Liverpool City Council awards Freedom of the City posthumously to the 96 killed at Hillsborough
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Cllr Richard Kemp speaking about the subject of Hillsborough at an Extraordinary meeting of Liverpool City Council on the 25th May 2016
Above is video of the special meeting of Liverpool City Council held on the 25th May 2016 where Freedom of the City was awarded posthumously to the 96 people who died as a result of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. The reason for awarding them Freedom of the City was described as, “To recognise the place of the 96 Hillsborough victims in the history of the City of Liverpool, who went to a football match, but never returned.”
Liverpool City Council also awarded Freedom of the City to four others involved with the campaigning to see justice and/or support to the families of the 96 unlawfully killed. These people were Kenny Dalglish MBE, Marina Dalglish MBE, The Right Reverend Bishop James Jones and Professor Phil Scraton.
Each of the names of the ninety-six who died were read out individually at the meeting and politicians also gave speeches about the issue of Hillsborough and the reason behind the awards.
The BBC were also present at the meeting and the award of Freedom of the City to these people was mentioned in the evening regional TV news bulletin North West tonight.
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Wirral Council invests £38 million in company mired in allegations of bribery of foreign politicians and civil servants
Pensions Committee (Merseyside Pension Fund) 16th November 2015 L to R Peter Wallach, Cllr Paul Doughty (Chair)
Towards the end of the BBC ten o’clock news yesterday evening after the stories about Syria, climate change and the doctors’ strike being called off there was a piece about British American Tobacco.
For those who don’t know Wirral Council (who manage the Merseyside Pension Fund) had (valued at March 2015) £38 million invested in shares in British American Tobacco. In fact it is their largest shareholding (see page 15 here). I will declare an interest as a close relative of mine is paid a pension by the Merseyside Pension Fund.
As the BBC only keep clips of the news available on BBC Iplayer for 24 hours, I felt it would be useful to have a transcript of the piece so that it reached a wider audience.
Huw Edwards: A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence of corruption and bribery at the UK’s fifth biggest company. BBC Panorama found British American Tobacco paid bribes to politicians and civil servants in countries across East Africa.
The illegal payments even undermined a United Nations initiative designed to save lives! The company could face prosecution around the world for failing to prevent bribery. BAT says it does not tolerate corruption.
Our special correspondent Richard Bilton reports.
Richard Bilton: This is northern Uganda, it’s tobacco country. Thousands of farmers work these hills, but there is another way to make money from this crop. We’re on our way to meet a very important man. This is a guy who helps to decide who gets to buy and sell tobacco and what we know about the man we’re on our way to meet is he’s corrupt.
This is Doctor Kasirivu Atwooki and we’ve seen documents that show he was paid $20,000 by BAT to change a parliamentary report. He doesn’t know, I know he’s corrupt.
If an MP, a sitting MP took a bribe, how would you feel about that?
Dr Kasirivu Atwooki: Well, that’s not acceptable.
Richard Bilton: You took a bribe though, didn’t you?
Dr Kasirivu Atwooki: Why should I?
Richard Bilton: You took $20,000 from BAT!
Dr Kasirivu Atwooki: From when?
Richard Bilton: In 2012.
Dr Kasirivu Atwooki: No, no, no, that’s not true!
Richard Bilton: Are you corrupt?
Dr Kasirivu Atwooki: I’m not!
Richard Bilton: The evidence suggests he is and we know because of this man. Paul Hopkins was in the Irish Special Forces before he joined BAT. He says he was told bribery was the cost of doing business in Africa.
Paul Hopkins: I was a commercial hit man. My job was to ensure that the competition never got a breathing space.
Richard Bilton: So BAT, they knew what they wanted you to do and they expected you to get on with it?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: And that included bribing?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: Breaking the law?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: Applying pressure?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: Undermining commercial rivals?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: And you were happy to do that?
Paul Hopkins: Yes.
Richard Bilton: BAT sold 667 billion cigarettes last year and made £4.5 billion profit, but the documents Paul has supplied show employees paid bribes to change anti-tobacco legislation, damage rivals, even undermine the UN effort to save lives.
Bribes were paid to three officials connected to a World Health Organisation supported campaign which aimed to reduce tobacco related deaths. I showed our evidence to the woman who runs the campaign.
Richard Bilton: That’s BAT paying a representative $3,000. What do you feel about that?
Dr Vera Luiza Da Costa E Silva (WHO): It’s a company that is err irresponsible to say the least. It’s using bribery to profit at the cost of people’s lives, simple as that.
Richard Bilton: BAT failed to answer any of our questions directly. Mr Durante? So I caught up with Chief Executive Nicandro Durante as he arrived at work. Sir, can I ask you a quick question? I’m from Panorama, why did you not respond to our emails about bribery? Is that the nature of BAT Sir, that you just put up with bribery?
Richard Bilton: BAT has since told us, the truth is that we do not and will not tolerate corruption no matter where it takes place. Our accusers in this programme left us in acrimonious circumstances and have a vendetta against us. The whistleblower is due to meet investigators from the UK’s Serious Fraud Office this week to discuss the bribery secrets of one of the UK’s biggest companies. Richard Bilton, BBC News.
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BBC launches consultation on collaboration with hyperlocal blogs but do bloggers know there’s a consultation?
BBC launches consultation on collaboration with hyperlocal blogs but do bloggers know there’s a consultation?
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority meeting 19th June 2015
I’ll start by declaring an interest in this piece as I write for and run this blog. Earlier this week I got an email from a well-known journalist about a consultation the BBC is running. More information on this is on the BBC’s website.
Personally I’m not sure what to make of it. I don’t have the benefit of working for a media organisation like the BBC that is funded by taxes so gets a guaranteed income. Tomorrow I’ll be filming a public meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
At the previous meeting (19th June 2015) there were three filming the meeting itself:
a) myself
b) Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council and
c) the BBC for the Sunday Politics show.
However out of those three the footage I took was available to the public first. However I am getting off the point a little. The BBC just used clips of the meeting with a voice over during its Sunday Politics show.
Below is my footage on Youtube (which can be viewed in resolutions to 1080p HD). It has at the time of writing 19 views.
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In comparison here is the footage on Youtube filmed by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (at the start of each meeting the Chair generally announces they’re filming and the meeting can be watched on their Youtube channel). It can be watched in resolutions up to 480p. As you can see when they uploaded it to Youtube it’s resulted in a blank black area right, left and top. Generally my view is that if there’s a natural source of light in the room you should try to film with the light behind the camera (this was what the BBC cameraman was trying to do at the start too). Some of the time they film pointing at the windows. However at the time of writing they have 28 views.
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Now I’m definitely biased but I think my footage is better (but not as good as the BBC’s (unfortunately I don’t have a link of their video footage to hand to show)).
I do see competition in the media as a good thing though. If people want to watch footage of this public meeting they have a choice.
That’s why I don’t fully understand what the BBC is proposing. We’re all competing with each other, which means over time we learn from each other and get better. Providing people with a choice is good. It’s how the marketplace and media works.
Collaboration between competing bodies could work to reduce that choice in the long-term if two or more previous competitors collaborate.
Links from the BBC’s website to a hyperlocal blog (through this proposed external linking system) would cause a spike in traffic to the hyperlocal blog as links from the BBC’s website carry a lot of weight.
However hyperlocal blogs who weren’t collaborating with the BBC would lose out on this source of visitors.
What’s really needed is not what the BBC propose. A lot of hyperlocal blogs have filled a media void once occupied by the newspapers. Newspapers get a guaranteed income from the taxpayer through things like public notices as the legislation specifically refers to public notices being published in local newspapers.
Considering the community benefit of hyperlocal blogs what’s really needed is a decent discussion about their long-term sustainability and how essentially their community benefit is priceless. They’re doing media work that otherwise wouldn’t happen. Hyperlocal blogs (including this one) have written stories that lead to front page news stories in newspapers, have highlighted extremely important issues and contributed to greater scrutiny of public bodies.
Apart from the first of these issues, the two latter have a “community benefit” can’t be easily measured or quantified. Anyway going back to the BBC consultation I was asked a further few questions so I thought I’d do a poll here (or you can leave a comment).
Banned video on Lyndale School restored to Youtube; Wirral Council still prevents filming at 2 public meetings
Banned video on Lyndale School restored to Youtube; Wirral Council still prevents filming at 2 public meetings
Councillor Tony Smith at the Special Cabinet Meeting of 4th September 2014 to discuss Lyndale School L to R Cllr Stuart Whittingham, Cllr Tony Smith, Cllr Bernie Mooney, Lyndzay Roberts that Sony prevented being watch on Youtube until now.
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Ed – Updated 11:58 14/11/2014 to include additional information.
Well the above Youtube video of the Cabinet meeting of the 4th September 2014 (previously blocked by Youtube in Germany and unavailable for anyone to view for the last fortnight because of Sony) can now be viewed.
Sony Music Entertainment haven’t sued me, so the video has to go back. My arcane knowledge of the counter notification provision to a DMCA takedown notice in the American Digital Millenium Copyright Act paid off.
The issue was to do with the use of the music track “We bought a Zoo” [2011] by Icelandic musician Jónsi.
It means the 15 minute restriction on videos, restrictions on live broadcasts is no lifted on the main Youtube channel I use. Also the account is returned to good standing.
However in future at a public meeting, even though I can justify fair use on the grounds of news reporting, to prevent the making of false allegations of copyright infringement and this happening again, I have decided not to film videos shown during public meetings (obviously there may be exceptions to this general rule).
With regards to the Lyndale School video, the fact that Jónsi is blind adds another interesting element to the Lyndale story.
It’s not however just Sony Music Entertainment that have tried to prevent footage of Wirral Council’s public meetings being shown. Wirral Council tried it at a call in earlier this year in February (about Lyndale).
Also at a recent meeting of the Youth and Play Service Advisory Committee on the 28th October and the Youth Parliament on 11th November Wirral Council were adamant that for child protection reasons these public meetings couldn’t be filmed.
This was because at the meeting on the 28th there was a 16-year-old present and at the meeting on the 11th November, there were 11-18 year olds present in addition to councillors.
Strangely enough on that very topic the Youth Parliament, the BBC are filming (and showing on BBC Parliament today) from 11.10am-12.40pm and 1.40pm onwards the Youth Parliament debating in the House of Commons.
In fact here is a quote from one UK Youth Parliament member Ciara Brodie from Liverpool (who will be leading a debate):
“Friday 14th November will be an incredible day, not only for those sitting in the chamber, but for young people across the country. This is the day when hundreds of Members of Youth Parliament will take to the green benches of the House of Commons and debate on the issues that are most important to us. These five issues have been decided by a nationwide ballot taken part in by over 865,000 11-18 year olds. This day will be symbolic, because young people often feel excluded from politics, and like their voices are neither acknowledged nor represented in Parliament. This sitting is an incredible opportunity to engage young people from across the UK in political debate, just months before a General Election. With educational reform a hot topic and 16 and 17 year olds voting in the Scottish Referendum, there has never been a more important time to listen to young people. It is one thing to be given a voice but hopefully, as a result of this debate, young people will also be listened to. This is our chance to make our mark in the heart of Westminster.”
The debates will all be filmed. BBC Parliament will be broadcasting the debates live with a five minute time delay.
The debates will also be streamed “live” with a time delay directly to the newsrooms of the BBC, Sky, etc – so that broadcasters may use the footage that day if they want to.
It is very important that during the debates MYPs don’t say anything that is factually incorrect (i.e. slanderous), don’t swear and are careful not to damage the reputation of Parliament (e.g. call MPs liars!). We will be taking legal advice on anything that could be considered slanderous and any such statements will have to be removed.
The microphones and cameras will be on in the Chamber at all times.”
Coverage of the morning session will be broadcast on the BBC Parliament channel today (14th November 2014) starting at 8.20pm.
Coverage of the afternoon session will be broadcast on the BBC Parliament channel today (14th November 2014) starting at 9.50pm.
Coverage of the morning session will be available on BBC Iplayer at this link (1h30m).
Coverage of the afternoon session will be available on BBC Iplayer at this link (2h10m) .
Maybe Wirral Council’s child protection policy will prevent its UK Youth Parliament members (aged between 11-18) actually being involved at all in London at the House of Commons today (which if it does that’s a shame). Mind you under their “child protection policy” the public & press have been told in the past aren’t even allowed to know even the names of who from Wirral represents the views of young people on the Youth Parliament!
In Wirral of course, with full approval from Wirral Council’s Cabinet, children’s voices are not to be heard outside of meeting rooms at public meetings on political issues. The reason given is because “they’re children” and of course Wirral isn’t known to as the “insular peninsula” for no reason. It’s however really part of a wider cultural attitude against openness and transparency and of trying to control the press.
Wirral will probably also say its for safeguarding reasons, however I would say the effect of broadcasting on national TV, online and through other broadcasters is likely to reach a much wider audience than probably the fifty or sixty views there would have been of the Youth Parliament meeting at Wirral Council.
What have Wirral Council actually got to hide when it comes to teenagers? Do they just so ever conveniently forget at time they get £millions of public money to spend on their education?
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It seems issues discussed at last night’s Cabinet meeting made the top story on the North West news last night. In case you missed it (and sadly it’s only available on iPlayer for a short while after) I’ve got the relevant clip uploaded to Youtube which you can view below. Thanks go to the BBC for giving this issue coverage to a wider audience than those that go to Wirral Council Cabinet meetings. So what do people think about how people came across?
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