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‘Dole Farm’ travellers prepare to sue council

12:41pm Tuesday 7th August 2007

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MORE than 100 travellers are preparing to sue Basildon Council for releasing their personal details.

Travellers - from Dale Farm, Crays Hill and Hovefields, Wickford - have won the first round of what is expected to be an 18-month legal battle, which started when the council published information about their health complaints, benefits claims and children.

The information was presented in a January 2006 development control agenda, before committees voted on evictions for both sites.

The information meant the Echo was able to reveal most of the site occupants were on benefits in our "Dole Farm" exclusive.

The council has since removed the agenda from the website.

Council leader Malcolm Buckley said: "We will have to take legal advice on the latest findings and act appropriately.

"But we still maintain we acted appropriately because individual personal circumstances needed to be taken into account before the decision was made.

"We would seek to defend this stance were it to go before a court."

Campaigners claim the verdict could cost the council hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Government watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office, ruled the publication was "likely to be in breach of the first data protection principle".

It has sent the findings to the local government ombudsman, which will investigate further.

A Colchester-based national charity, the Children's Legal Centre, is preparing test cases for three families at Hovefields who had "significant amounts" of information about their children published.

Grattan Puxon, a campaigner for the travellers, said: "If these are successful, the legal centre intends pursuing up to 100 cases for families at Dale Farm.

"This is a great result for the travellers and I believe the claims could total several hundred thousand pounds."

A decision report by Pat Kennedy, Information Com-missioner casework officer, states: "It would seem little consideration was given to these individuals' rights to privacy or to the possible impact of public disclosure of such sensitive information.

"The fact this information was published on the council's website, and therefore potentially available to a worldwide audience, is an even greater cause for concern."

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Your Say YourBasildon Recorder

Bored, says...
2:15pm Tue 7 Aug 07

I suppose they will be getting legal aid?

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Peter, Southend-on-Sea says...
4:20pm Tue 7 Aug 07

Somebody correct me if i'm wrong, but if the so called travellers are claiming dole / income support, then arent the council within their rights to find them employment, and if they dont accept these jobs then they can retract any benefit being paid?
(It goes without saying that the travellers will not take the jobs due to already working, earning far more with their cash in hand tax free work)

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Lisa Jensen, says...
7:40pm Tue 7 Aug 07

Travellers or house dwellers, they still have the right to privacy.

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APR, Benfleet says...
8:12pm Tue 7 Aug 07

What rights have these people earned, and how ?

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Vernon, A state of dis belief says...
9:31pm Tue 7 Aug 07

Lisa Jensen wrote:
Travellers or house dwellers, they still have the right to privacy.
If laws are being broken, and it seems though they are, then the right to publish relevant information is important.Lisa I'm sure even you must admit that these people are pulling the wool over our eyes.I assume from older posts, that you work, and I assume therefore you pay income tax.I also assume you do not defraud the benefits agency.These people are unlike the majority of society, and defraud en masse.Yes I know it goes on in every part of society Lisa,but not to the same extent.This action is in retaliation to their Legal Aid being withdrawn because they refused to give relevant information! The sooner the Inland Revenue and the DSS grow some balls the better

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Mark, Southend says...
11:03pm Tue 7 Aug 07

Travellers - stealing land and now stealing money through the courts. What total mugs we all are. Just when will we get our once proud country back?

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Mags, Essex says...
8:01am Wed 8 Aug 07

Of course the travellers/residents of Dale Farm (surely that in itself is a contradiction?) have rights. But rights bring with them responsibilities - the responsibility to bring their children up in a decent manner, to ensure that they get a decent education - TO TAKE THEM TO SCHOOL- to ensure that they learn to be SELF-supporting wherever possible, to become decent, law-abiding citizens, living within the laws of the whichever country they choose live in.

When they are seen to take these responsibilities seriously then I shall start to respect them.

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walby, says...
8:56am Wed 8 Aug 07

so their rights have been inftinged..big deal.
what about the rights of the people of crays hill and the surrounding area , they have been infringing their rights for the last 6 or 7 years. if they dont want their rights infringed start telling the truth then people wont delve into their affairs to expose them as the liars and cheats what they are.
i think they know that the net is closing in on them regarding the deciet and lies to obtain retrospective planning at dale farm, as oak road has not been this quiet for some time.
two houses have been sold in oak road in the last month,the first time in a couple of years that houses have sold.
i think people realise that dale farm will implode under the lies and deciet and they will evicted in the not to distant future.
then the house prices will be back to the national average and not be blighted by dale farm squatters.

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Stu, Essex says...
11:25am Wed 8 Aug 07

I'd have some respect for these so called 'travellers'if they did indeed completly cut themselves off from normal society - keept their communities self-sufficient in money and amenities and live off a designated land - but they don't. They have chosen to be different, therfore they shouldn't be entitled to benefits as 'normal' contributing people. Crazy!

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ouzylover, sauffend says...
11:28am Wed 8 Aug 07

Travellers, dole bludgers, pikies what ever you choose to refer to this section of the community as, are still entitled to the basic rights provided under the data protection laws, end of!

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Peter, Southend-on-Sea says...
12:15pm Wed 8 Aug 07

99 percent of travellers give the others a bad name!

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Ken, Benfleet says...
1:23pm Wed 8 Aug 07

When Banks throw out customer data in their bins & the customers get nothing, not even an apology for it why should the Gypsies be treated any diffrent ?
This seems to be a fishing trip for money at the expense of the taxpayer

that,ll do nicely Sur

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Dave, Southend says...
2:22pm Wed 8 Aug 07

Surely the point is that if you want to be seen as being on the side of the law, you can't be seen to ignore it when it suits you.

If this ends up costing Basildon tax payers money, it will be down to the shear incompetence of Buckley's lot.

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Basildon Billy, says...
2:45pm Wed 8 Aug 07

Why are people trying to put logic behind their descision to sue?

they are money-hungry scroungers, and suing the council = ££££

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Peter, Billericay says...
8:38pm Wed 8 Aug 07

Can Mr Buckley come on line to explain why it has taken 6 years to remove this scum from our area!
I think we are due an explanation, after all we all pay our taxes an keep him in power............ Don"t we :-(

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Peter, Billericay says...
8:54pm Wed 8 Aug 07

Oh I remember some do not pay Tax etc, Perhaps I am being stupid but I do hope that back handers are not taking place!

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knobby, billericay says...
9:54pm Wed 8 Aug 07

Peter wrote:
Can Mr Buckley come on line to explain why it has taken 6 years to remove this scum from our area!
I think we are due an explanation, after all we all pay our taxes an keep him in power............ Don"t we :-(
In the case of Dale Farm, I don't think Mr Buckley is at fault. Unfortunately for Crays Hill, these Scroungers bought the land so are 'protected' by Planning Law. This means that legally they cannot be moved on without the appeal process taking place.
It's our civil laws that are at fault but the council has to abide by them.
And we know the only political party that has the 'cojones' to make the necessary changes will never be voted in. So we wait & wait & wait.

Report this post »

Peter, says...
8:45pm Thu 9 Aug 07

knobby wrote:
Peter wrote:
Can Mr Buckley come on line to explain why it has taken 6 years to remove this scum from our area!
I think we are due an explanation, after all we all pay our taxes an keep him in power............ Don\"t we :-(
In the case of Dale Farm, I don\'t think Mr Buckley is at fault. Unfortunately for Crays Hill, these Scroungers bought the land so are \'protected\' by Planning Law. This means that legally they cannot be moved on without the appeal process taking place.
It\'s our civil laws that are at fault but the council has to abide by them.
And we know the only political party that has the \'cojones\' to make the necessary changes will never be voted in. So we wait & wait & wait.
Posting in Billericay News today

Basildon Lib Dem leader Geoff Williams said: "With hindsight, I suggest the council should have taken an alternative route in 2005.

Buckley should answer for his actions other councils have evicted in far far less time !!!

Report this post »

Peter, Billericay says...
8:51pm Thu 9 Aug 07

Peter wrote:
knobby wrote:
Peter wrote:
Can Mr Buckley come on line to explain why it has taken 6 years to remove this scum from our area!
I think we are due an explanation, after all we all pay our taxes an keep him in power............ Don\"t we :-(
In the case of Dale Farm, I don\'t think Mr Buckley is at fault. Unfortunately for Crays Hill, these Scroungers bought the land so are \'protected\' by Planning Law. This means that legally they cannot be moved on without the appeal process taking place.
It\'s our civil laws that are at fault but the council has to abide by them.
And we know the only political party that has the \'cojones\' to make the necessary changes will never be voted in. So we wait & wait & wait.
Posting in Billericay News today

Basildon Lib Dem leader Geoff Williams said: "With hindsight, I suggest the council should have taken an alternative route in 2005.

Buckley should answer for his actions other councils have evicted in far far less time !!!
Please read

http://www.billerica
yweeklynews.co.uk/di
splay.var.1604282.0.
revealed_councils_da
le_farm_dilemma.php


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