5.    That Councillor Butt has failed to make an unreserved apology for his actions.

The complaints allege that the above actions have breached the following provisions / obligations of the Members’ Code of Conduct:

1.     a)  Para 5 – In particular, you must comply with the seven principles of conduct in public life set out in Appendix 1, including:

·  Leadership: you should promote and support these principles by leadership and by example and should act in a way that secures or preserves public confidence.

·  Integrity: You should not place yourself in situations where your integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.

2.    b)  Para 12: You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or the Council into disrepute.

The Facts

On the 11 June 2020, Cllrs Butt and Sangani attended a small, socially distanced gathering at the Ealing Road Temple in support of Brent’s Multi Faiths Forum. Both state that they

understood that the gathering was to be held outdoors, but it transpired that the gathering in fact took place inside. At the time, lockdown restrictions required that places of worship should be closed to worshippers. This situation was amended on the 13 June so that individual prayer could resume in places of worship and socially distanced communal worship was allowed from the 4 July onwards.

An article appeared in the Newham Recorder on the 6 July 2020 which stated that Brent Labour councillors had attended a prayer service in a place of worship before lockdown restrictions were relaxed. The article contained a photograph in which six individuals could be seen sitting in a socially distanced formation. The article also reproduced a tweet from Cllr Sangani referring to the event and an attached video she had posted, which also showed a small number of people sitting in a socially distanced formation. Cllr Sangani subsequently amended the privacy settings on her Twitter account which limited access. An article also appeared in the Kilburn Times on the 3 August which reported that an opposition councillor had called for an apology from Councillor Butt for attending a joint prayer event before restrictions were relaxed. The article alleged that Councillor Butt had attacked others for failing to abide by the rules imposed in response to the coronavirus pandemic. A further article published on the 21 August reported that Mr Lorber, a former Leader of Brent Council, had also called on Councillor Butt to apologise.

Councillor Butt made a statement to the Kilburn Times which contained the following comments: “I attended a small and socially distanced gathering at the Ealing Road Temple in support of Brent’s Multi Faiths Forum. It was subsequently suggested that the impromptu event might have inadvertently pre-empted by a couple of day’s government advice on religious activities. I do believe that the lack of consistent clarity from Whitehall during lockdown meant that people were unsure what they could and could not do.

I see now that we were mistaken as to how our moment of joint prayer and reflection for all the people who tragically lost their lives during this pandemic aligned with that sanctioned by government and hope that our positive example of community cohesion does not get lost in any ensuing noise. I know that forum members have come under intense pressure during this period from local journalists and I can only apologise to them for the unpleasant inconvenience. I do hope that this excessive media intrusion will not diminish your willingness to remain part of this important movement in our borough.”

Response to Complaint

Both Cllrs Butt and Sangani provided written responses to the complaint.

Councillor Butt explained that:

·       He would not describe the event as “organised prayer”. The event had consisted of a brief moment of quiet refection amongst people of different faiths, intended as a simple act by and for people who were looking for small comfort in what was a distressing time. The actions were intended as a positive demonstration of well- intended community leadership.

·       He accepted that a mistake was made regarding the time between what happened and what was sanctioned at the time. There was, however, a degree of uncertainty at the time in terms of when places of worship would re-open as the Prime Minister had talked of an earlier re-opening. The contradictory statements which were in the public domain at the time, and the time lags between announcements and implementation had led to an honest mistake being made in good faith at a very confusing time.

·       He offered an unreserved apology for not having thought that his actions could cause upset to anyone.

·       He provided correspondence from the editor of the Kilburn Times which confirmed that the paper accepted that it had erred in two ways in reporting that, in relation to the inference of his attacking others for breaches, he had commented that "people disregarding social distancing guidance was 'not acceptable and heightened risk'". In fact his comment had been: “Of course the parties and the use of outdoor gyms we saw during lockdown are not acceptable given the heightened risk, but when you have such mixed messages from central government on what can and can’t be done, you can see why people were confused and were restless and frustrated after so many weeks of lockdown."

·        He confirmed that he had not received any formal invite to the event but had, he recalled, been verbally invited by Cllr Sangani with whom he had been visiting a food bank earlier in the day.

Councillor Sangani responded that:

·  She accepted that she had posted the Tweet in question

·  She attended the small socially distanced gathering at Ealing Road Temple in support of the Multi Faith Forum and had also been of the understanding that it would be held outdoors.

·       There had been confusion as a result of government announcements which led to a mistake being made in attending the event.

·       She understood why the complainant felt aggrieved and offered an apology for having made an honest mistake, with the best intentions.

·       She did not recall having received any formal invite to the event, but rather became aware of the time, date and place via conversations.

The Chief Executive and the council’s Head of Communications have both stated to the Council’s Monitoring Officer that they do not consider that the incident and the reporting of it has undermined the authority and the credibility of the Council in trying to send out important health and safety messages and insisting on public acceptance and compliance with the rules. Other than this complaint, they are not aware of any communication or other evidence which suggests this is the case.

The Scope of the Members’ Code of Conduct

All local authorities are required to adopt a code of conduct “dealing with the conduct that is expected of members....of the authority when they are acting in that capacity” (s27(2) of the Localism Act 2011).

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct states that “This Code applies to you as a member of Brent Council” (para 1(1) and sets out its scope at para 2(1):

“You must comply with this Code whenever you –

1.     a)  Conduct the business of the Council (which in this Code, incudes the business of the office to which you are elected or appointed); or

2.    b)  Act, claim to act, or give the impression you are acting as a representative of the Council,

And references to your official capacity are construed accordingly.”

I take the view that the words “a representative of the Council” should be broadly understood and that acting or giving the impression of acting as a councillor should be equated with acting as a representative of the Council, which maintains the important distinction between councillors’ personal and public actions.

Decision

In accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct Complaints Procedure, before deciding the outcome of this complaint, I consulted the Council’s Independent Person and have taken his views into account.

Neither councillor has disputed that they attended the event on the 11 June 2020, which they both accepted was, in fact, in breach of the restrictions in place on that date. They both accepted that, therefore, a mistake had been made on their parts. It seems clear to me, given their responses and given that Cllr Sangani’s Tweet referred to the fact that they were both councillors, that their attendance was as representatives of the Council. As such I have determined that the breaches fall within the scope of the Code.

In accordance with the Assessment Criteria set out in section 2 of Annex 1 to the Code of Conduct Complaint Assessment and Determination Procedure, I have been able to conclude that there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct without an investigation.

Turning now to consider whether specific provisions of the Code have been breached:

Para 5 – In particular, you must comply with the seven principles of conduct in public life set out in Appendix 1, including:

 

·       Leadership: you should promote and support these principles by leadership and by example and should act in a way that secures or preserves public confidence.

 

·        Integrity: You should not place yourself in situations where your integrity may be questioned, should not behave improperly and should on all occasions avoid the appearance of such behaviour.

 

Leadership:

Both councillors have acknowledged that they were confused about the specific restrictions which were then in place in relation to attendance in places of worship and as a result of that confusion, inadvertently breached the restrictions which were in place at the time. I find that the error could have led to a reduction in public confidence at a difficult and confusing time.

Integrity:

Attendance at the event was reported unfavourably in the press subsequently as a result of the fact that this amounted to a breach of restrictions then in place, which corresponds to both councillors placing themselves in a situation where their integrity could be questioned, despite their stated good intentions in attending the event.

In respect of both findings, I have given additional consideration to the fact that both councillors state they had been of the understanding that the event was to be taking place outside, rather than inside. However, I have concluded that on the 11 June 2020 the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, which, at regulations 6 and 7 imposed restrictions on movement and participating in a gathering in a public space, had not yet been amended to allow for gatherings outside in these circumstances. As such, the fact that the gathering in fact took place inside, rather than outside made no difference to the fact that, either way the attendance at the event would still have been in breach of the restrictions then in place.

Para 12: You must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or the Council into disrepute.

Although the attendance at the event received adverse publicity in the press, I do not consider that it has brought the Council into disrepute, given that the wider intention behind the attendance was to provide comfort at what was a very distressing time for many. Further, the Kilburn Times has since acknowledged that Councillor Butt had been wrongly quoted as attacking members of the public for breaches of the rules and as such I find that there has been no suggestion of his having acted in a hypocritical manner which might have brought his office into disrepute.

In conclusion therefore, whilst I have found that there has been a breach of para 5 of the Code of Conduct in that the attendance at the event could have threatened public confidence / led to both councillors’ integrity being questioned, I do accept the good intentions behind the decision to attend the event (which Councillor Butt described as a quiet moment of reflection, as opposed to an organised prayer session). I do not consider that on the facts para 12 of the Code of Conduct has been breached.

Sanction

In considering the appropriate sanction it is relevant to take note of the actions already taken by both councillors to seek to remedy the breach, specifically:

·  Councillor Sangani restricting access to her Twitter account

·  Both councillors offering apologies

·  Both councillors acknowledging their error

·  Councillor Butt contacting the press to seek confirmation that a specific quote alleging that he had criticised others who breached the rules was incorrectly recorded.

In all the circumstances, I consider that the appropriate sanction in this instance to be as follows:

1.     Both councillors to be advised to ensure that appropriate and up to date advice is sought in advance of any intention to attend an event, to ensure that current coronavirus restrictions are accurately followed

2.    Apologies from both councillors based on those provided as part of their responses to the complaint, to be published on the Council’s website for 6 months.

In accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct Complaints Procedure, as far as the complainant is concerned my decision is final and there is no right of appeal or right of internal review against my decision.

As far as Councillor Butt and Councillor Sangani are concerned, they may request in writing within 10 working days of receiving this decision notice that I review my decision that they breached the Code of Conduct and/or the sanction imposed. The reasons for requesting a review must be given and any new supporting documentation provided.

Debra Norman
Monitoring Officer, Brent Council 19 October 2020.

 

This evening's Brent Planning Committee cancelled

 Tonight's meeting which was to discuss the controversial planning application for 5 towers on Brook Avenue, adjacent to Wembley Park station has been cancelled.  A supplementary report had been submitted by officers with some amendments but the recommendation to approve the application remained unchanged.

The cancellation follows the cancellation of the special Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee. The Cabinet meeting due to be held on Monday currently remains on the Council website.

Martin Redston's application re Cummings 'the lockdown avoider' is Refused by High Court but he says, 'This isn't over yet'

Following the High Court decision to refuse Martin Redston's application in the DPP/Dominic Cummings case he made this statement:

Our Judicial Review application in the DPP/Cummings case in High Court today was Refused. I don’t know, and I don't think my legal  team know what to do yet,  until we get the Judges’ written reasons for the decision, later this week. Our  feeling is that the decision was already made before our Counsel got to his feet and we lost on a technicality. The main points being addressed outside the massive document submissions, centred on the DPPs duty and power using clear and unambiguous  arguments as to why the original High Court judge had previously been wrong in his written ruling..  

Michael Mansfield QC was brilliant, making our case and answering Judges’ questions for forty minutes. The opposing counsel for the DPP hardly said anything, just relying on the original submission in the High Court and the judge's original ruling.  Naturally we were disappointed with the result.

This hearing was in the Divisional Court presided over by an Appeal Court judge sitting with a High Court judge. There might be the possibility of an Appeal. However, I am still trying to consider if there is any way of taking action directly against Cummings,  now that we have established the principle that the DPP won't stand in our way and try to block us in the attempt.

The good news is that the Judge refused an application for the DPP to escalate their costs above the minimum appropriate to the actions to date.

Thanks to our diligent and valiant legal team. I am very grateful for the many hours late into the night and all the advice and support that they have provided over the months leading up to this hearing.

Finally, thanks to our supporters...this isn’t over yet and therefore any additional funds that we can raise will give us confidence to carry on until the lockdown avoider is brought to book.

 Donate HERE

Brent Council hails 63.7% cut in its carbon emissions

 From Brent Council

Energy-saving streetlights and the new Civic Centre have helped Brent Council to cut its carbon emissions by 63.7% as the figures for the latest year* are released.

Reductions are measured against the baseline from 2010-11. The government’s target asks organisations to aim for a 30% emissions reduction. In 2018 the Council set itself a more robust goal of 60% by 2021 and last year committed to do all reasonable in its gift to aim for carbon neutrality by 2030.

The substantial drop in emissions has been driven by the installation of 21,000 LED street lights, as well as the move to the new Brent Civic Centre, which was named the greenest public sector building in 2014.  

Cllr Krupa Sheth, Lead Member for Environment, said: 

Last year, we declared a climate and ecological emergency. Today’s news confirms our dedication and I’m delighted we’ve been able to exceed the target we set ourselves two years ago. But we also know there is more work to do. We are committed to reducing our energy usage as much as possible and it is our ambition to buy what we do need through a truly green energy provider.

 

*April 2019 - March 2020