Council didn’t know about conviction
Sheffield City Council signed a contract worth £2bn with a company to upgrade roads and streets unaware that the firm had a conviction for corporate manslaughter, a senior officer has admitted in court.
SHEFFIELD CITY Council signed a contract worth £2bn with a company to upgrade roads and streets unaware that the firm had a conviction for corporate manslaughter, a senior officer has admitted in court.
The admission came from the local authority’s head of highways, Paul Billington, as he gave evidence at the High Court, where protesters face injunctions over the felling of trees.
Legal action is being taken over continued protests about thousands of trees being chopped down as part of the council’s Streets Ahead contract with Amey.
During cross-examination, John Cooper, QC, the barrister representing protesters, asked Mr Billington if he was aware that Amey had been convicted of corporate manslaughter at the time the contract was signed in 2012.
He asked: “Were you aware before you contracted with Amey that they had been convicted of corporate manslaughter?”
Mr Billington replied: “No, I certainly wasn’t. My understanding on review is that the council weren’t either.”
Mr Cooper said Amey received the conviction in September 2008. He asked Mr Billington: “This was the first corporate manslaughter conviction there was because a pit collapsed, killing one of their workmen. They did not tell you about that, did they?”
The officer replied: “I have given you my answer.”
The barrister continued: “The contract should have been completely renegotiated, shouldn’t it, after you found out that Amey had been convicted of corporate manslaughter? This contract is illegal, isn’t it?”
Mr Billington replied: “No, it’s not.” He added that officers at Sheffield City Council were comfortable with the decision after taking legal advice.
Mr Cooper then asked: “That’s the way it’s done in Sheffield, isn’t it? What the officers say – the council does.” Mr Billington replied: “I don’t know where you are taking this.”
Mr Cooper also asked: “It is Amey pulling the strings in all of this with the council, isn’t it?”
The officer replied: “I can hear what you are saying, Mr Cooper, and I utterly and totally reject it.”
The hearing is due to finish today. The council is seeking permanent injunctions against three defendants and ‘persons unknown’ at the trial.
It says campaigners are protesting inside safety barriers ‘unlawfully’ and as a result holding up work – which is costing the taxpayer money.
If the campaigners are served with injunctions and break them they will be in contempt of court, and could face fines or even prison.
The defendants claim the council has put profit first when making the decision to chop down thousands of healthy trees without exploring alternative solutions. They also say the case highlights the burden the local authority had been placed under by entering into a PFI contract with Amey.
One of the defendants, retired actor Dave Dillner, described how it felt like “a form of torture” to watch healthy trees cut down.
He said: “I would still much sooner sit with the council and talk some sense to them if I actually believed for once in this whole process they were actually listening and prepared to work with us.
“I hate the word protesters, we are campaigners. We are concerned citizens.
“There are whole areas of this city where the area of canopy cover has been completely destroyed. The cost to the environment in those areas is huge.”
The contract should have been completely renegotiated, shouldn’t it? Barrister John Cooper, QC, questioning Sheffield City Council officer Paul Billington.