If you take a look at the Assembly's website you will see that Brian's entries take up almost a fifth of the entire hospitality register.
Since the beginning of this year alone Brian has lunched off of with (among others)
- a major property developer looking to build a school in his borough
- a senior officer in his own council
- the manager of his local shopping centre
- the Lord Mayor of London
- the Ambassador for Bulgaria
Now quite what is discussed during these meetings we'll never know, but at least the fact that he's accepting them is declared publicly on the assembly website.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of those he declares to the London Fire Authority.
However, thanks to a Freedom of Information request I submitted last month we can now see exactly who else he has been lunching with:
Councillor Brian Coleman (LFEPA Chair)
- Lunch on 27/9/07 provided by Deputy Fire Commissioner
- Dinner on 23/10/07 provided by Sir Ken Knight
- Lunch on 30/10/07 provided by Asset Co
- Lunch on 26/11/07 provided by James Flynn, LFEPA Head of Communications
- Dinner on 21/4/08 provided by Licensing Committee of the City of London Corporation
- Lunch on 28/5/08 provided by Mr David Cartwright
- Lunch on 2/7/08 provided by 4Ps
- Dinner on 2/7/08 provided by T-Systems (sister company of T-Mobile)
- Dinner on 17/7/08 provided by Sir Ken Knight
- Dinner on 23/7/08 provided by Mr John Shannon
- Lunch on 26/8/08 provided by Mr John Smith
- Dinner on 1/12/08 provided by Chief Fire & Rescue Adviser
- Harvey Nichols hamper provided by John Shannon Asset Co on 24/12/08
- Dinner on 19/1/09 provided by John Shannon
So why it is that Brian Coleman feels the need to accept so many of these offers of hospitality?
And why is it that the rich and the powerful feel the need to offer them to to him at all?
Whatever could it be about Brian Coleman that makes him such an appealing dining companion, and why is it that everyone else seem to be able to feed themselves?
13 comments:
It's his charm and open-mindedness surely?
Its a little ray of sunshine in these credit-crunching times - my shares in long spoons are going through the roof!
Why have the heads of communication at Barnet Council and LFEPA both taken Brian Coleman out to lunch? If it was official business, should we not be entitled to know the nature of that business?
In the case of the Barnet lunch, Emer Coleman (no relation) paid for it personally at an expensive local restaurant. Whilst I credit Mr Coleman for declaring the meal on the register, questions have to be asked about the propriety of a councillor and senior office having a private lunch together.
The same applies to lunching with the directors of companies who have contracts with the bodies you are chairing. It may be entirely proper but it doesn't look good. When you're in a public position, the appearance of propriety is almost as important as the propriety itself.
Brian Coleman (aka Mr Toad) has GOT to go!:
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=24061317432
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/mr_toad_has_got_to_go
It’s so nice site. We love to see more on this site. Keep on updating… MonkAreRee Bali ***gtdetgse
So there's no conflict of interest whatsoever in Coleman's dining with Gerald Ronson, given the controversial new school Ronson is funding in Barnet (which has been given the go-ahead by the way). Hmmmm....
It seems to have moved from Cash for Questions to Lunch for Questions.
Perhaps if he went to more pensioners lunches or sandwiches with firefighters we'd see he was all heart.
Coleman was instrumental in forcing through the planning application for Ronson's school (JCoSS) and its deeply unpopular attached road scheme, to be built across a primary school playing field (Metropolitan Open Land adjoining the Green Belt). Rather than debate the environmental and planning merits of the scheme, he chose instead to use a straw man, effectively labelling local parents and environmental campaigners - his constituents mark you - as a bunch of racists, "idiots" and "the usual Nimby brigade". You can read his charming representation of his constituents at:
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/special_reports/?content_id=6809
"You can read his charming representation of his..."
Interesting link. I wonder how he found time to write this piece, with so many courses of dinner to eat. I suppose the operation of a pen is sufficiently similar to that of a knife and fork, to have kept him within the comfort zone.
---Appealing of Ealing
Does this man collect cutlery?
Has anyone checked?
I could tell you some tales about Queen B :)
A decent picture of Coleman in his natural enviroment (and i dont mean a taxi) at this site:
http://www.putridcore.blogspot.com
Whistleblower, can you email me please? Anonymity assured.
adambienkov@btinternet.com
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