Letter: Why Does Cllr Spooner Not Give Clear Answers?

Published on: 27 Jan, 2019
Updated on: 27 Jan, 2019

Sir Paul Beresford MP and Cllr Paul Spooner

From David Roberts

In response to: What Has My Russian Marriage To Do With Wisley?

Sir Paul can say what he likes under Parliamentary privilege. But why does Cllr Paul Spooner continue to evade simple questions?

• Does he know the identity of the anonymous Russian or other investors in the Wisley Investment Group (WIG)? Yes or no?
• Has he ever discussed local planning issues during a private or other visit to Russia? Yes or no?
• Have his Russian relatives or contacts ever been involved with WIG or Cllr Murray’s promotion of developing Three Farms Meadows (also known as the former Wisley Airfield)? Yes or no?

If he gives me a simple “No” to these questions, all will be clear. If not, residents are likely to smell a rat.

I have no interest in Cllr Spooner’s reputation and no evidence of any wrongdoing.  I do not wish to imply that I have.

But it may be helpful to note that using public office improperly for private benefit would be a breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, the Nolan Principles and, potentially, the Bribery Act 2010, irrespective of where in the world it happened, whether money was involved or whether the individual concerned benefited personally. That includes using friends and family members as proxies, one of the oldest tricks in the book.

Claiming not to see how family links “have any bearing” on the matter is therefore disingenuous, especially given Cllr Spooner’s professed attachment to council transparency and the recent examples of serious criminality by his predecessor as lead councillor for planning.

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