Taxi Driver Online

Yorkshire Post

July 17, 2007

Legal lunacy

ANY right-thinking person will be disgusted by the complete lack of common sense that has been applied to the extraordinary case of the disgraced Yorkshire councillor who pocketed £2,000 in expenses from his prison cell.

Liberal Democrat Bob Hargreaves abdicated his right to represent his constituents when he was jailed for five years for a string of serious sexual offences, including attempted rape.

Yet, the fact that he was not automatically barred as a councillor - and was able to claim expenses when he was in no position to undertake constituency duties - makes a mockery of the justice system.

It should not have required Bradford Council to require the intervention of the Standards Board of England before they could stop paying expenses to the disgraced councillor.

This should have happened from the very moment a "guilty" verdict was returned, especially given the gravity of the charges concerned.

It is a legal loophole that must be closed before the once-cherished reputation of Britain's legal system is further undermined by changes - no doubt inspired by human rights legislation - that have clearly tipped the scales of justice too heavily in favour of the criminal fraternity.
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Even when they are convicted these reprobates refuse to resign. Typical.
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Yorkshire Post

January 6, 2007

Local authority bans child sex pervert from all its premises.

A DISGRACED councillor convicted of sexually abusing two young girls has been banned from entering Bradford Council buildings after he refused to resign.

Bob Hargreaves, 62, was found guilty of attempted rape, four counts of indecent assault and three counts of indecency with a child after a trial at Bradford Crown Court in November.

He will be sentenced on January 26, and has been told by a judge he faces a lengthy jail term.

Hargreaves, who was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor in Bradford in 2004, said he would appeal against the convictions and he rejected calls for his resignation from his party leader Jeanette Sunderland and Bradford Council's chief executive Tony Reeves.

Now he has been told to stay away from all buildings owned by the council - including schools, Bradford's City Hall, sport centres and libraries.

A Bradford Council spokeswoman declined to say why the ban had been put in place.

Hargreaves, who always maintained his innocence, has failed to appeal against any of his convictions within the normal 28-day period, according to Bradford Crown Court.

The councillor, who represents the Bolton and Undercliffe ward, was expelled from the Liberal Democrat's council group and Bradford party after he was found guilty.

Coun Sunderland has welcomed the new ban on Hargreaves visiting council property.

She said: "This has happened as a result of the pressure I put on the council to act. He was asked to resign and would not. We have taken all steps to prevent him operating as a councillor.

"Given the publicity surrounding the trial and its repugnant nature, it was felt he could cause anxiety to staff and members of the public so he was asked to refrain from entering council buildings.

"The council also told Hargreaves his presence could lead to people threatening violence and could be detrimental to the efficient running of the council. We do not want to put our staff in a difficult position."

He can continue serving as a councillor until he is sentenced but he is now banned from attending any meetings in council property. His contact details have been removed from Bradford Council's website.

If Hargreaves is jailed for three months or more he will be automatically disqualified as serving as a councillor, even if it is a suspended jail sentence. However the ban would not come into effect for 28 days after the sentence to allow him the opportunity to appeal.

Hargreaves was found guilty of eight out of 13 counts against him following a 10-day trial.

The court heard how Hargreaves molested two schoolgirls in the back of his butcher's shop in Bradford in the early 1990s and would give the girls £3 after the incidents.

Hargreaves denied all the charges and claimed one of the girls had been trying to blackmail him.

Last night Hargreaves told the Yorkshire Post his solicitors were now lodging an appeal against his convictions.

He said: "The ban on me entering council buildings is standard. It does not stop me doing my job as a councillor."
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