Fraud scandal, with Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson arrested as part of a Shocking Fraud Investigation.
Anderson, who has been the sitting mayor of Liverpool for a decade, was one of five men arrested across Merseyside today in an investigation into 'crooked' building and development contracts in the city. We know Derek Hatton was one of the other four men arrested.
The mayor was interviewed by police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation.
A Liverpool city council spokeswoman said "Liverpool city council is cooperating with Merseyside police in relation to its ongoing investigation. We do not comment on matters relating to individuals."
The others arrested are:
Labour leader Keir Starmer is yet to issue a formal statement, but Anderson has been 'administratively suspended' from the party.
In April of 2022 Anderson was told he was no longer under investigation by Lancashire police. Anderson was interviewed under caution towards the end of 2017 as part of 'Operation Sheridan, an investigation launched in 2013 after financial irregularity concerns were raised over the awarding of a Fleet Maintenance Contract.
A separate investigation by Merseyside police into allegations of bribery and witness intimidation is ongoing.
The force said it had written to four men and informed them they were no longer under investigation as part of Operation Sheridan. "The four, aged 64, 68, 66 and 62, were contacted and told they would face no further action." they said.
"Operation Sheridan was launched in 2013 following allegations of financial irregularity made to the constabulary by Lancashire county council. On completion of the investigation, we referred the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service, who are currently considering potential offences in relation to four other individuals. We would like to remind all concerned that criminal proceedings in this matter remain active. It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice any future proceedings."
Anderson, 64, was first elected as a Liverpool city councillor in 1998, becoming leader in 2010. He became Liverpool's first directly elected mayor in 2012, and had been reselected as Labour's candidate to fight the local election in May 2021, a vote that was postponed from 2020 because of Covid.
He was arrested by Merseyside police in December 2020 as part of a different inquiry, Operation Aloft, investigating allegations of bribery and witness intimidation linked to building deals in Liverpool. That investigation is ongoing. His arrest led to Anderson stepping aside as Mayor and announcing he would not be seeking re-election. At the time he said the police investigation would "confirm I have done nothing wrong, and my name and reputation will be exonerated".
Anderson said he would continue to fight to prove his innocence and to protect his legacy as Mayor of his home city.
He wrote "It has been a great privilege to represent the Labour party and be part of a collective movement that represents people like me growing up in, and trying to find a way out of, poverty."
Labour's Biggest Backer Directly Implicated In Multi-Million-Pound 'Scam' That Led To Mayor's Arrest
Unite the Union boss Len McCLuskey – a staunch Corbyn ally – gave over £74m of the union's cash to his pal and close associate to build a hotel that should only have cost £35m.
An emergency meeting was called by the union, which collects millions of pounds from hard-working Brits across the country every month.
Yet the overspend isn't the worst of Mr McCLuskey's problems, after it was revealed that the cash he signed over was shockingly given to his friends and associates, while he rewarded a multi-million-pound contract to the since-arrested son of former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson, who is currently on bail after been charged over the suspicious project by anti-fraud police.
The contract to build the 170-room hotel and conference centre was awarded in 2015 to the Flanagan Group, a Liverpool company run by a close associate of McCluskey, who is the union's General Secretary.
A note contained in a leaked Unite document says "Included in land and buildings above is £74.0m (2018: £42.6m) of assets in the course of construction for the National Education and Conference Centre & Hotel in Birmingham. No depreciation has been charged on these assets on the basis that they are not yet available for use."
The document also states that "the conference centre and hotel is operated by Blackhorse HCC Ltd which owns 76%".
McCluskey and four executive council members of the union have now been revealed to be the directors of Blackhorse – hence he has funnelled an enormous mound of cash essentially into his own pocket.
The Flanagan Group is under investigation by Merseyside police in connection with Operation Aloft, an inquiry into the sale to developers of council-owned land in Liverpool. The group's boss, Paul Flanagan, was arrested in September on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery, with Joe Anderson and his son David arrested on the same day.
The revelation of 'shady dealings' could just be the tip of the iceberg, as McCluskey also authorised huge sums of cash over to The Flanagan Group for construction work for Unite on buildings in Swansea, Stoke and Liverpool.
Seemingly attempting to distance itself from a company run by McCluskey's chums, Unite said it was false to suggest that "the Flanagan Group is somehow a preferred contractor". Yet this claim does not ring true taking account the following testimonial by Unite on the company's official website: "The Flanagan Group is our go-to firm for the maintenance and modernisation of Unite premises across the UK."
Interestingly, despite an initial spat between McCLuskey and Anderson, the Unite boss officially backed pal Joe Anderson during his successful election campaign, and the two were suspiciously fast to 'go into business' together – with Anderson using the council's cash, and McCLuskey the Union's.
The huge overspend into the Birmingham project is now being looked into – with eyebrows raised over how a construction that he had direct financial interest in 'conveniently' ended up with over £35m more than budgeted.
Gerard Coyne, a Keir Starmer supporter who narrowly lost to Corbynista McCluskey in the 2017 bid to run the union, said this month that he would stand again – with the Unite chief having announced that he will be stepping down next year.
Coyne, who was sacked by rival McCluskey, said "Spiralling costs, poor reporting and contractual questions mean there must now be a full, externally-led and published review into Unite the Union's Birmingham conference centre and hotel project. If this had been a public sector build then unions would have been making the same demand."
McCluskey has since been exposed as exploiting the union to run another 'racket', by using the company's database to encourage its millions of members to use financial services run by another of his friends – with it speculated that McCLuskey himself has an arrangement to financially benefit from any resulting business.
Gerard Coyne has spoken out about the growing scandal
Companies promoted by Unite include one promising 'exclusive access' to the 'best possible equity release deal'. Another offered to 'see if you are eligible for a tax refund' – with the promoting company also having links to McLuskey, and keeping 30 per cent of any money refunded.
Shockingly, each of the companies is owned by yet another of McCLuskey's close pals, Howard Beckett, who is expected to takeover as General Secretary upon his departure.
The dubious dealings have raised serious questions as to whether his decision to step down is the result of 'dodgy dealings' that could land the socialist behind bars.
McCluskey was previously slammed for taking £400,000 from Unite the Union to buy himself a posh pad in London.
"There's a lot of people now thinking that he's been directing cash into his own companies and pockets, and taking huge backhanders" said one source connected to disgraced mayor Joe Anderson "What else explains why he's handed millions of pounds of member's money over to his chums and to people who've now been arrested for fraud, bribery and intimidation? At best it sounds like cronyism and mismanagement. At worst it could well be embezzlement."