Health & safety boss at Unite hotel project admits drug supply
THE man who oversaw health and safety during the construction of a £98 million Birmingham hotel has admitted being part of a conspiracy to sell drugs including heroin.
Martin Grant, 33, is facing jail after pleading guilty in a Liverpool court.
He is a former managing director of Liverpool-based health and safety company Safety Support Consultants (SSC).
The firm acted as health and safety adviser during the construction in Birmingham
of trade union Unite’s conference centre, hotel and regional offices, on the corner of Woodcock Street and Jennens Road, Aston.
Grant has been jailed before, after pleading guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon in 2015. He crept up behind a man and slashed him across the face, for which he received a 10-year sentence in 2015.
But he was appointed managing director of SSC in September 2019.
He left prison on licence the same year. Grant resigned from the SSC role on January 7, 2020. He has now pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin. He admitted being involved in drug conspiracies between 2019 and 2021, and is due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court next month.
SSC is owned by David Anderson, son of Joe Anderson, the former Labour mayor of Liverpool. Both were arrested in a corruption probe in December 2020. Both strongly deny wrongdoing.
Unite’s hotel project has proved highly controversial. It was originally expected to cost £57 million but the union has admitted that this soared to £98 million.
Sharon Graham, who became the union’s general secretary last August, has ordered a QC-led inquiry into the project. A report revealed Unite has been told the finished building is worth less than £30 million, meaning the union made a £70 million loss.