Confidential email leaked to the press by Government minister. On the 14th September 2013 at a wild life event in Ongar, Essex, Eric Pickles MP, Minister of state for Communities and Local Government approached Teresa Cooper, author and CSA campaigner who was stood at the RSPB tent, deep in conversation.
Ms Cooper had on her two recording devices that were clearly visible. A Phillips camera in one hand and a Fuji camera hung from her neck.
Discovering who Ms Cooper was during introductions, Pickles first reaction was “Oh no” and he then made a further inappropriate comment that extended to the abuse of Kendall House girls and their children later born with birth defects. He informed Ms Cooper not to waste her time telling the lady stood next to him, as she didn’t care either because it was his wife.
The remark sparked a reaction from Ms Cooper who promptly turned on one of the recording devices as Mr Pickles continued to speak out of term.
Author Teresa Cooper captured the government minister clearly stating
“You’ve consistently… you change your na [unfinished word]… you’ve changed your views… You give me different stories.
Teresa Cooper: Different stories?
Eric Pickles: and before I act I need your signature
TC: different stories.. its been proved publicly
The recording then captures the senior Government minister Eric Pickles telling Ms Cooper to “Adjust your medication”.
Ms Cooper was overdosed with psychiatric drugs by force over 1,248 times, over a 32-month period as a child under the Governments ‘care’ system. Ms cooper won her eighteen year legal battle in 2010. The misuse of psychiatric drugs by home office Psych Dr M.S Perinpanayagam left a number of girls physically ill later in life and their children born with birth defects.
The shocking comments from Pickles were clearly meant to cause hurt and mislead the small audience of locals, clearly heard in the background.
Ms Cooper followed Pickles to the next tent where a second and different audience were present. Ms Cooper clearly recording, asked Pickles what he meant. He is then clearly heard in the second recording, denying what he had said, unaware Ms Cooper had already recorded it.
He states for the benefit of the new crowd who were unaware of his previous and inappropriate comments
Teresa Cooper: You are alleging that i’m on psychiatric drugs and i’m not.
Eric Pickles: I’ve have made no such allegations
Teresa Cooper: “You have, I just recorded it”
Pickles then continues to tell Ms Cooper that he needs her signature.
Little appeared to happen following this remarkable exchange despite Ms Cooper publishing the recording on the same day until the story was covered two weeks later, 28th September 2013, by The Independent online and the following day in The Independent On Sunday newspaper. The story can be found here- Independent news
On the same day, 28th September at 2:06 PM, it has come to light that the email below was sent from the ministers officer, Ms Kay Bellwood, Eric Pickles Parliamentary Assistant who then forwarded it to the press. The email is helpfully entitled ‘Email from Police’, and it contains personal information regarding Teresa Cooper. It is noted on Mr Pickles website that Kay Bellwood is a former BBC Essex presenter. The email contains the official parliament logo and Department for Communities and Local Government email information.
(The story continues at the end of the email).
————————————————————————-
Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2013 02:06 PM
To:———————————-
Subject: Email from Police
He is calling you now to discuss…….
I can disclose that at this time Ms Cooper does not have any criminal convictions.
In terms of risks she presents, I can advise that Police Officers tend to try to avoid visiting her home address without a colleage present but this is to negate any subsequent allegations she might make rather than any fear of violent conduct.
I’ll await instruction regarding crime recording the incident on the 14th.
Thank you for your assistance with this.
Regards,
Ongar Police Station,
High Street, Ongar CM5 9AG
Non-Emergency Telephone
Number 101
Ongar Police Station
Extn
E-mail
www.essex.police.uk
———————
Parliamentary Assistant to
The Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
UK Parliament Disclaimer:
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Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged,
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Correspondents should note that all communications to Department for Communities and
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The original of this email was scanned for viruses by the
Government Secure Intranet virus scanning service supplied
by Vodafone in partnership with Symantec. (CCTM Certificate
Number 2009/09/0052.) On leaving the GSi this email was
certified virus free.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged,
monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.
This email was received from the INTERNET and scanned by the
Government Secure Intranet anti-virus service supplied by
Vodafone in partnership with Symantec. (CCTM Certificate
Number 2009/09/0052.) In case of problems, please call your
organisation’s IT Helpdesk.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged,
monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.
The original of this email was scanned for viruses by the
Government Secure Intranet virus scanning service supplied
by Vodafone in partnership with Symantec. (CCTM Certificate
Number 2009/09/0052.) On leaving the GSi this email was
certified virus free.
Communications via the GSi may be automatically logged,
monitored and/or recorded for legal purposes.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————-
The information contained in this email which was received by the press, was obviously sent with the intention of discrediting Ms Cooper and contained confidential information about her, but it would be over 4 months before it was passed to her by a concerned source.
It is also clear that Mr Pickles intended to make a false allegation against Ms Cooper to the local police, who were awaiting further instructions from the Department for Communities and Local Government Ministers office.
This did not mean that Ms Cooper was unaware that people within Eric Pickles staff were communicating with the press in an effort to undermine her personally. On Monday 30th September Ms Cooper met with BBC journalists who asked her about a communication that had been forwarded from someone within Eric Pickles’ office to them that same day and which purported to be the text of a letter sent to Ms Cooper on the 24th September. Ms Cooper was surprised to learn of this as she had not received such a communication from Eric Pickles’ office at that time but 2 days later she did receive a letter. The letter had no postmark and so the date of posting can not be verified but the date on the letter itself was the 24th September. Later she learned that other media outlets had also received this letter.
That letter contained inaccurate information from Mr Pickles version of ‘help’ where he then gives his consent for Ms Cooper to share it with the media, but he also includes Ms Coopers personal data and home address. None of which Minister Eric Pickles sought a signature from Ms Cooper or, to send out her personal data to the media without her knowledge or consent. Take into consideration that Mr Pickles claimed to need Ms Coopers signature to help her with the Kendall House abuse scandal which he ignored for many years. Emails dating back several years show Ms Cooper made regular contact with his office and no response. This is contrary to his version of events in a local newspaper ‘The Epping Guardian’ dated 14th November 2012 where Mr Pickles is quoted
‘Mr Pickles said his staff had repeatedly asked Miss Cooper to send him full details of her allegations.
“I basically want the allegations in writing because I can’t abuse parliamentary privilege on something that I’m uncertain about,” he said.
“I’m very willing to help her if she would be kind enough to put down in writing what her story is.
“We have consistently answered every call and we have done our best to get information.”’
It is clear from the number of emails prior to that article in the local press, that Ms Cooper had put her story in full to Mr Pickles several times, and requested his help to take the adjourned case from 1994, by her previous MP Neil Gerrard, back to Parliament. That email was also copied in to MP Tim Loughton.
The entire episode took a much darker turn
In mid December 2013 Ms Cooper opened a letter which was postmarked 27 November 2013. This letter contained highly sensitive and confidential information and a specific threat to destroy Ms Cooper’s credibility completely by publishing documents if Ms Cooper did not apologise in the local press within 3 weeks.
The police were informed immediately and acted promptly. The officer arrived within a short time to collect the letter.
Ms Cooper said “The police have never turned up that fast, not even while a crime is being committed, so I was shocked to see them act so fast for the first time in over 16 years. It often takes them weeks to see me after reporting any crime and sometimes they haven’t turned up at all”.
Forensic tests were done on the letter and Ms Cooper was emailed several different results by the same officer. The same officer in the above email who was investigating the letter purporting to be from Minister Eric Pickles.
The police were kindly keeping the minister updated regularly on the letter, of which he was the main suspect.
A complaint was made and Inspector Fusher who had regular contact with Ms Cooper regarding her complaint, then apparently sent the letter back to forensics where yet another result was found, of which no finger prints other than Ms Coopers were found. A strange twist. After receiving the letter, further prints by others who read it before it was handed to Ongar police, did not show up, nor did the postman’s on the envelope during the forensic examination.
It is then alleged that Inspector Fusher, a Christian man, during the complaints process, then expressed his concerns for Ms Coopers mental health after wrongly assuming she was on mental health medication. This wrong assumption maybe due to Ms Cooper tweeting about her physical illness and medications. He then furthered her distress by informing Ms Cooper that she enjoyed being a serial victim. It is also alleged that Inspector Fusher was informed by Eric Pickles and his team, that the ‘Government’ authorized the email from Ongar police to be sent to the media, breaking many rules and regulations of confidentiality and secrecy, and he himself had sought advise on Data protection and claims the email did not breach Data Pro where Ms Cooper is clearly identified by her local police.
Ms Cooper has lodged complaints with both the Information Commissioners Office and the Independent Police Complaint Commission. The latter has now drawn an empty conclusion where the media have been blamed by the police, for the letter, with a view to incite a story.
With very few complaints like this being upheld by Government offices in child abuse related matters, Ms Cooper does not feel it is going to yield results despite the clear breach of Data protection and confidential data being sent to the press.
There are many questions of deep concern.
1) What was the extent and nature of communications between the Ongar Police and Eric Pickles’ office ?
2) Is it possible that the highly sensitive information contained in the letter postmarked 27 November 2013 originally had come from Ongar Police or other police sources?
3) The letter postmarked 27 November 2013, given that this letter purports to be from Eric Pickles who would appear to have a motive for sending the letter, and thanks to the revelations about the nature of the communication between Ongar Police and his office, did he have the means of obtaining the highly sensitive information contained in that letter?
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