Chapter from my book on the allegations!

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  24. Blip

  The phone rang at 7.30 in the morning. The caller said he was a Detective Inspector from West Midlands Police.

  'Are you at home?'

  'No. I'm on my way to Brussels. What's this about?'

  'We'll call you back in five minutes.'

  'But –'

  'We'll call you back.' They rang off.

  I was exasperated. If there'd been a burglary why didn't he say so? I often drive to and from Brussels and I had spent the night in a hotel near the British end of the Channel Tunnel. I needed to get my car onto the train in the next hour. It was February 2012, still dark, and I was in a hurry.

  He called back. 'We have a warrant to search your house.'

  'What? Why?'

  'I can't tell you that. You need to be here.'

  'I'm supposed to be in Brussels.'

  'If you have to go to Brussels for your work, then so be it. But I would advise you to come home.'

  'Please tell me why?'

  'I'm not prepared to tell you on the phone.'

  'I've got to make a value judgement here. To carry on with my duties in Brussels or turn back. Is this about a driving with a bald tyre, or murder? Where along that line?'

  He hesitated. 'It's concerned with your mandate.'

  That meant my term as an MEP. 'Right,' I said. 'I’ll be there.'

  On the way home I phoned my solicitor and asked him to call the police. I did not have to go to my house. We would meet at his office and go to the police together, voluntarily.

  We walked into the police station. The caller had not informed me that they had two other warrants: one to search my office and another to arrest several members of my staff. Nor that I would be placed under arrest for conspiracy to defraud.

  The accusations were that:

  I had misclaimed travel allowances. (KERCHING! I knew where this was coming from.)

  I was paying bonuses to my staff that they were expected to pay back.

  It is now November 2013, twenty-one months since these events, and although my staff were released without a stain on their characters, I am still on police bail.

  Here's what actually happened. In July or August, 2009, when I became a UKIP MEP, a man started working for me in UKIP's Birmingham office. Let's call him ‘Faustus’.

  I took him with me to Brussels that August. I'd been a Member for about six weeks and the European Parliament building had just re-opened for business after the summer break. The idea was that when I communicated with Faustus, back in Birmingham, he'd be familiar with where I was working, as well as key individuals I was working with, and would understand the process of presenting data to the EU. He would be dealing with staff contracts, infrastructure, and travel - as well as acting as liaison between me and my constituents and advising me on the political situation at home.

  But within the first few months, I began to see him as a bit of an idiot. As my political advisor, at a time when I was in conflict with UKIP's Party leadership, he kept on urging me to leave UKIP and 'start my own party.' Well thanks, I thought. Fantasy wasn't really a big help at the time. But worse than this, he was disruptive. Two other members of staff were undermined by him and left. Finally, he proved unable to do even basic research or grasp a political point. After a series of clumsy errors, knowing how exasperated I was, he resigned before I could sack him. It was an acrimonious departure and he immediately started work for another UKIP MEP.

  I became non-inscrit in the New Year. Around the time of the General Election in May 2010, my team and I found that documents, including itemised phone bills, were missing from the Birmingham office. I was very uncomfortable about this. I have some well known friends – household names. I'd had meetings with senior politicians who for a variety of reasons would not want it to be known that I was talking to them. Records of these discussions were confidential.

  I could not be sure exactly when these documents had disappeared. But this was paperwork that Faustus had worked on and it did occur to me that he could have taken it when he left, or later, since my office had still been in the UKIP building after he'd gone to work for someone else. I reported the theft to the police at the time, but was told that there was insufficient evidence to press charges. It is an odd area of law; some of the missing data had been on the computer (and electronic information doesn't come under the Theft Act) but there were also physical records, such as telephone bills.

  Then I discovered that yet more documents had gone. The police agreed that there was circumstantial evidence, but not enough to arrest Faustus. By this time some of the data was being put up on the internet – stuff that had been stolen as hard copy, including the employment contract of his successor.

  August, 2010, was my first opportunity to take stock. It had been a tumultuous first year in office, with a lot of Human Rights work, a new office to set up, and mobile surgeries to organise. There had been many weeks of sixteen-hour days. But now, just as we were about to start our important referendum campaign, I did something I had not found time to do before. One of the things I'd learned in America was that you should occasionally sit at your employees' desks. So in August, 2010, this is what I did.

  You take a look around the office. You see things in the way that they see things. It gives you a different perspective. Look at the screen in front of you. What are they working on? How do they do it? I noticed something slightly wrong about the expenses’ claims in the system and when I got back to Brussels I told the relevant authorities. A lot of the data I needed to show them was among the material that had already been stolen, but I could see that my claims for travel to and from Brussels and/or Strasbourg didn't look right. It wasn't the dates or amounts so much as the method of travel. I drive a lot; putting the car on the Eurostar, you're across the Channel in half an hour. I do my best thinking when I drive. I come up with ideas.

  I tried to find out when this had started to go wrong and asked the staff. It turned out to be a problem with the system that Faustus had put in place. He had been incompetent. I did not assume that what he'd done was deliberate; it was just riddled with errors, inaccuracies - it made me regret that I hadn't decide to sack him before he resigned.

  I have, and never had, the remotest impulse to defraud the EU. Why would I? All you have to do to make money, legally, as an MEP is nothing. You could have your ‘office’ in the broom cupboard of your house, produce no magazines, newsletters or anything else. You could employ your spouse at whatever salary you deem appropriate. The current secretarial allowance is £215,000 a year and you can give it to one person.  I use it to rent an office in Birmingham and employ a staff of eight.

  As an MEP it seems you can claim a large salary, and many perks, yet do only as much, or as little, as you choose. Below is an excerpt from a newspaper article published in the Independent on 20 September, 2012, which is a scathing critique of UKIP’s performance.

  ‘Between them, the party’s 12 MEPs have tabled no reports, 11 have tabled no opinions, nine have signed no written declarations or motions, and seven have tabled no amendments to reports, ranking them at the bottom of the pile out of all 753 MEPs. Or at least that is what the Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies claims, after poring over the figures. “In Brussels the UKIP representatives reduce our country’s reputation to that of a laughing stock. The nearest thing to a UKIP MEP you are likely to see is an empty seat,” he said.

  It could be argued that UKIP MEPs have better things to do than hang around in Brussels, since their mission is to get Britain out of the EU – an argument that would stand up better if they had not trousered £11.5 million in salaries, staffing and office costs. And that is not counting their expenses.

  If I wanted to get rich the MEP's salary is an easy and legal way to do so. Instead I regularly break the EU working Hours directive by putting in 70 hours a week and £30,000 of my net salary is fed back into funding my work.

  But the problem identified by my arrest was my signature at the bottom of claim forms from the late summer of 2009, my first couple of months as an MEP, when Faustus was responsible for my EU admin.  Why had I signed these forms? Because I didn't read them. I had mountains of work, heaps of paperwork – and admin is what you employ staff to do. I was naïve enough to trust him.

  Yet this police bail is a hell of a thing to have hanging over me. It may still be there next year when I stand again as an MEP. I have talked for hours about this with my solicitor, and decided to do nothing. I could spend around £30,000 to obtain a Judicial Review on the grounds that this is an unfair process, but if the judge declines to interfere with police work, as judges often do, then I'll attract headlines – 'MEP fails in her attempt to block fraud enquiry.' I could demand that the police either charge me or let me go; if they did decide to charge me, this too would mean headlines. Although it's likely that the case will eventually be dropped, mud sticks. It's axiomatic that there's no such thing as bad publicity. Of  course there is.

  That arrest in 2012 does not stop me from standing in the Euro-elections of 2014. But it is a big pebble to throw at me from the back of the crowd. I can only follow my solicitor's advice and carry on with my job. I am writing about it now only because it has to be acknowledged.

  END OF CHAPTER 24

  
  
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Press Statement re charges of Misconduct of Public Office and Money Laundering, by the West Midlands Police on former MEP Nikki Sinclaire.

Press Statement re charges of Misconduct of Public Office and Money Laundering, by the West Midlands Police on former MEP Nikki Sinclaire.

‘I am disappointed that the police have chosen to charge me with the above offences without questioning me on them, after a two and a half year investigation.

‘The charges relate to my time as a UKIP MEP when I was under the guidance and oversight by the Party in the Parliament.  This will prove pivotal in resolving the matter.

‘During my time as an MEP I put in more than £120,000 of my salary into the cost of my work activities.

‘It was also me, who in 2010, drew the attention of the West Midlands Police, to irregularities I discovered had taken place, without my knowledge, in my UKIP office.

‘I strongly refute these charges and will be firmly defending myself. I am certain I shall be found innocent of these ludicrous and unfounded accusations.’

We're coming home, we're coming home, our footballers are coming home, 50 years of Hurt...

So, once again England failed to live up to expectations! Surprised? Not me, disappointed perhaps. Once again we have a manager that fits the team around over hyped players ratter than placing players into a team structure. The late great Bill Shankly said that football is a simple game complicated by fools. How right he was, that complications starts with the idiots at the FA and perminates through football. Now the usual excuses are being rolled out. The Premiership season is too long, no winter break. That long season without a winter break did not seem to affect a certain Mr Suarez who was only 75% match fit or Van Persie etc etc. maybe we simply are not as good as we think we are.

However, ever the internal optimist, we are not out yet. I'm all of sudden a Italy fan and I'm humming the great escape....

Meeting Malala Yousafzai ahead of her being awarded the Sakharov prizetoday

Nikki Sinclaire MEP has today met with Sakharov prize winner Malala Yousafzai.

The “adopted Brummie” met with the We a Demand a Referendum Now MEP ahead of collecting the top European Union Human Rights prize. 

West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire supported her nomination.

The Sakharov Prize is intended to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression. Like Andrei Sakharov himself, all the winners of the prize have shown how much courage it takes to defend human rights and freedom of expression.

 The We Demand a Referendum Now MEP, who is a member of the European Union’s Human Rights committee, added her name to show support and recognition for the work Ms Yousefzai has done in the field of Human Rights, particularly her work in education rights and women’s rights.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP said,

“One of the most important and fundamental human rights is the right to an education and Malala has shown the upmost bravery and courage in standing up for those rights and highlighting them across the world.

It’s an honour that I was able to support her nomination for The Sakharov Prize and I'm delighted that she subsequently won. Malala now lives in my constituency of the West Midlands and has become an adopted Brummie, and I know Birmingham and the wider area is very proudof her too. It is privilege to represent her as a Member of European Parliament.

Many people know me as an impassioned Eurosceptic, but I am also passionate about the human rights of those around the world. I have visited prisoners of Conscience in Bahrain, campaigned for the missing people of Cyprus and continue to highlight the struggles of the people of Kashmir”.

Nominations for Sakharov Prize can be made by political groups or at least 40 MEPs. The Foreign Affairs and Development committees vote on a shortlist of three finalists based on the nominations and later the Conference of Presidents chooses one Laureate.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Parliament awards the human rights prize, endowed with 50,000, at a formal sitting held in Strasbourg on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.

Nikki has been prominant in the field of human rights. Above, Nikki is pictured at Beach girls school, Gaza City. This school was built in an old shipping container as they had no other materials to use. 

Petitions committee today - voting on the Single Seat petition

West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire has today voted against the waste of taxpayers’ money of the EU travelling circus to Strasbourg.

As a member of the European Parliaments petition committee, the We Demand a Referendum Now MEP has voted on proposals that seek to reduce the EP to one seat in Brussels. The switch to Strasbourg Parliament is estimated to cost 180 Million Euros per year.

Currently, MEPs have to travel to Strasbourg 12 times a year. The travelling circus involves many trucks transporting goods from the MEPs offices in Brussels over to Strasbourg, (approximately 409 kilometres) and then back again once the week is over. Assistants and other workers from the Parliament all relocate at a massive cost.

The cost of changing the location of the Parliament for those sessions is 180 Million Euros. As well as the ludicrous costs, there is also approximately 19000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. The buildings in Strasbourg are empty for 317 days per year, but are still heated or air conditioned and fully lit.

Every one of the UK’s 73 MEPs is in favour of a single seat for the European Parliament. Overall, 78% of all MEPs in the Parliament want to ditch the travelling circus to Strasbourg. It is only French and Luxembourg MEPs who oppose proposals for a Single Seat.

Today’s Petitions Committee saw MEPs adopt Petitions committee opinion on One Seat proposals.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP says,

“The European Union is the institution that knows nothing about the words austerity. While it dictates to other nations about how their economies should work, the EU fritters away hundreds of millions on switching between two Parliaments.

French MEPs today attempted to add numerous amendments to this opinion in order to protect the French interest in Strasbourg, but I’m happy that these have fallen. British MEPs voted together to stop the extravagance,, but it was interesting to note that the UKIP member of the committee had failed to turn up for work – again.

In times of austerity, it is simply wrong to be wasting taxpayers money on having two seats for the European Parliament. We are accountable to the electorate, and this is a nonsensical state of affairs.

What we were voting on in Petitions Committee Today

I have previously blogged about this topic:

February 2012 - The Travelling Circus that is Strasbourg
December 2012 - EU Court Overules Elected Parliament on Single Seat Issue

Nikki Sinclaire MEP supports Malala Yousefzai nomination for EU Human Rights Prize

MEP NIKKI SUPPORTS MALALA IN EU HUMAN RIGHTS PRIZE

West Midlands MEP Nikki Sinclaire has added her signature in support of giving Malala Yousafzai a top European Union Human Rights Prize.

The Sakharov Prize is intended to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression. Like Andrei Sakharov himself, all the winners of the prize have shown how much courage it takes to defend human rights and freedom of expression.

The We Demand a Referendum Now MEP, who is a member of the European Union’s Human Rights committee, has added her name to show support and recognition for the work Ms Yousefzai has done in the field of Human Rights, particularly her work in education rights and women’s rights.

Nikki Sinclaire MEP said,

“One of the most important and fundamental human rights is the right to an education and Malala has shown the upmost bravery and courage in standing up for those rights and highlighting them across the world.

It’s an honour to be able to support her nomination for The Sakharov Prize. Malala now lives in my constituency of the West Midlands and has become an adopted Brummie, and I know Birmingham and the wider area is very proud to have her living here. It is privilege to represent her as a Member of European Parliament.

Many people know me as an impassioned Eurosceptic, but I am also passionate about the human rights of those around the world. I have visited prisoners of Conscience in Bahrain, campaigned for the missing people of Cyprus and continue to highlight the struggles of the people of Kashmir”.

Nominations for Sakharov Prize can be made by political groups or at least 40 MEPs. The Foreign Affairs and Development committees vote on a shortlist of three finalists based on the nominations and later the Conference of Presidents chooses one Laureate.
The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded each year by the European Parliament. The prize was set up in 1988 to honour individuals or organisations for their efforts on behalf of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Parliament awards the human rights prize, endowed with 50,000, at a formal sitting held in Strasbourg on or around 10 December, the day on which the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948.

##ENDS##