Wragge Report: The explosive Sandwell Council land sales saga

The Wragge report, commissioned by the authority's late leader Darren Cooper following allegations that plots of council owned land were sold at below market value, was finally published yesterday afternoon.

It followed 48 hours of High Court drama that saw efforts to block its publication thrown out by a top judge.

Last night Labour's deputy leader and MP for West Bromwich East Tom Watson said he was 'deeply shocked' at the report's findings, which reveal a shocking series of code of conduct breaches by the council's former deputy leader Mahboob Hussain.

He told the Express & Star: "The contents of the Wragge report will clearly require a referral to the standards committee of Sandwell Council.

"I am also deeply concerned about the attempts to suppress this report by people who claim to represent the Labour Party.

"I want to reassure the residents of Sandwell that I will not tolerate any councillor that falls below the standards expected of them. I will not let their conduct tarnish the reputations of the vast majority of Labour councillors who work hard for local people.

"It is vital that all officers and elected representatives take any action necessary to prevent any sorry saga like this from ever happening again."

The fallout from the report could also see disciplinary action taken against council employees, while the council has vowed to 'tighten up' procedures on land sales.

A top lawyer asked to review the report into the land deal allegations recommended that Mahboob Hussain be brought before a standards committee to explain his conduct, it has emerged.

James Goudie QC was commissioned by the authority to review the finished version of the Wragge report in order to determine what action the council should take regarding its findings.

It looked into the allegations concerning more than a dozen issues and focused on the role of the council's former deputy leader, Oldbury councillor Mr Hussain. Former economy boss Councillor Ian Jones was also investigated as part of the report in relation to his involvement in the sale of three public toilets.

In his report, the QC suggested Mr Hussain committed a number of breaches of the council's code of conduct.

These included the sale of three former council-owned public toilets for £35,000 to a friend of Mr Hussain, two days after a district valuer said they were worth £130,000.

Mr Hussain and Mr Jones both 'agreed to ignore' the valuation, said the QC, adding that 'the sale should not have gone ahead' due to the big discrepancy in price.

However he added that there was no evidence Mr Hussain 'obtained any advantage' and that Mr Jones had been 'reckless' but was a 'passive bystander'.

The QC said it was 'likely' that confidential information was shared by Mr Hussain with his son Azeem Hafeez – then a council employee – before Mr Hafeez submitted a bid for the former coroner's office in Crocketts Lane.

Mr Hafeez 'appeared to have done nothing' to declare his interest as an employee or Mr Hussain's son, which allegedly breached Section 117 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the council's Officer Code of Conduct and meant 'disciplinary action' was required. Mr Hussain is also said to have 'persuaded' the council to seek to a buy a strip of land on Clifford Road, which he knew was owned by his son.

The QC also commented on legal challenges to the publication of the report, after both Mr Hussain and Mr Jones questioned the validity of some of the report's findings.

In conclusion Mr Goudie said he agreed with the Wragge report that Councillor Hussain should be asked to appear before the council's standards committee to explain his conduct.

Three council officers, Adrian Scarrott, Pardip Sharma and Neeraj Sharma were also criticised in the report for failing in various aspects of their duties.

But the QC's report into Wragge's findings said the authority's focus should be on improvements to processes rather than any criticisms of senior officers.

The probe spans the period from 2011-13 and is centred on the council's former deputy leader Mr Hussain's involvement in the sales of a number of sites formerly owned by the council. He chaired the council committee in charge of selling off land deemed surplus to requirements.

Oldbury councillor Mr Hussain has continually denied any wrongdoing since the investigation was launched, but the Wragge report details a litany of members' breaches.

It comes after a bid to prevent its publication through a High Court injunction was thrown out by Mr Justice Ross Cranston yesterday morning.

The report says Mr Hussain ignored an official valuation of a set of council owned toilet blocks, signing off on their sale for £95,000 less to one of his friends. This was among seven land deals examined in the report.

It also says he 'bullied and coerced' the council's then head of property services David Willetts, failed to declare interests and quashed parking fines for family members.

The man at the centre of the controversy addressed in the Wragge report, Mahboob Hussain, has been a senior figure in the Labour Party in Sandwell for more than 15 years.

According to his council profile he was first elected in 2004. He represents the Oldbury ward and has held top cabinet positions at Sandwell Council including acting as its housing chief, chairing the controversial asset management and land disposal cabinet committee and deputy leader to the late Darren Cooper.

But his tenure has not been without controversy. In 2013 he was at the centre of a conflict of interests row which saw a lucrative contract handed to a taxi firm he part-owned.

Mr Hussain stated he worked for Dudley-based Five Star Taxis and Minibuses, but not that he or his wife had shares in the firm.

In 2014 he apologised, saying it had been an oversight when filling in his declaration forms as a councillor. At the time council chief executive Jan Britton said he was satisfied with the explanation.

The company was one of 47 awarded a contract to provide passenger transport by Sandwell Council worth a combined £3.5 million a year until February 2017.

"I'm very sorry," said Mr Hussain at the time. "I have declared an interest for many years and a lot of people know I have a link to the taxi trade in Dudley." Mr Britton said: "On the basis of my own investigations I can say he was not in a position to influence the outcome of the contract nor did he seek to."

A register of Mr Hussain's personal interests at the time the contract was awarded, answered 'none' to the question of whether he or his partner had any beneficial interest in contracts with the authority. An amended personal register of interests stating Mr Hussain was a shareholder was later published on the council's website.

He was suspended from the Labour party in February last year and declared himself an 'independent Labour' councillor. His suspension was lifted for just eight days between May 10 and May 17 this year.

Around the time of his suspension concerns were first raised about further potential conflict of interests regarding the sales of council land and property.

West Midlands Police investigated the council over the sales and Mr Hussain and council economy boss councillor Ian Jones resigned their cabinet positions. Both denied any wrongdoing. After 16 months investigating, West Midlands Police said no further action would be taken against the council.

One line of the investigation looked at Mr Hussain's involvement in the sale of three old public toilets to a friend – whose name is redacted in the report – of Central Property Line on May 25, 2012.

The friend is described in the report as 'an occasional visitor to Mr Hussain's home', with close family connections through marriage.

The sites – at Albert Street, Oldbury; Jervoise Lane, West Bromwich; and the Shambles, Wednesbury – were sold to him for £35,000.

Two days before the sales were agreed John Page of the District Valuer Services (DVS) was called in by the council and valued all three plots at a combined £130,000.

"It was decided nonetheless to proceed at £35,000," the report says.

It concluded: "Mr Hussain's degree of interference in the sale and level of control over David Willetts regarding the details of the sale amounted to an overstepping of his roles."

According to Land Registry documents Mr Quyam later sold the Shambles site alone for £40,000. Tipton Green Councillor Ian Jones, the authority's former economy boss, was also investigated in relation to the sale of the public toilets. He was said to have been 'a passive bystander' and 'reckless', but not guilty of misconduct. Mr Hussain gave evidence in the report saying he did not know who was buying the toilet blocks.

But the report describes Mr Hussain as 'the driving force' behind property services at the council. It says that although Mr Jones had not breached the member code, he 'should not have allowed Mr Hussain to dominate the property services function to the extent that he did'.

The probe also looked at the sale of the Crocketts Lane Coroner's Office, Smethwick, which was sold to Mr Hussain's eldest son, Azeem Hafeez for £80,000 in May 2013. Mr Hafeez, a council employee at the time, put in a bid for the site the day before it was advertised for sale. The report says the sales were 'likely to be the result' of confidential information being shared between Mr Hussain and his son.

That December part of the site was marketed with a guide price of £120,000, and although it was withdrawn from the market, it was later put up for sale by Bairstow Eves for £200,000.

In April 2015 Mr Hafeez was arrested in suspicion of fraud in connection with the deal, although no charges were brought against him. Mr Hussain's role in the sale of the plot of land at Lodge Street and Stone Street, Oldbury also came under the spotlight, but the report found no evidence of his involvement.

October 2014: Former council leader, the late Darren Cooper, commissions Wragge's solicitors to investigate allegations of malpractice by council members that were made on social media and to the police over the sale of council land.

October 2014: Mahboob Hussain apologises after failing to declare that he had a stake in taxi company Five Star Taxis and Minibuses, which went on to win a contract with the authority.

October 2014: Mahboob Hussain steps down from his role on the council overseeing the sell-off of council-owned land amid allegations of 'inappropriate behaviour'. He remains as deputy leader of the council.

October 2014: Police announce they are investigating allegations of 'inappropriate activity' by Mahboob Hussain. Detective Inspector Chris Berrow, from the Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: "As specialists in this field we are investigating an allegation of irregularities in the sale of former council properties."

October 2014: Sandwell Council announces the investigation into alleged 'inappropriate action' by deputy leader Mahboob Hussain will be 'independent'.

February 2015: Mahboob Hussain and cabinet member for jobs and economy Ian Jones steps down from their posts after fresh allegations over the sale of old public toilets. They voluntarily take 'administrative suspension', but both deny any wrongdoing.

February 2015: Mahboob Hussain is suspended from the Labour Party while allegations into land deals involving council-owned properties were investigated by police.

March 2015: Mahboob Hussain's decision to resign over allegations relating to the sale of council property is right, according to the Local Government chief Eric Pickles. Mr Pickles also said that due to the serious nature of the allegations, stepping down was the sensible thing for Councillor Hussain to do

April 2015: The Wragge report, a confidential investigation into the land sales at Sandwell Council, is commissioned.

April 2015: Mahboob Hussain's son Azeem Hafeez is arrested as part of the police investigation into the sale of former council properties.

November 2015: Police say they will take no further action against Mahboob Hussain's son Azeem Hafeez. Mr Hafeez, who was living in Oldbury, welcomes the decision.

March 2016: Sandwell Council cleared of any wrongdoing following a 16-month police investigation into land sales. Following an inquiry West Midlands Police say that no further action will be taken against Sandwell Council after 'insufficient evidence' was found to bring charges.

Mahboob Hussain said: "I am pleased the police inquiry into Sandwell Council land sales has now been completed.

" I have no further comment at this stage."

May 2016: Mahboob Hussain is reinstated to the Labour Party after threatening legal action. Mr Hussain said he received a letter from Labour confirming his suspension had been lifted. He had previously threatened the Labour Party with legal action.

May 2016: Details of the confidential investigation into land deals at Sandwell Council are leaked to the E&S.

The investigation centred on the role of the council's asset land and disposal committee (ALDC) that was responsible for signing off on the sale of land deemed surplus to requirements. At the time the committee was chaired by the council's ex-deputy leader Mahboob Hussain.

May 13, 2016: Sandwell Council announces the Wragge report will be published the week commencing May 16. But a further statement from the council on the same day says publication has been delayed due to a High Court injunction.

May 17, 2016: Mahboob Hussain is suspended from the Labour Party – for the second time.

Mr Hussain's role in the allocation of council housing to family members was also investigated.

The report found no evidence of his involvement on this issue, although it said there was evidence to suggest that Mr Hussain 'crossed the line' between political oversight and the day-to-day management of housing allocations. Another section of the report said Mr Hussain breached the members' code by using his position to 'interfere' in parking tickets issued to members of his family.

Mr Hussain gave evidence in the report denying that he had sought favourable treatment. The Wragge report also found that Mr Hussain requested council officers to provide him with the detail of every proposed sale and prices charged.

Although the report says there was no evidence of Mr Hussain's influence being used for any 'improper purpose' in this instance, he had 'once again crossed the line'.

The Wragge report was compiled at the same time as an 18-month police investigation took place into council land deals.

See the full Sandwell Council Wragge Report here

In March West Midlands Police announced that no further action would be taken against the authority after 'insufficient evidence' was found to bring charges.

During the investigation Mr Hussain and Mr Jones stood down from their cabinet positions, although Mr Jones has since been readmitted to the Labour Party .

He contested the Tipton Green seat in the recent local council elections and was subsequently voted in as ward councillor.

Mr Hussain, who was suspended by the Labour Party during the police investigation, had his suspension lifted after he threatened to take out a High Court injunction. He has since been suspended again.

He unsuccessfully appealed the decision yesterday.

Mr Hussain insisted he has been the victim of a political witchhunt and would fight it to the end.