By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982
This week’s Private Eye tells the story of some untoward goings on in Tory-run Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) council.
It seems that John Everitt, chief executive of the council, quickly prompted party group leaders on the council to erase evidence that a Tory-employed researcher had “improperly” used council time and computers to work on press releases for Jacob Rees-Mogg, Tory PPC for North East Somerset.
Political researchers in local authorities, although linked to the party, are nevertheless on council payroll and deemed to be “politically restricted”. This limits their activities to council work, and forbids work for any non-council candidate.
The story is further embarrassment for “Rees-Smug”, as Private Eye calls him, who recently apologised for plaigirising the Trevor Kavanagh column in the Sun for his election literature.
And the rag also says that “none of this seems to have harmed the career of Hinchcliffe, the rule-bending spinner. He has now been hired as senior communications officer…for BANES Council!”
Plaigirism and nepotism live!
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