In obviously increasing frustration at continuing attempts by council management to bury the matter, Councillor Michael Breslin has issued the following media statement on his concerns over Argyll and Bute Council’s handling of the Actual Reality / Castle Toward affair.
He has also released the text of the complaint made by Gordon Gibb, an architect and a director of Actual Reality, to then Council Leader, Roddy McCuish and to himself in December 2012.
All of this material speaks for itself without immediate commentary.
Councillor Breslin’s statement
‘On 18 December, and following a meeting of the administration of the council on 16 December, I decided that in the interests of getting to the truth of the Actual Reality complaint, I would write to all councillors with the text below and with the attachment from Mr Gordon Gibb of Actual Reality.
‘I have not exactly been overwhelmed with responses from councillors I regret to say. However, this is a matter of public interest so I am today sending this to various media outlets. Argyll & Bute Council and Audit Scotland have both failed to investigate the complaints from Actual Reality and we do not know why. A thorough investigation is all I have ever asked be carried out yet all I’ve encountered has been obfuscation, sophistry and the crudest weapon of all, no replies whatsoever. I am still awaiting replies to lots of questions, some asked 17 months ago and some since then.
‘The longer it takes to get to the truth, the more it appears that there are elements of this that some wish to remain hidden from public view. Why?’
Text of Councillor Breslin’s email to to all councillors on 18th December
From: Breslin, Michael
Sent: 18 December 2013 10:20
To: #All Councillors
Subject: Actual Reality and the current administration
Dear all,
On Monday morning a meeting of the administration of the council agreed, virtually unanimously, to draw a line under the issues raised by Actual Reality. I disagreed with this and made my views clear.
I am now writing to all of you because every elected member needs to know that the administration wishes to close this matter down. This is not just a matter for the administration.
The main reason I argued otherwise on Monday is because until we really know the facts, and are satisfied or otherwise about how the council has dealt with Actual Reality, we will be at significant and unnecessary risk if the council has to defend a claim for damages by Actual Reality. The funds of the council will be exposed to additional cost if it attempts to defend a position not based on truth. The council will be at further risk if those who instruct its legal defence are the people named in the claim.
Why would we be so cavalier as to welcome a potential claim for damages, which was a sentiment expressed on Monday by some councillors? Would we be so careless if the funds at risk were our personal funds? These funds are those of the people we are supposed to represent so we need to act with diligence and caution. Being cavalier now may be seen as being reckless or negligent in future if the council loses a claim.
You should be aware that there are 2 possible legal claims against us in the near future. These are entirely separate from each other but they have a common thread. In both cases the claims will likely be based on alleged wrongdoing by council officers over a prolonged period of time. I don’t know what the Actual Reality claim will be for but I do know the amount of the other one. If we were to contest and lose both these cases, and if costs were awarded to the 2 claimants, the total cost to public purse would probably be in excess of £1m.
How will we respond to the entirely justified rage of the public if this happens?
I know many of you are fed up hearing about Actual Reality but the reason you keep hearing about it is because neither we nor Audit Scotland have properly investigated the serious allegations they have made. They feel a deep sense of injustice and, on the basis of the evidence I have seen, I can well understand that.
I am not going to say any more to you on this for the moment but I leave you with an attachment to read. This attachment is one of a number of documents that Roddy McCuish and I accepted last year as constituting a serious complaint.
Please read this carefully and ask yourself one question: would the writer make this up?
I am happy to hear from any of you who feel, like me, that this matter cannot and must not be left as it stands.
Regards
Michael Breslin
Independent Councillor, Ward 7 Dunoon
Complaint from Gordon Gibb from Actual Reality on 3rd December 2012
A covering email sent by Actual Reality director, Gordon Gibb, on 3rd December 2012, to Council Leader McCuish and copied to Councillor Breslin, said:
Offences by Argyll and Bute Council Officers relating to Castle Toward
Please find the attached letter regarding the above matter.
Yours sincerely
Gordon Gibb
Actual Reality Learning and Leadership Company Ltd
