Bibby & the BNP

Below is the section of the Witness Statement lodged in the High Court Queen's Bench Division which deals with Bibby's relationship with the British National Party. The documents cited can be seen on the 'Exhibit Bundle'. If you take particular notice of paragraph 58 you can judge for yourself just how far Bibby are prepared to go in pursuit of profit.

WITNESS STATEMENT

THE BRITISH NATIONAL PARTY

53. Shortly after the First Defendant began trading on the existing Beau Trading LLP contracts, it was learned that in order to succeed with the ‘Phoenix’ frauds, Mark Simpson and Lee Storey, had paid bribes to various parties whose invoices were being sold to Bibby Invoice Discounting.

54. Beau Trading LLP had on its books a man called Anthony Avery who was working for the Greater London Authority. The First Defendant was told that Beau Trading LLP had been paying corrupt cash ‘kickbacks’ on the GLC Avery contract to Emma Colegate, a high ranking member of the British National Party, who worked for the GLA.  

55. The Defendants at that time had no knowledge of Mr Avery and thought him just an employee of the GLA. However the First Defendant immediately informed Ms Colegate at the GLA that they would ‘not be paying any kickbacks’. Ms Colegate vehemently denied taking any ‘kickbacks’ on Mr Avery’s employment and challenged the First Defendant to produce evidence that she had done so. The First Defendant had no such evidence and so left the matter there.

56. Matters relating to the BNB rested until Autumn, 2011 when the First Defendant discovered new evidence which proves that during its short trading period Beau Trading LLP acted as a source of funding for at least three top members of the British National Party at the expense of the Greater London Authority and apparently the BNP itself.

57. This new evidence makes it very clear that at the time that the First Defendant bought Beau Trading LLP, and its debt ledger factored by Bibby Invoice Discounting, the company was well known to the Claimants employees, Pat James and Lee Bishop and many others (through publicity), to be:

“… an agency which had connections with persons who were prepared to work for the BNP." [Tab 8, page163]

‘The GLA couldn't find anyone willing to work with Barnbrook so they had to recruit temporary staff from a special agency, who were then made permanent. A special BNP agency, it would appear, as those staff are … BNP activist Tony Avery and Thurrock BNP councillor Emma Colgate.’ [Tab 8, page163]

58. I understand that when the BNP could not find any agency to fund the GLA contracts, Emma Colegate approached the First Claimant, who sometimes employed the services of associates of Ms Colegate for the ‘Collections’ which feature in the Dancerace E3 printouts.

59. I understand that employees of the claimants then introduced Mr Barnbrook and Ms Colegate to Mark Simpson and Lee Storey operating as Beau Trading LLP and Westside Services Limited.  At the beginning Beau Trading LLP invoiced the BNP as ‘British Heritage’ for work allegedly carried out by Mr Barnbrook. It was then agreed that Simpson Webb Grays Limited of 8A London Road, Grays, Essex, would invoice the GLA for ‘work’ by Anthony Avery using unsigned timesheets of Simpson Webb Building Futures and charging VAT and then assigning the invoices to Bibby Invoice Discounting as Beau Trading LLP.

60. It is quite evident that it was also agreed between all the parties that ‘kickbacks’ on the GLC contracts, funded by Bibby, would be paid to Mr Barnbrook and Ms Colegate.

61. Starting on the 28/10/2008, Beau Trading LLP invoiced British Heritage, financial arm of the BNP [Tab 8, page 145] for Richard Branbrook (sic), ‘Office Set U’, £41.14’ nine times between 28/10/2008 and 22/12/2008 without attaching any signed timesheets. British Heritage was invoiced at ‘P.O. Box 71, Market Weighton, East Yorkshire, YO43 4WX.’ [Tab 8, pages 146-153]. At the times of the invoices Richard Barnfield (Branfield), was the BNP’s group leader on the Greater London Authority.

62. Simpson Webb Grays Limited then began to invoice the Greater London Authority for work for Anthony Wallace Avery, at £517.50 per week [Tab 8, pages 154-160]., and marked for the attention of Emma Colegate. Anthony Wallace Avery was at this time a high ranking member of the BNP and PCC for Enfield North [Tab 8, page161]. Mr Avery was hired onto the payroll of the GLA by Emma Colegate, BNP councillor for Thurrock [Tab 8, pages 162-163] who was the BNP’s ‘staff manager’, who worked as Richard Barnbrook’s ‘researcher’ at the Greater London Authority and was until allegations were made that £300,000 had been ‘stolen from the party’.

63. On the 31/12/2008 Beau Trading LLP, ‘Phoenixing’ as Simpson Webb Grays Limited, issued Invoice 499 to British Heritage as a Credit Note for 22.5 hours worked by A. Avery for w/e 21/12/2008, totalling with VAT £517.50 [Tab 8, pages 166]. On the same day Simpson Webb Grays invoiced the Greater London Authority for 22.5 hours worked by A. Avery for week ending 21/12/2008, totalling, with VAT, £517.50[Tab 8, pages 167-168].

64. On 06/01/2009 Simpson Webb Grays Limited paid £220.65 into Mr Avery’s Barclays Bank account 30952538 [Tab 8, page 169]. The following day, 07/01/2009, Simpson Webb Grays Limited paid Emma Colegate a ‘kickback’ of £136.82 [Tab 8, pages 170-171].

65. On 14/01/2009 Simpson Webb Grays Limited paid Mr Avery £220.65 [Tab 8, page 172].

66. On the 21/01/2009 Beau Trading LLP paid Emma Colegate £237.27 [Tab 8, pages 173-174].

67. On 09/03/2009 Simpson Webb Grays ‘phoenixing’ as Beau Trading LLP invoiced the Greater London Authority for Mr Avery at £517.50 [Tab 8, pages 175-177]. On 12/03/2009 Beau Trading LLP paid Mr Avery £220.65 [Tab 8, page 178]. On12/03/2009 Beau Trading LLP paid Emma Colegate ‘commission’ of £237.27 [Tab 8, pages 179-180].


68. The ‘Phoenix’ fraud is absolutely proved by the invoices purchased by the First Claimant. For example the Claimants, who allegedly check and ‘Disapprove’ suspect invoices, purchased on the same day, 06/04/2009, invoice 823 in which Beau Trading LLP ‘phoenixing’ as Simpson Webb Grays Limited invoiced the GLA [Tab 8, pages 211-212] and also invoice 823 in which Beau Trading LLP ‘phoenixing’ as Simpson Webb Associates Limited, which the First Claimant knew, as the only creditor who got paid, had been wound up 24/06/2008, invoiced Forum Contracts Limited [Tab 8, pages 213-216]. All of this must be of some concern to the head of the GLA, the London Mayor, Boris Johnson [Tab 8, 163B].