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Alcock accused in prison row
Reporter: JANICE BARKER
Date online: 28 April 2010
Liberal Democrat candidate Mark Alcock has been accused of lies and scaremongering after his election leaflet raised the issue of a prison for Chadderton.
There was outrage in spring after the Ministry of Justice refused to rule out land between Foxdenton Lane and Ferney Field, near to Radclyffe School and parkland, being used for a jail after it appeared on a list of 76 proposed sites.
The idea has resurfaced in an election leaflet which was delivered to the home of Chadderton South Labour Councillor Dave Hibbert, who crossed swords over the issue with the fellow Oldham Councillor Alcock last year.
Councillor Alcock, who is challenging Labour candidate Michael Meacher for the Oldham West and Royton seat at the general election on May 6, is pictured on the leaflet with Liberal Democrat shadow Home Secretary Chris Huhne.
A headline reads ‘No to Chadderton Prison.’
Councillor Hibbert said: “This is scaremongering and lies. Michael Meacher has published a letter from the Minister of State, Maria Eagle, saying there are no proposals for a prison.
“He is frightening the people of Chadderton by raising this again.”
In November, a letter from Maria Eagle to Mr Meacher said: “I can say that the Foxdenton Lane site would not be considered suitable by the National Offender Management Service for development as a new prison.”
But at the time a Ministry of Justice spokesman refused to rule out the site, and Councillor Alcock accused Labour’s left hand of not knowing what the right hand was doing.
Councillor Alcock, fighting to overturn Mr Meacher’s 10,454 majority, said today: “The Ministry of Justice have not completely ruled out the Chadderton site. The review is not completed until after this month.”
Last year Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced that five new prisons each for 1,500 inmates were planned, and named the first two in London and Chelmsford, Essex.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman added: “There are no current plans for prisons on any of the sites listed other than those named by the Justice Secretary in Parliament on April 27, 2009.”
Catch up with the candidates at www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/news-features/elections/
Comments
Prison ships would be my first choice, failing that, lets build them underground. The simple fact is,with an ever increasing population under Labour, we need more prisons. Without them,where do we send the criminals? Letting them off with half a sentence served etc is not the answer. Punishment for crimes committed should not be dictated by the lack of prison cells.
He lied? A politician lied? whatever next?
nothing new here then, alcock is one of the many stooges in ombc who have been involved in blunder after blunder and yet still seems to be in a job.
this i the man who cannot maintain the roads properly!
he's also the man who failed to keep the roads clear whan it snowed.
i just hope that the the people of royton remember this at the polls.
if he was doing a normal job he's have been sacked a long time ago.
I wonder how Mark Alcock would feel about planning permission for a mosque in Oldham?
Well you can't put people in prison if there aren't any places for them, and there aren't enough places because people like those in Chadderton don't want them built near them.
But wait - The Lib Dems have the solution for that! Don't send people to prison.
And everything in the world was lovely and they all lived happily ever after.
Funny how Alcock is trying to scare the people of Chadderton, yet Knox and the Lib Dems in the council have so far and will continue to railroad the Waterhead Academy through. Same party, same council officers, total hypocrisy in policy.
Whats permission for a mosque got to do with it? As usual right whingers putting 2 and 2 together.
As far as I understand every application has to be considered on its own merits, or is that too simple for some people to understand.
Have Your Say
What’s the saying no smoke with out fire
Folks just need to remember which lie it was that took us to war and the full cost of that lie? May god forgive you I can’t so you won’t ever get my vote again ?
By Barros @ 28/04/2010 12:56:40