Cover Up monitors Anderson's mobile - and breaks the law for a second time....

Colin Cover Up has broken the law for the second time - by monitoring Labour leader Joe Anderson's private phone calls and publishing their details.

Mr Hilton, CBE, the city council's £250,000-a-year chief executive (plus Performance Related Pay at 15 per cent, eds) has fallen foul of Labour Leader Joe Anderson just days after it emerged that he was routinely breaking the council's own rules.

Now it transpires that he has routinely broken the law of the land too.

Astonishingly, Cover Up has broken the Data Protection Act by authorising the monitoring of Anderson's phone calls as part of an internal inquiry into the leaking of details about the Paul McCartney 'Liverpool Sound' concert at Anfield.

Anderson was amazed to find that investigators had covertly monitored the calls he had made on his council mobile phone (which he pays for) without seeking either his permission or authority, as part of their report.

The city council has now admitted it has broken the law - and Acting City Solicitor Ken Unworthy has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to Anderson for breaching Human Rights legislation, as well as the Data Protection Act.

Anderson meanwhile has already complained to the Information Commissioner who, readers may recall, found the council guilty of breaking the law over publishing details of mobile phone records exactly a year ago.

Legendary Liverpool Solicitor Rex Makin is also now chipping into the fray on behalf of Anderson, scenting blood.

The Information Commissioner ruled last June that the city council had broken the first principle of the Data Protection Act by publishing details of former Communications Director Matt Finnigan's phone calls (as well as his emails) in the Storey/Henshaw battle over Sir Diddy's pension demands.

Well, the slow-to-learn-its-lesson city council under Cover Up and 'new broom' Bradley has now done exactly the same thing again!

Regular readers will recall that back in April, Sir Paul Macca gave the incompetents at the Culture Company an ultimatum to hand over the organisation of his gig to his events company.

Macca demanded that the Lib Dems hand over £1.9million for the gig or he would pull out - and they meekly complied, despite the city council being £62million in the red.

The Daily Post and Radio Murkeyside followed up the Liverpool SubCulture report. The Furious Fireman then angrily denounced the leak on Roger Phillips, fearing that making public his cock-up's would cost him more votes in the May local elections.

Anyroadup, the Furious Fireman then forced Cowardly Colin Cover Up to authorise an internal investigation into who had leaked all the confidential details.

(Hey, the blog could potentially earn a distinction in this year's Academy Alliteration Awards! eds)

Councillor Anderson, who has of course, a fine, noble and upstanding record of ensuring the Liverpool public know exactly what the Lib Dims have been up to, was interviewed by the council's po-faced internal audit team during their leak inquiry.

And their official leak report has now been officially leaked, unofficially.

(You really couldn't make this stuff up, could you? How funny is that? eds)

The leak report is unable to come to any definite conclusions at all about who leaked the details of the Macca ultimatum (of course not, eds)

But, with an amazing burst of political insight, it points a trembling finger at Councillor Anderson on the basis that Labour might just have had something to gain from embarrassing and exposing the Lib Dims in the run-up to the May local elections.

(Blimey. Shades of Inspector Clueless here. Impressive investigatory skills and fantastic powers of deduction being demonstrated. Might have had something to gain eh? - do you really think so? eds)

However, the council report reveals that it secretly monitored Anderson's mobile phone calls and publishes how he phoned certain numbers.

And that's not the slightest bit funny.

Indeed it infringes the Human Rights Act and the Data Protection Act.

We think the Information Commissioner may well take a very dim view of the city council's repeated law-breaking.

THE LIVERPOOL '08 TOP TWENTY

We have been reading in the Echo that Phil 'the great grey hope' Redmond has unveiled his secret weapon to make Liverpool No 1 in 2008.

Apparently, there is to be a new "Song For Liverpool" to mark our very special year.

(What a fantastically original and creative idea, absolutely guaranteed to engage and involve the people of Liverpool, eds)

And it's going to be a joint production by the Culture Company, (unholy)Trinity Mirror, Radio Murkeyside and City.

Doesn't that make your heart sink, pop pickers?

The song is destined, we fear, to be 'bubbling under' for a very long time (rather like our Salthouse Dock fish, ed)

Far better, in our view, to produce something which will be truly unique, distinctive and popular.

What about a once-in-a-lifetime Liverpool '08 compilation CD?

Featuring memorable cover versions of our favourite hits - but sung by some of the city's contemporary and most respected figures.

Mark Ronson could produce it - and blog readers could contribute the song titles and suggest the local personalities best equipped to perform!

It could be our very own version of the Liverpool X Factor!

So, to get the ball rolling and your creative juices flowing, might we make some suggestions about our very own top twenty?

THE LIVERPOOL '08 TOP TWENTY

1) We Don't Talk Anymore - Cllr Warren Bradley & Jason Harbarrowboy
2) It Should Have Been Me - Cllr Mike Storey(teller)
3) The Sound of Silence - Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton
4) Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - Phil Redmond
5) People Get Ready - Claire McColgan
6) Say it Ain't So, Joe - Paul 'Randy' Newman (in the chart with a bullet, eds)
7) Art for Art's Sake (Money for God's Sake) - Phil Halsall, the smiling assassin
8) Life in a Northern Town - The Residents (of L4, L5, L6, L8…etc etc, eds)
9) Y Viva Espana - Jason Harbarrowboy (solo performance, eds)
10) I Shoulda Known Better - Roger Phillips
11) She's Gone - Robbing Archer
12) Take The Money And Run - Sir David 'Diddy' Henshaw
13) Happy Talk - Alistair Machray (Echo Editor, eds)
14) Let's Dance - Flo 'quick, quick' Clucas
15) The Great Pretender - Kris Donaldson (Donald Bullshitter)
16) Hanging on the Telephone - Carolyn 'snitch' Hughes

17) Starman - Tony Parrish

18) I Wanna Be Elected - Liam Fogarty

19) Hound Dog - Dr David 'rottweiller' McElhinney

20) How Long Has This Been Going On? - The people of Liverpool

Bubbling under: Born To Run (Chris Green), Money's Too Tight to Mention (Sir Diddy), These Foolish Things (Matt Finnegan), Suspicious Minds (Lee Forde), I Fought The Law (Rex Makin), You Better Go Now (Joe Anderson)

It's something which everyone can join in!

Send your song suggestions to the blog, nominating your personality songster.
We will ensure that the Culture Company spends millions of pounds of council taxpayers' money on hiring record studios and top notch producers for the CD.

Thanks L&J!

"Can I bring me mum along as well, please Sir Charles?" - begs Colin 'Cover Up'.

Colin 'Cover Up' needs his hand holding when he is allowed into the grown-up world to meet Royalty.

That can be the only explanation for the extraordinary and fabulous revelation in today's Daily Post that the £250,000 a year chief executive of the 19,500-employee city council, brought his mum along to last week's civic luncheon for Prince Charles.

The poor lad insisted that his mum should be put on the 30-strong guest list, which for some unaccountable reason omitted to include 'Sexy Rexy' Makin, Freeman of the City and distinguished solicitor of this parish.

But Colin's mum came along (and a perfectly nice lady she looks too, ed. But that's not the point.)

Along for lunch too came an un-named "guest" of £165,000-a-year Jason Harbarrowboy, chief executive of the Culture Company (Perhaps it was his cousin Ethel or Tommy, his best mate from school? ed).

Harbarrowboy even has the cheek to insist that "the Culture Company adhered to protocol and were asked by Clarence House to be selective on who could meet the Prince and have lunch with him at the St George’s Hall event."

So Charlie specifically expressed the long held desire to meet Cover Up's mum, did he?

Or was it Jason's rugger mate with whom he wanted to discuss the finer intricacies of Rugby League?

Don't make us laugh (well, not too much, ed)

Why didn't the city council give a seat at lunch instead to one of the care assistants whose wages they are trying to cut?

Or a classroom assistant? Or a street sweeper?

Just to recognise their contribution to the city, of course.

We are sure Charlie would have appreciated the gesture.

Perhaps someone should now ask Cover Up's mum and the Harbarrowboy's "guest" to repay the cost of their luncheon at St George's Hall - paid for by city council taxpayers, of course?

But this little insight into the secret ways of the great and good, apart from making the city council an even bigger laughing stock, also reveals a particular approach by the city council and the Culture Company, does it not?

Senior public servants like Hilton and the Harbarrowboy seem to find it perfectly acceptable to abuse their public position and public money to wangle favourable, extra special, treatment for their friends and nearest and dearest.

Where will the council stop next?

The Summer Pops? Liverpool Direct? The 08 Place?

Shurely not?

It's pathetic. And deeply embarrassing. But it's all too typical.

THE LIVERPOOL SUBCULTURE CHRISTMAS QUIZ TO END THEM ALL...

1) Who said: "McElhinney should be banged up in Walton jail"

Was it:

a) Councillor Warren Bradley
b) Councillor Mike Storey
c) Matt Finnegan
d) Mrs McElhinney
e) All of the above

(We have included two pictures of Walton so we can all see what McElhinney is missing, ed)


2) How many times did former chief executive, Sir Diddy announce his early retirement in March 2005, before he changed his mind?

a) Just the once to the Daily Post
b) Twice - both times to the Daily Post
c) Three times - twice to the Daily Post and once to the Liverpool Echo
d) He never announced his early retirement at all, that was all made up by Matt Finnegan, the city council's media chief and poor Sir David has ever since been the victim of a disgraceful smear campaign of public abuse, vile attacks and disgraceful misrepresentation of a fine, upstanding, noble-minded, public servant whose only crime has been to serve the people of Liverpool above and beyond the call of duty (steady on, ed).3) Who pleaded with Matt Finnegan on the day after the media chief was suspended on trumped up charges: '"Please don't tar us all with the same brush"?

a) Sir Diddy
b) The rottweiller, McElhinney
c) The smiling assassin, Halsall (above)
d) Chas Cole
e) Jolly Jack










4) Who said: "I will have to resign if they are threatening my job"?

a) Sir Diddy
b) Councillor Mike Storey
c) Matt Finnegan
d) The rottweiller
e) The smiling assassin
f) Tony Blair

5) Who is this blonde woman and what is her strange relationship to Dr David McElhinney (aka Dr Death, the Liverpool rottweiller, ed)






6) Name all Dr David's other blonde friends (and state whether they ever joined him at Knowsley on an all expenses paid trip abroad funded by a council contractor) and whether he then moved to Liverpool city council where he fixed them up with a do-nothing, but highly lucrative job. Or not . (It is permissible for you to use a separate sheet of paper to list any of these, ed)

7) Who said: "I told them no good will come of all of this - no-one will win."

a) Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton
b) The smiling assassin, Halsall
c) Rex Makin
d) Saddam Hussain

8) Which famous Liverpool trio ran in the New York marathon?

a) Sue, Grabbit and Runne
b) Kendall, Ball and Harvey
c) Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil (that's the city council's new slogan, ed)
d) McElhinney, Halsall and Cole





9) Who got free tickets from Phil Halsall for concerts at The Summer Pops?

a) Colin 'Cover Up' Hilton
b) The rottweiller McElhinney (for his parents, ed)

c) Sir Diddy and Lady Alison Henshaw
d) Councillor Paul Clark
e) Councillor Mike Storey
f) The woman at the butty shop (true, ed)
g) All of the above

10) Whose son made a 'once in a lifetime' appearance in a Southport-based combo, as the support act to Status Quo at the Summer Pops, for a still undisclosed fee from Chas Cole's CMP?

11) Which Porsche-driving Executive Director slammed the phone down on a journalist who had the disgraceful cheek and temerity to dare to ask him about his son's 'once in a lifetime' appearance at the Summer Pops and whether he had ever officially declared such a personal and pecuniary interest, in accordance with council regulations? (this question has been drafted by the bald eagle, ed)






12) Name the two pop bands in this historic and much loved photograph.






13) How many hits did the liverpoolevilcabal blog get?

a) Not half as many as the number of pounds Henshaw stole from Liverpool.
b) Not half as many as the number of pounds McElhinney stole from Liverpool
c) Dunno - but all 19,531 council workers were logging on as soon as they got home.
d) 102,465 (precisely, ed)
14) Who said: "show me the money."

a) Dick Turpin (well, it is the panto season, ed)
b) Sir Diddy
c) The rottweiller
d) Robbing Archer
e) Chas Cole
f) All of the above

15) What was the venue for the infamous Summer Pops media briefing, attended by the Harbarrowboy, Chas Cole and Jon Brown?

a) Colin Hilton's office
b) Jason Harbarrowboy's office
c) Chas Cole's office
d) The Racquet Club
e) Starbucks
f) The back of the bike sheds

16) Who said: "Don't let the evil cabal get you down" and to whom?

a) Mike Storey to Matt Finnegan
b) Warren Bradley to Mike Storey
c) Rex Makin to Matt Finnegan
d) Tony Parrish to the people of Liverpool

17) Who was Tony Parrish?

a) Sir Diddy desperately trying to get a sympathy vote
b) Daily Post journalist, Larry Neild (pictured, ed)
c) Francis Rossi from Status Quo
d) That bullshitting Kris Donaldson fella
e) Colin Hilton, trying to ensure that anyone with half a brain seemed infinitely preferable to the evil cabal
f) All of the above

18) Who said: "Whatever happens, we won't let you down."

a) Sir Diddy
b) Mike Storey
c) The editor of the Echo
d) Sven Goran Erikson






19) Who is Inspector Clueless? (clue: he's a fat, moronic, pompous Lib Dem councillor who believes in nothing but himself, ed. (Sorry, that doesn't really narrow it down very much, ed)




20) What is this?
TIE-BREAKER: Please supply a suitable caption to this action photograph of the new leader of the council.



COMING SOON: The Liverpool subCulture Awards for 2006, featuring the Tony Parrish Award to the 'Hypocrite of the Year'; the 'Blonde of the Year' (sponsored by BT); Quote of the Year; etc, etc, etc.