Archy Kirkwood as a member of Parliament offered little help to victims of crooked Scottish Borders lawyers. Former Scottish Borders MP, now 'Lord' Archy Kirkwood features in today's Telegraph newspaper revelations on the Westminster expenses scandals, and deservingly so, as the paper reports he "claimed £5,000 in expenses to refurbish his London flat before retiring as an MP and selling it to his daughter for less than half its value."
Archy Kirkwood offered little help against crooked lawyer Andrew Penamn & crooked accountant Norman Howitt. I always wondered what Archy Kirkwood did for the Scottish Borders, because all I was ever able to secure from him was a letter writing contest to the former Scottish Office then Scottish Executive on the corruption of crooked Borders lawyer Andrew Penman of Stormonth Darling solicitors, Kelso - right in the heart of Archy Kirkwood's constituency. It seemed to me, backed up by information provided by others in the region, Mr Kirkwood was a touch soft on the likes of crooked lawyers, and particularly didn't want to do much regarding corrupt Borders accountants such as Norman Howitt, who you can read more about here : A picture is worth a thousand words - Images of fraud reveal corruption & deceit by lawyers & accountants in the Scottish Borders
Borders accountant Norman Howitt of JRW Group, Hawick took pensioner’s pension & bank book, even made false statements to Police to cover his tracks, but Kirkwood did nothing. Now, you’d think ‘Lord’ Kirkwood would have done something about a crooked accountant confiscating a pensioner’s pension book and wanting to take control of a pensioner’s entire savings for himself .. but, strangely, no. It seems there was too much to gain from supporting the same crooked accountancy and legal firms as one of the region’s leading solicitors informed me …
However, it wasn't just me who felt the lack of support from Mr Kirkwood during his time as an MP, after several people in the Borders began to contact me over similar problems in getting Mr Kirkwood to do anything for them at all other than the standard fair of writing letters, while refusing to raise issues or early day motions at the Westminster Parliament, during the time where that's all we had as a legislature.
Taking a look around the Scottish Borders as I did before I left it years ago (and apparently it has changed little to-date) backs up the idea the region needs younger, harder working idealistic politicians who have the region's people and Scotland's interests at heart, rather than preferring the Westminster cabal to give them long term jobs and the facility to milk the taxpayer for expenses while their constituency lies in ruins.
I note Lord Kirkwood still remains in the LibDems armoury, his name cropping up on the GovNet website here, alongside other such luminaries as Lord Foulkes of Cummock, also an MSP : Govnet Advisory Board, which lists his following details as :
Lord Archy Kirkwood of Kirkhope
Archy Kirkwood was MP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire for 22 years, standing down at the May 2005 General Election. First elected in June 1983, he became the Liberal Party’s spokesman on Health, Social Services and Social Security. In 1992, he became the Chief Whip of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party. In 1997 Archy became Chair of the Social Security Select Committee (now Work & Pension Committee).
He served on the House of Commons Audit Committee and on the House of Commons Commission and was knighted in 2003 for services to Parliament. Archy was made a life peer in 2005. He is currently head of external relations at the office of the Liberal Democrat Leader.
However, despite all of his positions, 'Lord' Kirkwood is now revealed as just another British politician who has milked the taxpayer, for, as the Telegraph reports, everything down to £3,000 for carpets and flooring for his kitchen and bathroom from John Lewis and £94 for a lavatory paper holder and tiles from Fired Earth.
Not satisfied with that, as the Telegraph continues to report, he returned to John Lewis to buy a £207 bathroom cupboard and mirror, curtains for £90 and lighting worth £72. Whatever relationship carpets, flooring, and other furnishings has to politics, evades me. Pay the money back. In fact, give up your title - as sure as all titles should be stripped from any politician caught milking the system.
Congratulations to the Telegraph for their excellent reporting, and I hope someone makes 'Lord' Kirkwood pay all the money back he has claimed from the taxpayer, along with all the other Westminster, and Scottish politicians who have done the same. Politicians are paid plenty for their job, and should bear in mind its all about representing the community, not ripping us off.
Pay the money back 'Lord' Kirkwood. In fact, since everyone was recently shouting to take Sir Fred Goodwin's title away, give up your title too, 'Lord' Kirkwood, as sure as all titles & privileges should be stripped from any politician caught milking the system.
The Telegraph reports :
MPs' expenses: Lord Kirkwood did up flat on expenses, then sold it cheaply to daughter
Lord Kirkwood, a Liberal Democrat peer, claimed £5,000 in expenses to refurbish his London flat before retiring as an MP and selling it to his daughter for less than half its value.
By Jon Swaine
Published: 10:30AM BST 03 Jun 2009
The peer, a work and pensions spokesman, used public funds to buy carpets, curtains and bathroom furniture for his Westminster flat from stores including John Lewis and Fired Earth.
He made the purchases after announcing in April 2004 that he would retire as MP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire at the general election in May 2005. During his final year in the Commons, he claimed a total of £18,806 in allowances for the flat, which he bought for £182,500 in 2001.
These included about £670 a month to pay the interest on its mortgage. He then sold it in May 2007 to his daughter Holly, 31, a journalist for Country Life magazine, for £100,000. On Tuesday he said the flat had been valued at £225,000.
Three weeks before the sale, a flat in the same building sold for £358,000.
When he made the claims, Lord Kirkwood, then Sir Archy Kirkwood, sat on the House of Commons commission which was overseeing the first publication of basic details of MPs' expenses. As the details were published in October 2004, he said that he welcomed the fact that "taxpayers can really see how their money is being spent".
However, he dismissed suggestions that voters would be shocked by the amount of money involved. "I'm not saying it's an insignificant sum, but it's pretty small beer," he said.
Between November and December 2004, Lord Kirkwood claimed more than £3,000 for carpets and flooring for his kitchen and bathroom from John Lewis. He also claimed £94 for a lavatory paper holder and tiles from Fired Earth.
In April 2004, the month he announced his intention to step down as an MP, he claimed £200 for repairs to the flat's electrics. In June 2004, he claimed £50 for fans. In July he claimed £660 for unspecified work by a contractor.
Over the following months, he returned to John Lewis to buy a £207 bathroom cupboard and mirror, curtains for £90 and lighting worth £72.
In February 2005, he claimed £145 for a clothes rail and storage devices, £78 for kitchen stools and £56 for roller blinds. He also claimed £115 for computer equipment through his office expenses two months before he retired.
Lord Kirkwood, 63, had designated as his main home a house in Selkirk where he still lives with his wife Rosemary.
He claimed more than £63,000 in House of Lords allowances last year, including £20,019 on overnight subsistence: the Lords' equivalent of second home allowances.
He claimed £11,419 in "day subsistence" allowances, £11,419 in office running costs and £9,741 in travel costs.
Lord Kirkwood, who was knighted for services to Parliament in 2003, was one of five Lib Dem MPs put forward for peerages by Charles Kennedy, the then party leader, after the 2005 election. He announced his retirement after it was decided that his seat should merge with that of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, which was held by Michael Moore, a fellow Lib Dem.
Lord Kirkwood said yesterday: "When I sold the flat to my daughter a professional valuation was secured on the property. It was valued at £225,000. This was declared for capital gains.
"The fuse box and wiring system was unsafe and needed to be replaced. There were some costs of relaying flooring in parts of the property."
You obviously dont like him!
ReplyDeleteOh well he is a Fibdem anyway so who can blame you and he is a bloody milker just like the rest
Strip his title I AGREE !
Spot on Peter.Take away all their titles - they don't deserve it or still to be in politics.
ReplyDeleteThese kind of people do NOT speak for the rest of us.They have no legitimacy now at all
Yes he was probably too far in with the lawyer and accounant to be any use to you
ReplyDeleteMaybe the crooks firms were donating to the local LubDems ? They did accept over 2mil from some crook who was sent to jail and refused to hand the money back so it wouldn't be out of place eh
What a crook.Will he buy it back from his daughter for £2.50 when she needs to sell it ?
ReplyDeleteHe should be thrown out of the House of Lords along with the rest of them.
Yes ! take his title off him.He might have served parliament but he damn well hasnt served the country only himself !
ReplyDeleteLord Kirkwood, 63, had designated as his main home a house in Selkirk where he still lives with his wife Rosemary.
ReplyDeleteHe claimed more than £63,000 in House of Lords allowances last year, including £20,019 on overnight subsistence: the Lords' equivalent of second home allowances.
He claimed £11,419 in "day subsistence" allowances, £11,419 in office running costs and £9,741 in travel costs.
What a waste.
The House of Lords should be elected with term limits on all these wasters including mps and msps
The pension book thief accountant and the bent lawyer sound just the perfect type of people to hang around an mp !
ReplyDeleteDid Kirkwood invite them round for tea too ?!
You should also check out his old boss David Steel.How he got where he is today and accumulated all that wealth many in the Borders will always wonder about !
Yes well done the Telegraph.I know someone who had to get involved with Kirkwood over a constituency problem and they got nowhere either so you are definitely not alone in falling victim to him.
ReplyDeleteNice touch about the bent accountant.Another one who should obviously be in jail.
Yes Peter, just like you said
ReplyDeleteA title is a mark of shame these days,
Lord Archer never lost his title.
People in high office are looked after by others in high office. The system is designed to protect them. Once again the MP's self made rules allow the taxpayer to be exploited.
ReplyDeleteI did not vote, what is the point. You will only get another bunch of crooks so change the rules and stop them employing relatives, and selling property to relatives.
Interesting take on Kirkwood and good to see you mentioned his links with Govnet.There is still more to come out on him so don't worry Mr Cherbi, we will make sure the public knows all there is to know.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree with you Peter.Strip all the expenses thieves of their titles and perks.
ReplyDeleteThey have fed off the rest of us while we suffer they have a great life.DISGUSTING.
It is VERY difficult to get an mp to go up against lawyers or accountants in his own constituency because the chances are he knows them or they donate to his party or he is a lawyer or accountant himself or might even sit on one of their companies.
ReplyDeleteWhat you have revealed here is a very disgusting set of circumstances and the actions of more than Kirkwood come into question,for instance where were your local police force when all this was going on ? Where they on the take too and just let the accountant and lawyer do as they wanted ?
As for Kirkwood yes take his title away and anyone else but we know they write the rules for themselves so they will probably keep their titles and keep on stealing from the taxpayer.
Strange that those forced to rely upon the miserably low levels of Disability entitlements are nonetheless means tested - thank you 'Lord' Kirkwood, ex-chair of the Work & Pensions Committee.
ReplyDeleteThis man is still in the LibDems after all this ?
ReplyDeleteThey have lost my vote thats for sure now.
All those who ripped you off will have made sure they were good friends of your local mp so he couldnt or more like wouldnt help you against them.
ReplyDeleteI also agree this character should have his title taken off him and after reading what happened to your mother I will remember never to do any legal or accounting business in the Borders !
I see Alan Marshall Sugar may be offered a position in the cabinet. Well Gordon, he may back your MP's and say to you "You are fired".
ReplyDeleteTell him to fire the 650 odd other crooks at the same time.
You should have fired Blears when you found out about her expenses. She is another lawyer who was "acting within the rules". Some rule book. She should be called The Rt Crooked Hazel Blears. An apt title for all of you.
A friend of mine asked me, "why do we have this anachronism of a parliament at Westminster". I told her it is because we did not do what the French did when they stormed the Bastille.
People of Britain, I see you venting your anger on the BBC, we have Rt Crooked Criminals running our so called democracy.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteYes Peter, just like you said
A title is a mark of shame these days,
Lord Archer never lost his title.
7:03 PM
I agree with that too.Years ago I quite mistakenly thought Lords did a good thing for the country.I was dead wrong.
The House of Lords should be scrapped as it is and made a completely elected chamber.Those such as Lord Kirkwood who have milked the expenses for their own personal benefit should have their titles stripped and be forced to pay back everything to the taxpayer as Peter suggests.
I applaud you Mr Cherbi.No motive of political gain or power.You are a true campaigner and I see why after reading what you have been through.
Good luck for the future and keep up your fantastic reporting of all the subjects you tackle.The efforts of people like you have led to us knowing a lot more about those who rule us but who in reality should now be filling up the prisons.
SURPRISE !
ReplyDeleteNO CHARGES FOR CROOKED POLITICIANS WHO WRITE THE RULES FOR THEMSELVES !
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8085207.stm
Charges 'unlikely' over expenses
Police and prosecutors say it's highly unlikely MPs will go to court over expenses, unless there is proof they misled Parliamentary authorities.
But Scotland Yard said questions still remained in a "small number" of cases.
A special panel is asking for more information on these unspecified expenses claims before any legal decision on a criminal probe.
Many MPs who face complaints had appeared to have provided accurate information to officials, the Met said.
In May, the Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service set up a joint panel of detectives and lawyers to look at the reports of how some MPs were using the Parliamentary expenses.
This panel was charged with looking at whether a criminal investigation should be launched, rather than actually beginning a full probe.
Scotland Yard had received some formal complaints, including from Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon, formerly a high-profile police officer, and a tax campaign group.
Questions remain
In a statement on Friday morning, Scotland Yard said the assessment panel had met on a number of occasions over the past two weeks and considered "a large number of allegations" about alleged abuse of expenses in both the Lords and Commons.
It said that members of the panel had set out to understand the procedures for claiming expenses from the Fees Office in Parliament, the twin departments managing all submissions from MPs and peers.
There are a small number of allegations where questions remain about the probity of the claims which will require further information before any decisions regarding investigations could be made
Scotland Yard and CPS statement
Q&A: MP expenses row
"The panel's view is that, unless evidence is available which shows individuals deliberately misled the fees office, it is highly unlikely that there could be a successful prosecution," said the statement.
"Many of those complained about appear to have provided accurate information and therefore the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) will not pursue a criminal investigation into allegations against them.
"It is for the Commons and the Lords authorities to decide whether they wish to consider these cases under their internal processes and should information come to light that indicates that either Fees Office has been deliberately misled, then they will be able to make a referral back to the MPS for further consideration.
"However, there are a small number of allegations where questions remain about the probity of the claims which will require further information before any decisions regarding investigations could be made."
"We are therefore continuing to liaise with parliamentary authorities in the two houses over the provision of this additional information, so the assessment panel can make informed decisions on these remaining allegations."
Comment left at 12:09
ReplyDelete"I applaud you Mr Cherbi.No motive of political gain or power.You are a true campaigner and I see why after reading what you have been through".
Yes my friend I agree with you, Peter is fighting for JUSTICE and he is a superb campaigner. There are thousands of us who have been victims of these criminals, and we are an army of victims who will endure any hardship to change the law.
The professions used to believe they could not be touched, but more fool them to believe that now. It is simple, we victims either accept what has happened, or we fight. We exposed a corrupt doctor when the NHS and his partners wanted him protected. The lawyer in the case was a crook also. We take the attitude, "who the heLl do these people think they are"? Crooks with a level of legal protection that beggars belief.
When something is so serious as what has happened to Peter Cherbi's family and many other families we fight. These criminals days for doing what they want are numbered. The pressure groups will be all over them like flies round the brown stuff. When a person has battled with these crooks, the torment is a great preparation and motivator for fighting them. Those who survive what crooked professionals do are battle hardened, ready for a lifetimes fight if that is what it will take. Lawyers are creating their own nemisis by as one lawyer said "saving private Penman has cost us dearly". Criminals all of them, with trashy morals and filthy reputations. They are extremists, like the Klu Klux Clan, Nazi's and any other undesirables you care to mention. I KEEP SAYING THIS, PLEASE TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEY ARE UP AGAINST. Victory to the campaigners.
Good morning Peter,
ReplyDeleteJust a quick point, Lawyers insured by the same company as doctors and employers means that people injured at work never get compensated, where their case is decided by medical evidence.
In these circumstances legal aid for these cases is an abuse of public money. If the cases all go the employers way, (and they do) then we have a situation where these so called professionals are being paid by the taxpayer for protecting their insurers. How bent is that?
Professional scum is what they are.