When two Swansea men were jailed a few days ago for their part in a £300,000 cocaine supply conspiracy, Lib Dem council leader Chris Holley was among those quoted in the press praising the police operation.
He told the local paper: “The people of Swansea will be reassured operations of this kind, which take a great deal of time and resources, are made public and that the sentences handed out to drugs suppliers fit the heinous crimes”
For most observers, his fulsome tribute was a spot of humble pie-munching orchestrated by the police after he had rather stupidly accused them of a poor local record in tackling drug-related crime. Holley experienced a serious public backlash for his unjustified outburst and one anonymous serving officer, who described the political attack as a kick in the teeth for hardworking drugs team, went on to suggest that the Lib Dem “should concentrate on running the council, rather than shouting his mouth off."
However, we suspect that there is actually a deeper and more satisfying irony involved in getting his personal endorsement for this particular prosecution.
During the trial, it emerged that the city centre pub in which the drugs were diluted, pressed and packaged was run by the mother of one of the defendants. She just also happened to be the Liberal Democrat candidate in a local 2007 by-election and who had received enthusiastic personal backing from AM Peter Black, among others.
Even more desperately excruciating for Holley is that the same convicted supplier is the grandson of a serving member in his own Swansea Administration and the chairman of a scrutiny committee which counts crime reduction among its many responsibilities.
Who says the police haven’t got a sense of humour. They must be laughing into their ceremonial aprons over at HQ.
6 Comments:
"Hypocrite" is a very over-used term in politics yet in Holley's case it does seem entirely apt. How this useless bladder is able to retain high city office is beyond me.
How strange that this particularly significant piece of news in missing from local press accounts. More evidence of the kissy-kissy relationship between the EP and the council who advertise in it, methinks.
What a great find on this story. I myself thought Holley was eating ample amounts of humble pie with his comments. But to now reveal that one of his cabal members is the grandmother of the convicted drug dealer simply adds to his woes.
The endorsement of the mother of the dealer is still on Peter Black's website : http://www.southwaleslibdems.org.uk/en/article/2007/115801/lib-dems-select-llansamlet-candidate
Holley on drugs. Never was there a more appropriate statement.
I'm betting that this gets no local press coverage whatsoever. "Politics" for the Evening Post is cut-and-paste fodder from the council or whatever a handful media-savvy councillors, AMs and MPs send in.
Might do the deficit some good if there was an even closer local connection.
See!! That Holley can't even get it right when he gets it wrong!
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