Labour councillor may face police probe after circulating “racist propaganda”.

Blimey, all this fuss over an e-mail that was forwarded, maybe it is time for UK plc to become a ploice state where freedom of speech is taken away from all and sundry.

Time to get rid of the internet, email, mobile phones, PDA’s etc that way nobody can access or forward any material that someone may find offensive, this is really Political Correctness gone mad.

Can the last person leaving this crazy country please switch off the lights.

Once again the Labour Councillors seem to be in the spot light. They portray that they are hard working councillors, but behind the scenes they are unprepared to listen to their residents ( in regards to the Belhus residents petition ) if they had bothered to read our petition they would have been able to work it out , its not rocket science, the petion is solely to do with the entrance being moved, as for charlie curtis who attended our meeting with Howard Tenens just recently, he acted as if he was unaware of what Howard Tenens were offering. I for one am sickened by this councillor who is full of it.
He is still insisting that he did not know about the entrance move, and has insisted on a meeting with Howard Tenens and his planning officer, once again this man is trying to do a deal to sooth his looming election in May.
With regards to Sue Gray I have seen her acting performances and she could win an oscar, She holds two positions in the community, SORA and Councillor
I want to ask sue gray why she did not support my wife and the residents petition. Is it because my wife is Indian?

I think this question needs to be asked of all three councillors, not one of them has supported my wife, instead she is threatened with assault at a SORA Meeting last year, does this go to clarify racism is in the camp?

just because a councillor doesn’t agree to evrything we want thats still no reason to attack them personally .
We are lucky to live in a democratic country where we can disagree with easch other on issues and keep it to the issue and not get personal about it.
Please keep it to the issue at hand and not drag your own personal agenda into it.
I don’t know this councillor and until now had never heard of her and from what i’ve read on here in the origonal report it looks like a clear case of forwaring an email from someone she knew without checking it properly first .
I’ve done simillar in the past with text jokes from friends where i’ve just forwarded them one without properly checking them .
Believe me if any councillor was racist or had racist intentions the last place they would want to forward an email like this on to is to voters/local residents(many of whome are disgruntled about other issues)and especially resident groups.

You say democracy they are supposed to listen to us with our concerns thats why they are voted in not for their own ajenda.
Quite honestly i dont think you know what your talking about, this issue is about racism and a councilor sending on racial jokes. we can only guess that you are one of councilor grays faithfull subjects. Say no more

the issue is about an email and up until this article i had never heard if tis councillor so i won’t accuse her of anything all i will say in responce to you post is if you have a grievence with the councillor in question over the other issue you mention then go to the resident groups ect she sits on or go to her surgery that most councillors i used to know did once a month .
If you don’t get any joy with these options then complain higher up the food chain until your grievence over the issue (the petition ) gets satisfactorally dealt with .
Whichever path you choose keep it to the issue and don’t get personal and you will find lots more people listening to you .
I will repeat a point made in my last post …………..
The last place an elected official would send any material like this knowingly is to potential voters and residents of their local area !!!!!!!
From the origonal post by the reporter of your thurrock.com it’s mr Savill who you should have the grievence with over this issue of what was contained in the email due to his comment of “prove me wrong” and not the councilloy who has apologised for not checking it properly before forwarding it on

Oh dear odear, what as our so called councillor for the Belhus ward been upto now, sending out racial comments to her lapdog Mr.C.Savill, and as been caught with her knickers around her ankles in public,mgriffths91 seems to good to be true, sticking up for a down trodden councillor, he says she is a Belhus ward councillor and the Chair of SORA, and that we should go along to the next SORA meeting or pop along to her surgery, where she will ignore you if you havent told her your going to speak, the average person in South Ockendon doesnt know what Sora stands for let alone know where this strange group meet, and what time they meet, so dont go lecturing people like snakebiteuk, who as with his good wife, tried to get all three of the Labour councillors to support people in the Belhus ward, for there efforts they were branded liars threatened with assault at a full SORA meeting by a certain councillor called Sue Gray, the very same councillor who couldnt go to a full council meeting because she was to ill, but that very night she went to a SORA meeting to be revoted as a Chairperson, its a funny old world ist it Sue, perhaps now the elections for ward councillors is fast approaching you will have, the bloody neck to ask for votes in the Belhus ward, well I hope you dont call at my house, and ask me because I shall have to be rude to you, and if the good peoples of the Belhus ward refuse to vote for you, because you dont deserve to represent all the people you have let down, by not supporting us at anytime over the few years, I THINK YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO NOT ONLY THE LABOUR PARTY BUT TO THE PEOPLE YOU ARE SUPPOSED REPRESENT IN THE BELHUS WARD. PLEASE PLEASE RESIGN AND DO THE DESCENT THING FOR ONCE, AND STOP BRINGING DISGRACE ON YOURSELF AND THE LABOUR PARTY.

snakebite you keep saying in a number of emails about your wife being threatened was any one charged etc i think thre answer to that is no . so instead of bringing up old news every time sue grey charlie curtis and wendy curtis are mentioned out come the the same old sad people who have not got there own way ,get over it . i for one have had emails that i have not loooked at but just forwarded it on . you sound like a very sad and bitter man , i for one love living in ockendon if its that bad you can always move. .and danny get your facts right try asking some of the people that sue grey has helped from all ethnics , but no you wont do that because your on a witch hunt so it dont matter to you what good they do you have made up your mind i think you are the one that is prejudic .

if a councillor threatend anyone at a public meeting it should have been minuted and how comes it has never seen the light of day cos i’m sur the local press would have had a field day with”councillor threatens local resdident”.
I have never said poor downtroden councillors and i wasn’t lecturing i was offering some free advice on how to get complaints dealt with and listened to and if the councillor is as bad as you say they are then you take it further up the food chain and lodge complaints with them and ultimately you can use you democratic right and vote for someone else in the elections if you feel that strongly.
Over the years i have had a few disagreements with councillors and council officers over certain issues ,however thats what it was over issues and never got personal and i never threw my dummy out when i didn’t get my own way over some of these issues we moved on and the next time we crossed swords,so to speak,there wasn’t any old issues or agendas bubling away in the background so we could concentrate on the issue at hand.

Reply to mgriffiths91
With regards to not being in the minutes, WELL of course they were not recorded in th minutes. Guess who records the minutes, it just so happens to be another councillor. Talk about keeping it in the family.
I am not under investigation here, it seems some of the members of SORA are, and not for the first time.

reply to snakebie
get your facts right it was not a councillor who took the minutes it was lady frpm
ngage ..

I have read all of the above and find it quiet amasing at some of the comments.
The facts are Cllr Gray sent a racial email to her friends.
The facts are that she should as a councillor have reported this to the police.
The facts are she is, as with her friend Chris Savill under investigation.
Why this woman seems to lack any sort of understanding that it is an offence to entice any comments on racism is beyond me.
I would like to congratulate acting inspector Jordan for acting so quickly on
this matter, without such officers people like this would feel entitled to do as they please.
I have read snakebites comments and feel he has asked a valid question, if a councillor has sent a racial joke and his wife is Indian, then the question does need to be asked , very simple really.

The thing is ,Snakebite,you have made a serious accusation about a councillor threatening a resident in a public meeting,here on a public forum.
1 if it wasn’t included in the minutes how did the minutes get passed as true ect at the next meeting?
2 the minutes are a legal document of what happend during a meeting and wile i fully appreciate not every single word can be minuted there’s no legal way they can leave someting like this off the minutes due to the number of people attending te meeting (i’m assuming that there was more than the 3 of you there).
3 why didn’t anyone else at the meeting say anything ?
I’m not lecturing i’m just pointing out that there’s action you can take due to the incedent not being minuted .
No one has said on here your under investigation though i did note that when you said that you had a dig at the individuals in that organisation again in the same sentence .
And while it may look like i’m being an apologist for the councillors from your pint of view the very first issue that started this thread looks so much like a simple mistake that i and many others have done over the years in forwarding jokes to friends ect and the other issues which you have more experience than e cos you have been there i can’t understand why it hasn’t been plastered over the local press more often other than the odd piece about the truck park here and there ad especially were a councillor in your words “threatend ” a resident in a public meeting.

Reply to didi96
Oh so you are aware of the assault on a resident took place at a closed sora meeting, you should also be aware that a police caution was given to the perpetrator. we can only assume that you were also at this meeting?

Ugly Scenes At Ockendon Meeting As Veteran Manhandled
THE WAR of words between Belhus councillors and residents appears to have taken a nasty turn when a 78-year-old military veteran was manhandled at a residents meeting.

Peter Perrin, 78, Broxburn Drive, South Ockendon had attended a special meeting of South Ockendon Residents Association (Sora) last Wednesday to address a number of complaints.

The Chair of SORA, Cllr Sue Gray was present along with fellow Belhus Cllr Wendy Curtis.

Mr Perrin said: “I was invited to the meeting to address a number of issues. Once I got there I felt an uncomfortable atmosphere. The meeting turned into something akin to a “Kangaroo Court””.

As tempers frayed I was referring to evidence I had on a printed out e-mail. As I held it, a woman tried to grab it. I held onto it and jerked forward as she tried to yank it again”.

The meeting was being minuted by Ngage representative, Jacqui Payne.

Mrs Payne said:” It became quickly apparent that there was unrest between those people present which led to heated debates. Despite only being there to record the minutes, I felt it necessary to stop the meeting as I could see no resolution would be reached.

Others at the meeting were shocked by the intimidating atmosphere at the meeting.

Deirdre Lodge, Stifford Road said: “There was a horrible atmosphere there. There was a little 78-year-old man being subjected to what was like a show trial.

“When the woman tried to grab the papers, I thought that Peter was going to fall over.”

YourThurrock asked Mr Perrin if he felt frightenned. He said: “No, I have been through a lot in 78 years. This incident was unpleasant.”

YourThurrock has spoken to Cllr Sue Gray but she has refused to issue a statement pending legal advice. Other individuals present have been given an opportunity to respond but to date have not done so.

Mrs Payne added: “Once the meeting had been bought to a close, I recommended and have since offered training and an opportunity to bring two of the individuals concerned together to try and resolve the issues and find a better way of working together for the benefit of their local community.”

Earlier this month, a rift was reported over the Howard Tenens Lorry Park in Stifford Road. The councillors objected to planning permission while 400 residents supported it.
Does this aswer your question mgriffthe91

Shunavan your right she did send the email to her friend and the police should investigate it due to the content.
I don’t know anyone involved in this issue howeer the councillor is obviously aware that she isn’t the most popular person at the moment with a number of her constituents so why would she send this email out knowing whats in it ?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the people who are disgruntled with you are going to use this as a stick to beat you with.
She should have read it first then reported the sender to her to the police however it’s easy for us to sit here and say .
On some days i get quite a few joke emails and txts normally from the same few people and on one particular occasion i got a txt from a mate after he had sent me a few jokes he had forwarded on to me i assumed it was another joke and just forwarded it on to the people on my list due to te fact i was busy ,it turned out he was having a bad day at his work and was just venting off about his co workers ect
i know that example it no way near as serious as the complaint the police are investigating however these things do happen .

yes it does answer it thank you Snakebite cos there are periodswhen i’m not on this site for a good while due to phone playing up ect so i obviously missed that article and thanks for posting it .

nowhere does it mention it was one of the councillors who grabbed the paper and this incedent is a classic example of things getting personal instead of being based on the issues at hand .
If it was just based on the issue’s then there would have been nowhere near as bad an atmosphere at this meeting and from how that post reads all parties involved are as guilty as each other for creating the atmosphere and unfortunately this man bore the brunt of it when he attended the special meeting.

reply to snakebite
I was not at the meeting but unlike you i like to find out the truth before putting it to print . there was no police caution given , if they are so bad why was your threatend wife out campaining for votes with wendy curtis i know that for a fact because they knocked at my door .

Reply to didi96 and mgriffiths91
If you read my comments properly you will find I have not accused cllr Gray personelly of assualt or racism.
I was informed by the police that a caution had been given, are you implying that the police have lied?

I am reading these comments as they are written and again am at loss as to why the mud slinging is so hostile.
Surely who has done what and what so and so said and did not say is irrelevant to the above.
How about getting back onto the real subject.

reply to snakebite
no not implying they are lying ,but mybe you are stretching the truth so you can bring up all the old news and it is old news . every time one of the councillors are mentioned i just know there you will be dragging it all up again , what this has to do with your threatend wife i dont know but you made sure it was all brought up again let it die a death its getting boring now .

Shunavan unfortunately the origonal issue has been clouded by the other things going on and i was trying to keep the other claims down cos it’s easy to sit here and type things about another person and being totally neutral i have no affinaty with anyone involved and if i was the other way around i would be the same .
Back to the origonal issue i hope the police do a thorough investigation and we have a definitive answer one way or the other that way the matter is closed and leaves no room for more accusations

reply to mgriffiths91

hear hear , could not have put it better myself .

My my what a tangle web we weave when we set out to decieve, or better put by a Japanese writer He who goes out seeking revenge should dig two graves.
It seems from reading all the many false claims to be just ordinary people, who read these accusations and threats, should A-Try spelling correctly otherwise you show yourselfs up B- How come you havent been reading about the other issues you want us to forget, such as Howard Tenens Yard ?, the assualt on a resident of the Belhus ward in front of a full closed meeting of SORA, and now RACIAL PROPAGANDA, it seems that didi96 and Mgriffths91 have been planted to by three councillors to quiten down free speach in this forum, so if you dont like the temprature get out of the water, I have friends who are coloured and from many differant places around the world, ie outside Thurrock Essex, and they said that a person who takes on the role as a councillor should be aware of what they are sending out on E-Mail, and if they are the chairperson at a full SORA Meeting where people get up and attack a man of 78 year old, she should hold her head in shame, because she as forgotten why she is there, and yes we can go and vote for someone else, come the next election, I shall take up that vote I have to try and get somebody who does what they promise they will do, because the councillors for the Belhus ward have completey forgotten what they are there for, we voted them in to give us a voice when we have problems, dont forget a councillor is for three years not just for christmas, if there is a Conservative councillor reading this please visit the people in the Belhus area, Stifford Road and Fulbrook Close we will be voting for you in the next local elections.

I have just heard through the political grapevine that, Howard Tenens are going to cut down all the trees in Hangmans Wood because they are mostly all dead, but will be replanting new trees, so not only have we got to put up with Noise and Air Pollution, but now we will have to endure Arc Light Pollution from the yard, and without the tree screne, we will hear Essex Arena and the A13 and the M25 straight into our homes, wow isnt it great living in the Belhus ward, and what do they three Muskerteers do (Ward Councillors Do) well nothing really, well nothings changed then !!!!!!..

the issue that started this thread was about the email and other issues have been brought into the conversation.
My last post said that i hoped th police do a thourough investigation and sort this issues out clearly one way or the other and i have also pointed out on numerous occasions in the threats on this page i don’t know anyone involved in this issue or the other issues (except jacqui payne from ngage whom i haven’t seen for a couple of years now ) and have now affiliation one way or the other regarding them .
The headline was about the email and thats what i started replying to and as to the rest of it i’m not going to get draged into it anymore and will concentrate on the issue in the headline

reply to danny
I take it you was at the closed meeting at sora then and witnessed the attack if this happened then why was there no arrests , why have the persons that have meant to have attacked this person not been named , im sure if it was as bad as you are saying then they would have been arrested and named. so instead of keep harping on about them name and shame them but im sure you wont because no one was attacked was they .
and again you have got it wrong i have nothing to do with the three coucillors i like you have freedom of speach .

In reply to didi96 and mgriffths91 I know you have the right to free speach, but please get things right, Mr.P.Perrin was the person Attacked both verbally and physically the assailant was warned by the police, so get your facts correct, the next issue should a person in high office, ie ward councillor have the right to insult coloured people knowingly or not knowing she had done it, well if she did it without knowing about it, then should she continue in the office as a ward councillor and as a chairperson for the secret SORA office, the answer must be NO she shouldnt, she as affected they way the Howard Tenens Yard decisions went, had she and the other councillors helped the residents in the Belhus ward, instead of dismissing us as a bunch of idiots who had broken the law by trying to obtain a better way of life, ie getting rid of lorries on a 24/7 basis from outside our homes, we are all subjected to having our air we breath in Polluted by Diesel fumes from lorries that use the Howard Tenens Yard, we also suffer from Bright ARC Lights from the yard, now we are being told the very thing that is helping us break down the constant noise and fumes, they are going to chop down the trees in Hangmans Woods, they are a natural barrier for us living along the Stifford Road.
So you can see why we who live along the Stifford Road in the Belhus Ward get angry when the very people who are elected on promises they dont fulfill, wont lift a finger to help unless the press are present,then they make false promises that will lift the ENFOREMENT NOTICE against Howard Tenens Yard by May 2011 they cant, once the enforcement notice is actioned it cant be lifted by a WARD COUNCILLOR, even in his dreams, so my fine friends are the issues that we are fighting the 400 or so ordinary people who signed a petition to get Howard Tenens to move there main gate, away from all the residents on the Stifford Road, they agreed to move them, but they were met by stupid planning laws, which had already gone in there favour, the Hangmans Woods have been there for over two hundred years, but if you were to visit them today, you will see a large concrete yard where the heart of the forest used to be, they have drained a large lake and moved the fish, they have almost killed off most of the wild life that lived in the forest, so why cut the rest of the trees down, and move the main gates further along the Stifford Road, so that we can get some peace from the lorries who use the yard 24/7. I think that if you were to sample what we allo put up with then I feel you wouldnt be making, silly staements under the pretence of FREE SPEACH.
One last question for didi96 if you havent anything to do with the three councillors, how do you know nobody was attacked, I have named the person who was attacked, the also tried to steal his mobile phone from him, so get your facts right before you tell us what we did and did not see, because you dont anything if your ramblings are to be believed..

in reply to danny this discussion has nothing to do with howard tenens but you had to bring it up , you seem to know an awful lot you sure you have nothing to do with the councillors. as you still not answered my question was you at the closed sora meeting and sorry i dont beleave mr perrin was attacked as no one was arrested or named im sure if someone had attacked an 78yr old man we would have all read about it in the news .

You still dont understand do you, whoever you are did196, I was once a School Manager in Basildon, and helped afew councillors with there election posters and meetings, we also got a MP elected by nearly canvassing the entire basildon town, but that was then, what as happened here and now, is something I feel is beyond you, because you cant progress beyond what you know, and that my friend, isnt much, you are just quoting what other people as said, and then arguing with yourself about it, I dont have to answer to you, I know what you dont know, and the channel is deep, so go and get a life and leave the real world to people who, can at least reason, and know the differents between right and wrong, you dont really believe in real free speach, you only believe in what you have to say, please read the above blogs, all the answers are there, they have been explained to you??, so hallo wake up, or clear off to annoy somebody with the same mentality as yourself.

do just like going on hear so you can insult people, but you still not answered my question was you at the closed meeting at sora , if not how do you know there was an attack on mr perrin because at the moment its all hear say no one was arrested no one was named .

To all the contributors but especially to Didi96 and mgriffiths91. As I have been named [Mr Perrin] and was in attendance at the “closed” meeting of the South Ockendon Residents Association [SORA} I feel it necessary to clarify some of the points raised. What happened at the “closed” SORA meeting was reported by the media i.e. “Your Thurrock” on 27th September 2010 by means of an article titled “Ugly Scenes At Ockendon Meeting as Veteran Manhandled.” the full text of which has been posted by “Snakebite” earlier. You will note the term “manhandled” is used if others choose to use “attacked” that is their choice and I am not sure if there is much difference as both imply some physical hostile contact. At the time, unpleasant as the incident was, I attributed it as the action of an overexcited and silly lady who had lost her self-control [I do not name the lady to spare her any further embarrassment] and was not inclined to pursue the matter further or take legal action, However some time later the Police informed me they were investigating an alleged assault and took my statement. I told the police that I did not consider the matter to be serious enough to merit criminal charges but the lady should be “cautioned” and warned of the very serious consequences her behaviour could have incurred. I have been told that the police have “cautioned” “warned” the lady concerned and I can only assume that to be true. This meeting was “Chaired” by Cllr Sue Gray in her capacity as Chairperson of the SORA Committee and she allowed members of that committee to harangue me, verbally and physically abuse me and did nothing to stop it, on the contrary she encouraged them,to such an extent that the representative from Ngage felt compelled to bring the meeting to a close for fear that the situation may have worsened. The Ngage representative did record the minutes but as a result of its chaotic nature I am not aware that they have been recorded as a “true” record. The point I am trying to make is that Councillors, even when functioning on outside bodies such as SORA, must be aware that their conduct will come under scrutiny and be criticised if it falls short of the standard expected of them i.e. in Cllr Gray’s case alowing herself to be associated with people she regards as “dear friends” and condone the use of foul, abusive and offensive language, to preside over a Committee that invites persons to attend “closed” meetings in order to abuse them and try them in what amounts to a “kangaroo court” and to be so careless as to allow a racially offensive e-mail to be circulated on her SORA mailing list. So Didi96 and mgriffiths91 the matters raised by other contributors are not a figment of their imaginations or just made up for some ulterior purpose in order to discredit the Belhus Ward Councillors they are matters which we, the residents, are passionate about and feel we have been badly served and let down by our Councillors who promise much at election time but renage on their promises once elected. I also find it odd that to critise certain Councillors is called “witchhunting”.
Mr. Peter Perrin.

Mr Peter Perrin as an outsider to the whole other set of issues, i started comenting on the headline issue of the email and then got embroiled in the rest of the issues which have been going on to which i obviously have no experience of and these other issues were brought up by other contributers to this thread not by me.
And to be quite frank if snakebite hadn’t have posted the yourthurrock report on here i still wouldn’t believe that even half of the things said on here could happen at a meeting either open or closed (whatever happend to a good old heated debate where people stuck to the issues and argued their own points without getting personal ect?)
i also said on one of my last posts i won’t be comenting on anything other than the email issue and thats what i intend to do .
Thank you for posting Mr Perrin and it’s good to actualy talk with someone who was there in the middle of it.
The original headline was about an email the rest of it was brought up and we went “off subject” in this thread to which i’m partially responsible for .
Given the strong feeling regarding the councillor on here, and she probably knows the strength of feeeling as well, only goes to back up my much earlier point that she didn’t check the email before forwarding it on .
She should have read the email and the reprted the sender to the police for them to take the appropiate action unfortunately for her she didn’t and now quite rightly the police are investigating the whole email issue .

I have made some enq and it seems there is a sora (south ockendon residents ass) meeting on wed 3rd of March at 7.30pm at the forum derwent parade.
I see quiet a few of you have concerns regarding the racial email Cllr Gray sent to her friends, and would advise you to attend the meeting and discuss this with her at the sora meeting., thats what sora is for.

Thank you Shunavan for pointing out there is a meeting of SORA, as you say there are afew concerns regarding of our renagade councillor Gray lately, she simple cant carry on, making errors in public and in front of her own fellow councillors, without getting some comment can she, I hope this time the Police do carry out a full investigation into sending out Racial comments, even if she now claims she didnt read them, ive never known any councillor to send any item out without reading it first, because they could be accussed of sending out harmful material.
Thank you Peter Perrin for pointing out the facts of that Horriblus Anus meeting, you attended, which according to Mgriffths91, was in everybodies imaginations, I suppose all that we have to undure on a 24/7 basis from Howard Tenens Yard, doesnt really happen either, hope to see you soon peter.

On behalf of the residents blighted by whats happening in Howard Tenens yard, would like to Thank Chris Savill for reporting the racist blog to the police,
If it hadnt been for him, we wouldnt have found out what our councillor Sue Gray passes on as fun to her mates, well lets hope she and her mates dont manage to sweep this all under the carpet, by stating that racist remarks are fun and dont effect people, we dont want another Chafford 100, do we?.