Petrina

I have now heard from a number of sources that Tom Wise was taken to hospital from the EU Parliament recently .I understand that he is improving and likely to be released in the not too distant future .

Might this be an appropriate moment for him to reassess his tenure as an MEP and leave the way open for Robin Page ?After all the EU Parl. inquiry has not issued a finding and it looks like they are likely to leave him dangling on the hook for some time to come.Inquiries in this country are still pending .

His continued tenure as a British Eurosceptic MEP is simply a hostage to fortune .

chikrodah

Irrespective of any solecisms that Tom Wise may have committed, asking that question at a time when he is ill and unable to defend himself is not, IMHO, the act of an honourable person.

Consider how you would feel if your attention was drawn to such comments when either you or one of your family was that ill. Ask yourself if you have shown yourself in your best light or whether others will assume that this is your 'true nature'.

I am sure that UKIP HO and the NEC are politically astutue enough to consider a backup plan should the worst happen.

SponPlague

I have asked for confirmation from his assistent, and said I hope he is recovering...

Death is not something I would wish on anyone*

* Ted Heath excepted (while he was alive)...

PETWINA

Inappropriate requests seem to be a regular feature of the Christian(?) grass-shoots party.Contrast this with the good wishes sent to the former Chairman when her husband was poorly.

SponPlague

I recall that she stood aside from the leadership contest, Petwina, arguing that if she won, she wouldn't be able to give the party the the time it deserves...

gc

Tom is absolutely fine, and left hospital yesterday. It was a minor problem concerning a blood clot, but he will take a week off on doctor's orders.

Incidentally, Tom WAS cleared by the Parliament's investigation and has the paperwork to prove it!

Anthony Butcher

Does that mean that he didn't buy a car with the money he "technically" appropriated from tax payers? As I understand it, the only reason he hasn't been prosecuted for fraud is because he paid back most of the money before the end of the financial year. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Also, are you in a position to confirm or deny that there is still an on going investigation by the police (ro some other authority) into him, and also an internal disciplinary action by UKIP, please?

Also, can I suggest that he publishes this paperwork? Tom has already been exposed as a liar in all of this (he lied to the party and to Lindsay Jenkins), so I see no reason why we should believe that he has paperwork to prove that he has been cleared without actually seeing it.

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Petrina

As I understand it TW was asked to pay the money back by the first inquiry and no further action was taken ,the second inquiry which has not come back with a finding(inspite of a long period of time having elapsed since its inception ) was undertaken by OLAF.
I understand that the British Police have information upon which they may make inquiries /are making inquiries ?
The press have already made their own inquiries -no writ has been taken out against them.
The NEC made an inquiry - no result was announced .

My point in mentioning this matter was to point out that this may be an appropriate moment make a change . It is not helpful to any party to have someone under a cloud for such a long period of time .

Anthony Butcher

Actually, the NEC made half of an inquiry. A close vote held halfway through forced the inquiry to end, even though one of the two people performing the investigation, Trevor Coleman (a former police Superintendent), strongly suggested that it should continue. Those of us who voted for it to continue strongly felt that this was a deliberate attempt to cover up what would prove to be embarrassing news for the party. Of course, in the long run it has become a point of embarrassment and much worse because the NEC voted to discontinue it. It was a very poor, short-sighted decision.

One MEP at the meeting told me that he was going to vote against it because even if Wise was guilty he couldn't see any good coming from the bad publicity that further investigation might uncover.

In fact a result was announced from this investigation - Roger Knapman lied publicly and stated that we had found Wise innocent, when in fact it was inconclusive without further investgiation.

__________________
If you care about what's in your food and where it comes from, then get it labelled!
Label My Food - http://www.labelmyfood.org.uk

Wolfie Smith

I understand somebody else wanted to access that money... wanted it as a 'salary'....