Thursday 14 February 2013

What the Papers Say - James v Thompson Trial

The Press Office in County Hall is probably having a collective nervous breakdown as it digests reports on the opening day of the trial yesterday.

Quote of the day has to go to Tim Minogue who writes Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs column. Tim retweeted a comment he made after Jacqui's arrest for filming a council meeting:

 Carmarthenshire council already in hole over #daftarrest. Yesterday threw away spade and hired JCB.

The Guardian's take can be found here, while the Western Mail has an excellent account of yesterday's proceedings here.

An honourable mention also goes to the South Wales Guardian which carried a pre-trial report on the questionable legality of the council's infamous libel indemnity clause here. Readers will recall that the council withdrew advertising from the paper after it a carried a mildly critical piece on the management of a regeneration project in Ammanford. The council subsequently claimed that the decision was taken on purely commercial grounds but then removed the blacklisting without explanation.

The Carmarthen Journal, which likes to think of itself as the local paper of record, had this to say: [sound of wind whistling as tumbleweed is blown down King Street].

Admittedly, reporting a case like this presents a challenge to a weekly newspaper, but perhaps they will do better next week. At least they will be able to quote their editor the chief executive who will by then have taken the stand.

For a detailed account of yesterday's court action, however, see Mrs Angry's report here. Mrs Angry is a woman of a certain age who usually blogs on the bizarre goings-on in the Tory-run London Borough of Barnet. When not blogging about local government, Mrs Angry is a passionate knitter and a calamitous cook. She also has a peculiar fixation with the Carmarthenshire cockle industry.

Cneifiwr really is now signing off for a few days.




2 comments:

Mrs Angry said...

you fecking cheeky sheep shearer: woman of a certain age ... knitting ... I immediately withdraw my offer of a cup of London tea ...

Anonymous said...

Im assuming that the powers that be read this blog and the comments of readers.

I am a resident of Carmarthen and I am astounded that things have come to this.

Reading the tweets of Heatherbrook (who exposed the MPs expenses scandal) is making our council and what goes on here a laughing stock around the world - yes the interweb does go that far !!

Who is paying ? Legal actions and barristers in the High Court presumably dont come cheap. I have a feeling that whoever wins it is probably going to be the local taxpayer - ie ME. This is at a time when there are daily reports of cut-backs etc to vital local services.

Surely this has got to be resignation teritory both in terms of senior political leadership for letting things get this far and officers in writing to bloody blogs in the first place !!

Labour Party especially in Llanelli - get a grip and sort it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In relation to the Carmarthen Journal - please also get a grip. Please report this little matter next week, it may be a little more interesting than a ladies circle tea party in god knows where or the timetable for Police Surgeries at which probably no one ever turns up to!!