It’s a fair cop, guv

Here is Rupert Matthews, Leicester Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC). He won this job in 2021 with a 31% turnout of those eligible to vote. Hmm… if this were a trade union ballot, the anti-union laws would say it’d be null and void, but as this is a vote for a Tory sleazebag, then we suppose it’s a fair cop, guv.

Before he got elected as PCC, he went on a George Floyd vigil at the Clocktower in what seemed to be a clear attempt to get a few Black Lives Matter votes. Once elected, however, he then point-blank refused to meet with any Black Lives Matter protesters. What? A hypocritical politician? Say it ain’t so!

Round about that time, Matthews, staunch supporter of free speech that he is, was unfortunately even more supportive of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (now the PCS&C Act). This puts even heavier restrictions on people’s right to protest. So much for free speech then.

Complete arsehole

The Muckery has been informed that about half the Office of the Police & Crime Commissioner (OPCC) staff left because of Matthews being a complete arsehole. Consequently, they had to recruit a load of new staff (possibly Tory arsehole-proof).

We also hear that, in the past, the OPCC used to give money towards local community safety partnerships, with the council deciding on how to distribute that money. Now, there’s a pot of around £200,000, but instead of handing it over to the council, the OPCC is keeping hold of all the dosh.

But never fear, there’s an OPCC panel that now makes the decisions over who gets the money. The fact that nobody knows who is on this panel which makes decisions over which community groups get the money, is apparently neither here nor there. The fact that no group has so far received any money is, ahem, a mere detail. Meanwhile, we hear on the grapevine that no one is likely to get any of this money either!

Matthews also hired senior chief police officer, Mike Veale, in an advisory role. The post was apparently for a six-figure sum – nice work if you can get it. However, Veale then had to step down for alleged misconduct and is currently facing a hearing for breaches of professional standards when he was up in Cleveland. Matthews, blamed it all on “negative media coverage” and said he was disappointed about Veale having to resign.

And before anyone says, “What about integrity? What about ethics? We should bloody well complain!” …Matthews went and fired his Ethics, Integrity and Complaints committee – well, given all the above, he would do that, wouldn’t he! This was apparently because he didn’t like their questions and criticisms of him. But then Matthews ended up having to splash out £56,000 to those same sacked committee members after they claimed unfair dismissal. We’re guessing this £56 grand did not come out of his own pockets.

The people of Leicestershire pay Rupert Matthews the sum of £75,000 a year for being as much use as a chocolate teapot. That’s not including the £7,500 a year pension he gets for once being an MEP for just two years.

The Muckery verdict, m’lud

Rupert Matthews is a fairly typical Tory politician so we should bloody well expect this kind of thing.

From Leicester Muckery issue 2