The Gravy Train calling at London (Paddington) Deal and Oraiokastro (Greece)

An update from the previous gravy train entry.

We are still making connections at/with high speed trains and the usual shenanigans we have come to expect from Deal Town Councillors.

As we mentioned in the previous blog, we are  trying to work out the shenanigans and have now found another piece of the puzzle connecting. We previously mentioned the company Trains 4 Kent Coast Limited, which is owned by the Stevens brothers of Platform 1 and Route 1 (Deal) , Mr Ian D Killberry and Mr Thomas Rowland who business address is 1 North St (Mr Thomas Rowland address) We still do not know what this companies intention is as at the time of it's opening high speed trains were already on the agenda for Deal.We are still unsure what is going on with that, but we have learned that Councillor Killberry in his position of Councillor took Mr Thomas Rowland abroad to Oraiokastro in Greece as a council delegate.

We are still watching Councillor Killberry.

Note, the point 'at no cost to the council' does NOT mean at no cost to the tax payer.

The Train Now Standing on Platform 1 / Deal Station is The Gravy Train!

The train now standing on Platform 1 is The Gravy Train!

With only 2 weeks to the general election all sorts of mudslinging  is going on and skeletons are emerging from closets quicker than  Bob Frost can say lard n fags. And so the games begin.

Talking of Bob Frost, he came up in conversation today. I heard a 'tall story' that he and another councillor were making a bundle of £'s on the side. Intrigued to know the depth of truth in this matter required a bit of digging. I will start by saying that Bob Frosts name hasn't  appeared in the mountain of paperwork I sifted through.

The Story was that Bob Frost and Ian Killberry had a financial interest in the cafe on deal railway station named Platform 1. The story went that the reason they wanted a high speed train was so that the cafe would get more traffic and increase profits.

This seemed very farfetched to me but stranger things have happened at sea and being a coastal town I thought it was worth checking out.

Platform 1, the cafe on the station:

Platform 1 (Deal) Limited

Active - company number 07799902

Registered Office 24 The Marina, Deal, Kent CT14 6NG

Cash £0: Net Worth £0: Assets £0: Liabilities £0:

With a financial statement of £0, you would have to wonder if they are still trading and if so how and why do they keep going with no profits or assets?

On the company Check website a second address is also given as a trading address:

24 The Marina, Deal, Kent, CT14 6NG       22 Heyford Close, Hawkinge, Folkestone, Kent, CT18 7FQ

Read more at: http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07799902/PLATFORM-1-DEAL-LIMITED

Directors are listed as Mr Andrew Stevens & Mr Nicholas Stevens

Read more at: http://companycheck.co.uk/director/916355796

The second company is called:

TRAINS4KENTCOAST LIMITED Company Number 09016554

Registered Office 11 Western Rd Deal Kent CT14 6RX The home of Councillor Ian Killberry avid campaigner for HS trains in Deal. The HS Trains to Deal were already planned before this company registered.

A second Mr Ian Kilberry is also listed on the company. The second Mr Kilberry is Mr Ian Douglas Killberry who also lives at 11 Western Rd, Deal Kent. Directors also include Mr Nicholas & Mr Andrew Stevens (from the railway station cafe)

Mr Ian Douglas Killbury is listed as being born in 1947 and his occupation listed as journalist.

Mr Ian Killberry is listed as date of birth unknown with no occupation listed. Also listed is Mr Thomas Rowland of 1 North Street Deal Kent CT14 6NA

Ownership of the company is listed as follows:

Mr Thomas Rowland       2 Ordinary £ 1.000000     33.333%

Mr Ian Killberry  2 Ordinary £ 1.000000     33.333%

Mr Nicholas Stevens        1 Ordinary £ 1.000000     16.667%

Mr Andrew Stevens          1 Ordinary £ 1.000000     16.667%

Mr Ian D Killberry is listed as a publisher, Mr N Stevens occupation is not listed, Mr A Stevens listed  as a journalist and Mr Rowland a research consultant. Mr Ian Killberry is secretary, no occupation listed.

The address 1 North Street Deal Kent also comes up on a search linked to the address 22 Heyford Close, Hawkinge, Folkestone, Kent, CT18 7FQ (1 of the trade addresses for platform 1)

This is a company called NLCH ASSOCIATES LIMITED company number 05040776 The company director is Mr Nicholas Stevens. Also Lindsey Stevens was the company secretary until 16 Feb 2015.   £10,955 Cash £936 Net Worth £10,955 Assets £10,019 Liabilities. Although registered at the address of Thomas Rowland, Mr N Stevens is 100% owner with no other shareholders.

The newest company is Route 1 (Deal) limited company number 09457329. Reg. Office is 61 London Rd Maidstone Kent ME16 8TX

There are 4 share holders in this company each owning 25% of the shares.

Mr Gary Holmes a director, Mr Andrew Stevens cafe proprietor, Mrs Y Hankin, Mr Nicholas Stevens.

This looks to be non connected to Killberry although because of the company he set up with the Stevens brothers (seemingly for no reason as we already had HSDeal) you do have to wonder what reason Killbury has.

There was no mention of Bob Frost in any companies. The only connection I can find is to do with them both campaigning about safety near the Royal Hotel.

Councillor / Journalist/Mr Killberry does seem to spend much time expanding on the trains and one has to wonder why he opened a sepreate business with the Stevens brothers.

Is the new high speed service yet another gravy train for Deal Town councillors? Mr Killberry, we have our DEAL TOWN EYE ON YOU.

Deal Taxpayers fund booze, gambling, gifts & 'tips' to tune of thousands of £'s via Mayors allowance in 1 year.

·        The New Transparency Policy of Deal Town Council has lead to the publishing of an admission that of Mayors £3,000 allowance for expenses,  £650 of tax payers money was spent on gifts, £737 on wine & other drinks, £250 on gambling, £140 on 'tips' and £65 to have his shenanigans captured on camera for posterity. On top of that £392 was not accounted for. There was some repentance as we also put £60 in a church collection plate for him. 

1) The mayor's allowance is £3,000, his accounts show he spent £2,658 yet he was paid £3,050 leaving £392 unaccounted for.

2) Of the £2,658 he says he spent, how much can he not prove and is it justifiable paying tax payers money for these things?

i) The twinning trip to St. Omer is not an overnight trip. The mayor chose to stay the night He also says he  bought gifts to take and bring back???   £280 expenses. Is this justified? B & B would be no more than £80 regardless, so £200 on gifts. FOR WHO AND WHY? Should we pay?

3) Charter Day wine. £120. In his notes, this mayor says he went to the supermarket and spent £120 on booze and the council refused to pay for it. Why would they refuse? What is Charter Day and does it require £120 worth of wine? We can see from this 2011 link that it involves a religious festival and prayers. Is the wine therefore 'Communion Wine' ? 

http://www.rcsouthwark.co.uk/address_2010_10_14.html

4) £250 in raffle tickets at events he attends.  Are prizes owned by the tax payer?

5) £617 on drinks.

6) £65 on disposable camera's and development fees so he could have a momento of his year.

 7) £165 on care for his elderly parent who he receives a carers allowance for from the government. He had already been paid to provide this care himself and should have given that over as he did not earn it.

8) Mayors tips in restaurants £140. He is so flash with our money!

9) £435 in Christmas presents, cards & stamps. WHO FOR?

10)  Lunch £56 that DTC refused to pay so he took from expenses.

10)  Church collection plate £60 Can he show a receipt? NO. Should Atheists  have to contribute to the church?

11) £25 for a regatta cup.

12) £40 for attending 4 charity events. His transport etc is separately arrange. Why is he asking a fee for supporting help the Heroes.

Source - Deal Town Council Records - Bill Gardener - Mayor of Deal May 2009 - April 2010

A week in small town politics - Deal Kent.

EKM letters page 9 October 2014

Mock of a mayor deryck murray writes that a NEW SEWAGE SYSTEM IS VITAL - the mayor, being the rat he is should just crawl back down the sewer he first came out of. We are already building a bypass so his home gets a reduction in traffic. Why upgrade his accommodation?

The Deal Celebrations after coming 2nd in the South East in Bloom Competition have been marred for ex labour councillor bryan henderson who spat his dummy out because he saw councillors of opposing parties working together for the sake of the community. I think that might be why his political career on Deal Town council was so short.

Council ben bano had a pop at ukip who had previously  commented about bano being bottomed out of Mill Hill. bano proudly listed his other 'duties' which turned out to be office tour director for jollies abroad.

Self proclaimed saviour of the human race Sid Pollitt  ( #whoissidpollit?) wrote a touching letter as a supporting reference for bano. If I were ben I would seek a different referee. Sid Pollit who?

Cream of the crop this week and town hall bad boy micky the sledge hammer eddy gets the town hall monthly bonus for longest bullshit letter of the month in the EKM. The usual smearing of others which is the usual deflection tactic that has become the MO of the sledgehammer king.

To summarise a week in local politics, those in control are too busy slating others in the local press and fail to actually serve their community.

Town Hall Quarterly Catch Up

A round up of town hall events from the last few months.

April - Labour Councillors took a spring jollie to Lithuania.

July/August Labour Councillors summer jollies to Detmould Germany.

September Labour Councillors late late summer jollies to Greece.

chris tough describes mock of a mayor murray as a dignitary.

Kent County Councils /deal town c's eileen rowbotham and mikey the sledge eddy played peek a boo in a bus shelter the other week. Pictures on request as its not a pretty site.

£47,000 compo payment still well hidden by Deal Town Finance Comittee.

Still no new staff member to fill the gap at the town hall following The Town Clerk Bullying shenanigans. Still drawing her wages though. Payroll doesn't reflect a staff member down. 

Mayor of Deal to get new limousine...

Councillors on Deal Town Council’s finance committee voted to provide the Mayor with a new limousine at their meeting on Tuesday.

Following an intervention from Conservative group leader Cllr Wayne Elliott the Labour dominated committee reluctantly agreed to reconsider their purchase of a Rolls Royce Phantom in favour of something more appropriate for the present incumbent.

Less luxurious than the model shown below, Deal’s limousine will feature a roof hatch enabling the Mayor to stand and wave at adoring residents as he sweeps past.

In a ten hour meeting earlier in the day, where the only speaker was Cllr Ian Killberry, the makers assured committee members that it will be perfectly feasible for the mayor to steer the vehicle with one foot whilst options regarding braking etc would hopefully become obvious once the vehicle had been delivered.

A motion from Cllr Bob Frost suggesting an additional £5 be spent on a spare toilet roll holder for use in emergencies was deferred so that a working group established under Cllr Kilberry could report on the merits of the suggestion before the next full meeting of the council when hopefully a decision might be made.

Deal’s new Mayoral limousine will soon be seen at official engagements…

…providing the Town Sergeant can be bothered to plug it in the night before.

A reminder - The outcome of the legal case against Deryck Murray the Chairman and other trustees of DMM.

“Fencegate” A Press Statement by the family of Kathleen Thomson 17.10.2011

17 October 2011 at 21:02

“Fencegate”
A Press Statement by the family of Kathleen Thomson
17.10.2011
We now feel it is appropriate to present the facts following Court appointed Mediation  on the 11th of August 2011 in Deal, between all the Trustees of the Deal Maritime and Local History Museum, and the family of Kathleen Thomson, with their legal representatives.  At the conclusion of Mediation the Trustees requested the confidentiality clause of the mediation document to be removed, thus enabling either party to disclose the contents of the agreement and the fact that Mediation has taken place, to any person legal or natural.

1. Legal proceedings were issued by the Claimant (Mrs. Thomson) via her solicitors on 16th December 2010. 
2. A fence was erected on 4th of June 2010, surrounding the kitchen walls, windows and covering the drain of 20 St. George’s Road; it was removed on the 23rd February 2011 restoring her right to light.
3. The small garden previously leased to the occupants of 20 St. George’s Road for over thirty years was reclaimed by the museum Trustees on 31st January 2010. This land has now been transferred to the Claimant as part of the Settlement Agreement. 
4. Simultaneously with the transfer of paragraph 3 there will be a variation of the established right of way.  Twenty-four hours notice to exercise this right of  way will be given when the museum is closed, and fifteen minutes notice when the museum is open. The right of way route remains across the museum yard to the back door of the museum building, and through the museum building to the front door. 
5. Two contact telephone numbers are to be provided by the Trustees to the Claimant (Mrs. Thomson) for when she wishes to use her right of way.
6. The Defendants (Trustees) will pay their own costs, and the Claimant’s costs.

Best Ever Episode of Mastermind ~ Deal Kent

More Shenanigans - Deal Town Hall

follow link for  More Deal Town Hall Shenanigans

10 Reasons Given By Those Signing The Petition Disagreeing With The Selection Of Deryck Murray As Mayor Of Deal.

The Mayor of our town should be someone who has the respect of the local populace. This mans appointment has divided opinion before he has even taken office, clearly he is the wrong man for the job.

The Deal town council is becoming an embarrassment to all the hard working people that live here. This man is not worthy of being our Mayor.

Mayor is an position that should be held by an honest upstanding person from the Community. This man is a Public disgrace and proven liar not fit for Public Office

A sickening lack of respect to the people of Deal. This individual has already shown his colours by bullying an old lady.

How can people respect and trust a man who hasn't shown any or earned any? his actions were vile, nobody like that should be put in a position of power!

Due to the fact this man lied and tried to defame a helpless old lady and was proven to be a liar. This reason is why he shouldn't be on the council let alone the mayor of my town.

Deryck Murray behaved with total arrogance and lack of Christian Charity in this most unfortunate matter for which he must be held totally responsible

Shameful behaviour of Deal Council to even consider this man for any position of trust

Such people should not be allowed in any form of public office, including charitable organisations.

The lady in question was totally vindicated in the ensuing court case. Mr Murray is also filmed making defamatory remarks against the elderly lady and is not fit for office.

Click Here To Sign Petition

Outrage at Mayors Selection Spurs Petition

A petition Deal Town Council to make a public record of the fact that we are in total disagreement with their selection of Councillor Deryck Murray as The Mayor of Deal.  We think it is disgusting that a man of such dishonourable character should be given the honour of representing the good people of the town.

Deryck Murray is the disgraced Chairman of the Trustees of Deal Maritime Museum who boarded up an elderly widow in her home of over 30 years,  she was denied her Right to Light and her Legal Right of Way, she was caused extreme upset by the trustees publishing lies about the lady, her family and anyone who tried to support her. Murray  made statements  to the press and on T.V. that following a legal case were proved to be lies. The £50,000 legal fees were put against the museum jeopardising  the future of the legacy belonging to the people of Deal. There were statements on public display in the museum window  ranging from misleading to downright lies signed by Deryck Murray. He and  the other trustee's caused uproar and upset to such an extent that 7,500 people signed a petition calling for the trustees removal from the museum.  Mrs Thomson was forced to leave her home, was caused so much distress that she lost a stone in weight in the first weeks of being abused and was put on anti depressants.  Her health never recovered from this and what should have been her happy twilight years were viciously robbed from her.

We urge local organisations to think twice about inviting this despicable man to any event that would usually be attended by town dignitaries !

Sign Petition Through This Link.

Fresh Concerns & Outrage By Deal Town Council Selection Of Mayor - Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire

At a meeting at Deal Town Hall tonight it was announced that Councillor Deryck Murray was nominated and seconded to be selected as Mayor.
Deryk Murray was the disgraced Chairman of the Trustees of Deal Maritime Museum who boarded up an elderly widow in her home of over 30 years,  she was denied her Right to Light and Her Legal Right of Way, causing extreme upset by publishing lies about the lady, her family and anyone who tried to support her. He made statement to the press and on T.V. that following a legal case were proved to be lies. There were statements on public display in the museum window  that wereranged from misleading to down right lies signed by Deryck Murray. He and  the other trustee's caused uproar and upset to such an extent that 7,500 people signed a petition calling for the trustees removal from the museum'
The following are the initial reactions by the towns people of Deal on Social Media  -
 '''To say that I am shocked by this is an understatement. What an utter insult to the people of Deal to think anyone could respect a man who caused the most outrageous and disgusting situation for a frail widow of 82. She never recovered the shock of what they did to her and what should of been her happy twilight years was robbed from her by their hideous behavior.''

'''Loooool! Why am I not at all surprised! The town council is a joke! They r all in it to line their own pockets and stuff the local residents! Rant over!'''

''''That's depressing''''

''' It just gets worse and worse'''

''' Why are they not voted in by the people of Deal. So happy I'm gonna be paying this idiots expenses!!!!!!!!'''

''' Idiotic chimps' tea party and unaccountable. A cosy talking shop that serves little purpose, other than blocking everything that's good about the town - and there is so much that is. Keep politics out of town halls and local government .'''

'''I cant believe it!!!!'''

'''He is a disgusting man.'''

'''I cannot even comprehend why he would be selected.  An insult to the justice Kath Thompson finally received through the legal challenge. What a smack in the mouth. I feel sad beyond belief that this is what they have come to.'''

''' I think they shud make him step down before he steps up. Do they not realise how ridiculous this makes them all look.'''

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/deal-widow-museum-forced-me-ou-a84102/

          

             T.V. News item - his claims were proved lies - is that why he cannot look at the camera?

When does Shenanigans become FRAUD ?

Deal Town Council Finance Records for the past year have been publish online for a few weeks now.

Having taken much time scrutinising them, I (and others who have viewed them )  cannot find any reference to the £45,000 compensation pay out to Mrs Lin Dykes (former town clerk) As reported in both The East Kent Mercury & The Dover Express Newspapers. (or any reference to a sum of £45,000)

I now find that  '' Town and Parish Councils appear exempt from independent Government audits by central Government unlike District and County Councils.  

Regardless of whether this is the case and the council does not have to disclose this type of award, it does not mean the council can manipulate and falsify figures to hide the amount spent in the 'Lin Dykes Case'. I think you will find that it would only gives them  the right to put  an 'exempt' in the box where you would usually state what the payment  was for.

The method of avoiding disclosure shows one thing very clearly.

1, The public records are not accurate. (They are a lie)

2) Deal Town Council Finance must have deliberately falsified the figures by pretending they had spent more on other things.

3) If they can publicly lie and hide £47,000 in one finance year, what else are they lying about  and what else are they doing with public funds and what other figures have they falsified  to lose tens of thousands of pounds.

HOW MUCH MONEY COULD THEY HAVE SYPHONED OFF IN THIS WAY????.

When does shenanigans become fraud?

fraud

noun

Wrongful or criminal  deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

The question has to be asked is anyone gaining?

I would say that the four Councillors involved are gaining credibility of judgement which in turn allows them to gain respect and trust therefore leaving them in a position to falsify documents and get away with writing things on public record at Deal Town Hall that do not tell the truth of the matter.

3 of the Councillors have been named

Councillor Marlene Burnham

Councillor Ian Killberry

Councillor Kath Blackburn.

The fourth Councillor is rumoured to be Eileen Rowbotham who is recorded as leaving a council meeting with Councillor Blackburn. This meeting was of a confidential nature and subject to public exclusion because it was seen as 'of a confidential matter' 

The Councils response to this is below.

Deal Mayor claimed and stashed thousands of £'s that could never be spent on what it was allocated for.

Mayor Marlene's Deal in Bloom budget  for this year is £4,000. (From FOI request dated this day)

£2,500 was bought forward from last year's budget and a further award of £1,500 was made this year.

The first question that springs to mind is why she was awarded money this year when she already had £2,500 left over from last year and this would have been more than enough to cover even her own over elaborate spending this year?

It is estimated that DTC spent around £80 each on each of the planters they were responsible for planting and they were not planted in time for the Jubilee which was the reason for the award. When applying for the award it was stated that Deal would be an array of Red, White & Blue flowers  for the special jubilee. On the Queens Jubilee the planters were empty.

Was this value for money?.

Volunteers have been allowed to take over the seafront planters (after much angst by some Councillors) and they have said the plants they used cost around £5 per planter but no expense was to the taxpayer.

Marlene would prefer to spend £80 on each despite them not being in place for the jubilee celebrations. WHY?

For many years Marlene Burnham has held on tight to the Deal In Bloom .  Volunteers have long offered to take over the roll of planting and maintaining the flowerbeds in the town. They have had to fight inch by inch. When the planters got planted without permission by 'Guerrilla Gardeners' the Mayor indicated that those responsible might be in trouble.

The Mayor also gave out hanging baskets in a bid to 'brighten up the town' These cost the council tax payer £990. I for one never noticed the brightening up of the town by randomly placed baskets, addresses of where they were given were not collected. I find this wrong as the 2009 auditor's report had already pulled Marlene up for not recording correctly and inappropriate spending.

Regardless of this, we can establish that around £1,400 was spent on flowers this year. So what is the other approx.  £2,600 for?

A further freedom of information request revealed that £500 was allocated out of the Deal in Bloom budget to finance a whim by Eileen Rowbotham which was to buy a lead lined time capsule to be kept in a cupboard in the town hall. Time capsules are not part of Deal in Bloom so why would the budget be allocated via the flower pot? As it happens the capsule has not yet been purchased and the accompanying drinks party has not occurred.

So Marlene, What is to be done with the thousands you have in excess?

Was Councillor Chris Tough also bullied by Deal Town Councillors???

Deal Town Councillor Chris Tough along with two others recently went to Portugal funded by Deal Council Tax Payers. The purpose for the visit seemed irrelevant enough as neither  Councillor Tough  nor Deal Council are in any way involved in Youth Unemployment. Regardless of this it appears Mr Tough was persuaded/pressured not to spend his own money by Deal council as it might make those unable to afford it feel uncomfortable!!! Did the pressure put on Councillor Tough to waste tax payers money amount to bullying?

Below is taken from Councillor Toughs facebook page and is a response about the question of needing funding for an EU funded event and how his going would benefit the youth of Deal.

The answer didn't fully do justice to the question so the local resident asked for further information.

Councillor Tough opened his facebook page in June

Cllr Chris Tough

14 June

Thought it time to have comments from the Mill Hill Community, how do they honestly perceive what I as a their representative be doing at the Town Council in viewing the Deal Town Council Web page week on week remembering I have my own career and sit as a representative on other local community groups for the Town Council and as member of different local groups.

He was asked for information about the trip twice more from someone in the Mill Hill community

'' Mill Hill Could you give more details on this please. First I would like to know what Deal Town Council has to do with youth unemployment and secondly, you said that it is funded by Europe but at a recent council meeting said £500 funds were allocated for this trip. Which version is correct?

Like · Reply · 1 · 25 September at 21:30''

Mill Hill Mill Hill I am still not sure what benefits there are from this meeting to the youth of Deal be it now or in the future. Perhaps you can expand a little on what you might learn whilst you are there and how you can then use this information in the future to benefit our town. Also I have read that 3 people are going to Portugal. Is the second conference you speak of in Portugal too? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Like · Reply · 27 September at 16:59

 As of yet he has not replied.

Calls for the Resignation of Deal's Mayor Marlene Burnham

Currently the internet social network sites are buzzing with the resignation of the Town Clerk following abuses by Councillors.

Full details are not yet known.

However, a twitter post has implicated Mayor Marlene Burnham and her resignation has been called for along with other 'unnamed Councillors' 

The Dover Express also connected Marlene to the case in their publication today.

On facebook this evening, local residents have been asking Councillors what exactly is going on and who is involved. 

Marlene Burnham was implicated in the resignation of the previous town clerk who sought some £20,000 compensation according to this news report by 'This is Kent Publication in 2009.

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Deal-Town-Council-sued-20-000/story-12020967-detail/story.html#axzz2i0DATa4A

On 21 April 2009 This articles was published in the Kentish News which shows some of the ways that Marlene burnham had acted contrary to council poilcy & procedure.

Deal Town Council: how did it spend your money?

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
6:37 PM

 

• Comments
• Email
• Print

EXCLUSIVE by Marijke Cox  - Deal Town Council has been thrown into crisis by a damning report which looks set to see some elected members resign. There are 15 councillors on Deal council, which has been accused of failing to spend council taxpayers'money properly without proper regard for its responsibilities.All of the councillors criticised directly are members of the controlling Labour group and at least one member is accused of failing to declare an interest when placing contract work.Some of the allegations could result in a police inquiry and today (Tuesday), following the report's release, one councillor handed in her resignation.The council came under the spotlight in January after former deputy town clerk Stella Leitner, 35, filed for constructive dismissal on a number of grounds, including financial errors and breach of the Local Government Act.The investigation carried out by the East Kent Auditors Partnership (EKAP) has revealed discrepancies in how the authority has been run over recent years. EKAP concluded that Ms Leitner's letter of resignation stating major problems within the council was'factual'.The executive summary report, which runs to more than 50 pages, says that there are areas of concern'at Deal council and states poor governance can not be tolerated".The report, which runs to more than 50 pages, is understood to accuse the council of:• Non-compliance with contract standing orders• Non-compliance with employment law• Failure of members to declare an interest• Potential member code of conduct and standards issues• Failure to demonstrate value for moneyThe council and EKAP refused to release the report under the Freedom of Information Act, saying it was incomplete.Town Mayor Bill Gardner believed he was unable to make the report public as it might have prejudiced Mrs Leitner's case, which goes before the employment tribunal in October.But members of the community, including Tory parliamentary candidate for the area Charlie Elphicke, say he is wrong because, unlike a jury trial, employment tribunals can not be prejudiced.Mr Elphicke said: "A number of very serious allegations are made in the audit report about the conduct, procedures, probity and behaviour of the town council and councillors - not officers. "We have a right to know whether public money has been spent properly.'Despite the council stressing the need to keep the findings under wraps, a source close to the authority allowed this newspaper to see the shocking report.A number of councillors have been named, as well as town clerk Leslie Bulman, with some of the allegations relating to the way money has been handled.A simple example outlined is where Friends of North Deal offered to paint flower-planters on the seafront free of charge.They didn't do the work and Labour councillor Marlene Burnham's son invoiced the council for £150 instead.On another occasion Cllr Burnham agreed to pay a gardening firm in Sittingbourne £2,700 of council funds to assist with Deal in Bloom despite a limit of £2,000 on such expenditure unless the work was put up for tender by at least three other firms.Auditors revealed that Cllr Burnham omitted to find other quotes and was criticised for misuse of public money and failure to use local businesses. Cllr Sue Delling was also in the report for passing on a private and confidential grievance letter about town clerk Mr Bulman directly to him.The report also says she was also overheard making false accusations about the deputy town clerk with Cllr Burnham in the toilets, creating a negative effect on other members of staff.Cllr Delling refused to talk about her actions. She said: "We have all been advised to make no comment on the matter.'Town clerk Mr Bulman was also examined in the report for his action in employing two people to take over Mrs Leitner's position. It is understood that his pay increases by one per cent for every person employed.Town clerk Leslie Bulman said: 'I'm not able to make any comment on the document because the full council has not considered it yet.'One member, who refused to be named, said: "Members of the council are concerned because it is only a few that aren't doing things by the book - they don't want to be tarred with the same brush.'Today, Cllr Tracy Wilton, who is deputy mayor, and a Labour councillor for more than three years, handed her resignation to the mayor, Cllr Gardner.He said:'I am very sorry that the deputy mayor has resigned, but because of pressure of work and some illness over the last six months she has not felt that she has been fulfilling her job as councillor.'

UPDATES TO FOLLOW