Investigate green councillor door supervisor

East Oxford Community Centre Action Group is calling for rigorous investigation of allegations of assault by door supervisors, false arrest by police officers, and political control of police officers by an elected green Councillor, published on Indymedia.

The Community Centre is the most important public building in East Oxford. It has been alleged that a door supervisor threatened to kill someone - with the right to access office space in the building - for: accessing the building. Unsurprisingly, threatening to kill someone is a statutory criminal offence.

The incident took place at a large community event, the Cowley Road Carnival on 6 July on the premises of East Oxford Community Association, a registered charity whose landlord is Oxford City Council. Alcohol provision on the premises is regulated by Oxford City Council.

eoccAG wants Councillor Sareva, the Oxford Green Party, East Oxford Community Association, Oxford City Council and the Thames Valley Police to respond formally to the allegations and to formally investigate the matter.

Oxford City Councillor Mary-Jane Sareva's role in the incident must be fully disclosed, including full explanation and disclosure of her involvement in the security arrangements and the provision of alcohol on the day, including any financial interest she may have had.

Way back in March 2008, I tried to access the statutory register of councillors' interests, but was told I couldn't, because the relevant staff member was not there. So I demanded to see the Council's monitoring officer, a lawyer with a statutory duty to ensure it acts lawfully.

I raised concerns about Councillor Sareva's potential conflicts of interest (including concerns about her involvement in providing security) with three different Council lawyers: solicitor Sue Brown; deputy monitoring officer, barrister Lindsay Cane; and the monitoring officer, solicitor Jeremy Thomas.

Councillor Sareva denied any conflict of interest at a meeting of the East Area Parliament on 23 April 2008, when I formally objected to her involvement in discussion or decision making about the East Oxford Community Association and East Oxford Social Club where - like many other people - had seen her working as a door supervisor, which she said was as a volunteer.

East Oxford voters are unlikely to vote her as voluntary worker of the year.

Sean Feeney, East Oxford Community Action Group:  eoccag@gmail.com