08 July 2009
No charges to be made in Stoke corruption case
Arun Marsh
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The police will not be charging former Stoke Mayor, Mark Meredith, and two other men with corruption after the Crown Prosecution Service said there was not enough evidence to make a case.
Mr Meredith, who no longer holds a role at the council following a change in its political system, had been arrested along with former portfolio holder for childrens services, Roger Ibbs and local business man Mo Chaudry.
After consulting lawyers, the council’s external legal advisors approached Staffordshire Police in November last year to investigate a number of allegations which specifically concerned the proposed closure of the council-run Splash Pool facility at Dimensions Leisure Centre, Burslem.
Following a police investigation and the subsequent arrests, all evidence was submitted to the CPS.
The police said that any breaches of council policy would be dealt with by the authority.
A council statement reads: 'Given the seriousness of the issues raised by the internal inquiry into the proposed closure of Dimensions, the council believes it acted correctly in seeking external legal advice.
'We are now considering whether any issues surrounding these inquiries need to be referred to the council’s standards committee. As a result we cannot comment further on the detail of these inquiries.'
Mr Meredith, who no longer holds a role at the council following a change in its political system, had been arrested along with former portfolio holder for childrens services, Roger Ibbs and local business man Mo Chaudry.
After consulting lawyers, the council’s external legal advisors approached Staffordshire Police in November last year to investigate a number of allegations which specifically concerned the proposed closure of the council-run Splash Pool facility at Dimensions Leisure Centre, Burslem.
Following a police investigation and the subsequent arrests, all evidence was submitted to the CPS.
A police spokesman said: 'After careful consideration of all of the evidence presented, and with the endorsement of independent counsel, the CPS has decided that the evidence is not sufficient to provide a realistic prospect of convicting any of the three individuals arrested in connection with the inquiry.'
The police said that any breaches of council policy would be dealt with by the authority.
A council statement reads: 'Given the seriousness of the issues raised by the internal inquiry into the proposed closure of Dimensions, the council believes it acted correctly in seeking external legal advice.
'We are now considering whether any issues surrounding these inquiries need to be referred to the council’s standards committee. As a result we cannot comment further on the detail of these inquiries.'
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