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JAIL FOR THE FORMER CONSERVATIVE LEADER OF DMBC

If you can recall the case against Messrs Birks and Hughes at the Nottingham Crown Court a couple of months ago, when Messrs Hughes and Birks were jailed for corruption. One John Dainty, the then Leader of the Conservatives on Doncaster Council, was found Not Guilty on his charges involving a planning application. However, in the same Court in the week ending August 3rd, 60 year old John Dainty was sentenced to fifteen months in prison for a similar offence involving a planning application from Mr. Jeff Fox. Mr. Dainty who received the OBE for his services to the Local Government, had written to the planning office expressing his deep concern about an application involving some seven acres of land. He later dropped his complaint and permission was finally granted in February of 1995.
Dainty later sent an invoice to Jeff Fox the developer for fifteen thousand pounds, said to be for consultancy work carried out by Dainty. Mr. Fox unwittingly paid the money, but there had been no consultancy work done. Judge Christopher Pitches told Dainty on sentencing him ‘ This type of offending strikes right at the heart of the Democratic Process. It damages the integrity of our Local Government Systems when Councillors receive money in return for favours, especially in the planning area where huge amounts of money are at stake’. As stated in last months Villager, the money was paid into an account which Dainty had set up a couple of months earlier. John Dainty claimed that the money had been paid to him for helping to clear up an argument on access to the land.

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