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Camden New Journal - by PAUL KEILTHY and DAN CARRIER
Published: 6 September 2007

SO WHAT DID HAPPEN TO DOT'S ANTIQUES?

Probe into clearance scandal branded a ‘whitewash’...

AN investigation into the disappearance of contents from the flats of elderly tenants has been called a whitewash by friends of a 92-year-old widow whose home was cleared by council workers.
Results of a nine month internal inquiry involving the police will be presented to councillors at the Housing and Adult Social Care scrutiny committee on Tuesday – but friends of Dorothy Robinson, 92, Gospel Oak pensioner whose home was cleared as she lay dying in a Cricklewood nursing home in January, say they have no confidence in the thoroughness of the report’s findings.
While neighbours protested that her home had been cleared of antiques and rare books, the council claimed that her possessions ‘had no value’ and had been put in a skip.
But when the New Journal asked to see an inventory of her possessions, the Town Hall admitted that it did not exist – and two weeks later, a Victorian commode last seen in Mrs Robinson’s Lissenden Gardens flat was found in a furniture shop in York Way.
Two members of staff from the housing department have been accused of serious misconduct and have been suspended.
The report recommends an overhaul of the way in which the council deals with the property of vulnerable tenants after the New Journal unearthed allegations that the belongings of the dead, dying or incapacitated were sold via e-Bay or in antique shops.
But Ian Marshall-Fisher, who had known Mrs Robinson all his life, said the report was a whitewash and called for an independent investigation to be held.
He said: “As far as I know they have not spoken to any of Dorothy’s friends or neighbours to ascertain what was in the home and its value. If they were really doing this properly they would have spoken to people. No one has been asked about her belongings. This is the council investigating themselves. I want an outside body to take this on because these findings are not comprehending the extent of the problem.
“People went in to her home, removed her personal property, kept no record of it and then it was for sale weeks later. This is extremely serious and this report does not seem to grasp that.”
He also is calling on every ‘void’ house clearance to be investigated.
He said: “This needs to go further. An independent investigation, over seen by central government or the police, must look at each house clearance done by this department.
“Mrs Robinson’s home may not be the only incident. We cannot allow this to happen to future Dorothy Robinsons.”
The report specifies that the police did not find evidence to support criminal charges.
Labour councillor Theo Blackwell said: “The council cannot do something as weak as simply review the procedures.”
Committee chair Cllr Chris Philp demanded the report after reading the New Journal’s coverage. He said: “Scrutiny will want to see that the internal investigation has done everything it can to ensure this never happens again.”
Following the New Journal’s investigations, the Town Hall admitted that though staff had no record of any cash, jewellery or valuables being found from the 1,200 council properties which become ‘void’ each year.
The report lists 22 changes to procedures in HASC’s treatment of the rights and property of the vulnerable. Among them are:
– New policy guidance for staff and a directive that property cannot be sold for personal gain
– Spot checks on clearance teams to reduce the risk of fraud
– A new specialist ‘voids team’ with strict criteria for clearance
– The proposed use of charity Morph to recycle any furniture legitimately coming into council possession through clearances.

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