Police chairman caught in dodgy deal – what the corporate media forgot to tell you

Mick Meaney, rinf.com |

Another fine example of how the establishment are only interested in preserving and advancing their own power.

Last week the corporate media reported that Mike Bull, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall police authority, had breached data protection laws so he could send unsolicited emails – that’s right, spam, to police officers urging them to vote for his preferred police crime commissioner candidate in the up-coming election.

Now, here’s what the corporate media didn’t tell you – the real reason why Mike Bull stole private information and sent those emails.

Brian Greenslade, who is Mike Bull’s preferred candidate, had promised to appoint him as his deputy if elected.

Yep, you read that right folks.

It appears that Bull asked police officers to vote for Greenslade in order to secure a cushy position for himself.

But wait, surely a respected and upstanding member of society like a police chairman would never abuse his position of authority to breach data protection laws to influence the actions of his colleagues, right?

Well, a formal complaint made on behalf of “furious” police officers was made to  the Information Commissioner, by former Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw.

In his email, Mr Bradshaw had “serious questions about a possible misuse of police data for the purpose of electioneering and about the security of that data in the first place.”

And the “official” response from Devon and Cornwall Police?

“Because the e-mail was sent in a personal capacity, no further action was necessary.”

No really, it seems that if you’re the chairman of a police force then it’s perfectly legal to steal data, make dodgy deals and use your position of authority to swing police elections.

This would be funny if it didn’t reflect the culture of ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’, right across the establishment.