I thought you might be interested to know about ‘The Westminster Whistleblowers’, the book I have written about the Shirley Porter years at Westminster and the ‘Homes for Votes’ scandal.
You and your Fabian colleagues might be interested in reading about this unique local government scandal. It is available at all good bookshops and on amazon.co.uk. You can also borrow it from your local library! Regards
Paul Dimoldenberg
THE WESTMINSTER WHISTLEBLOWERS
Shirley Porter, Homes for Votes and 20 years of Scandal in Britain's Rottenest Borough
PAUL DIMOLDENBERG Published on 18 September 2006 in paperback at £12.99
It took the District Auditor many years to uncover what happened. And with the active digging of Dimoldenberg and his Labour group, Shirley Porter was finally surcharged £42 million. Meanwhile, Porter, who was regularly reported to have amassed a £70 million fortune, claimed to have assets of only £300,000. Working closely with the BBC Today programme, the author was in the forefront of tracking down Porter’s web of off-shore finances and, finally, forcing her to pay back £12.3 million.
Despite the vital help Dimoldenberg gave the Council to recover the Porter millions, Westminster Council was determined to get its own back on one of its main tormentors. Following the Today programme broadcasts the Council reported him to the Standards Board for passing confidential information to the press. The penalty, if found guilty, was disqualification from the Council. Dimoldenberg mounted a two-year campaign to vindicate his actions.
Paul Dimoldenberg is the leader of the Labour group on Westminster City Council, and played an active role in the action against Shirley Porter and her colleagues.