Watchdog Second Edition by Nick Williams

In This Edition Of

Welcome to Watchdog Magazine, a publication dedicated to spreading awareness about scams being perpetrated across the UK. Watchdog Magazine is here to combat fraud by exposing the tricks used by fraudsters and con-artists to dupe their victims. We report on any and all types of fraud so that our readership has every bit of knowledge necessary to avoid being scammed by the unscrupulous thieves that are out there. Armed with a little information, you can spot a fraud a mile off and not only save yourself, but those around you by reporting the fraud to the relevant authorities and stopping the people you know from throwing away their hard earned cash.

twitter.com/WatchdogMag facebook.com/watchdogmagazinecouk

Avoid Being Ripped Off

Mortgage Fraud. Well, there’s mortgage fraud and then there’s mortgage fraud. On the lower and less criminal end of the scale individuals can deliberately misinform a broker, and thereby a lender, to obtain a mortgage. Some people may find this excusable, especially in light if the stringent application processes one has to go through in order to buy your first home.

Sole traders without their first years accounts in order have been known to purchase fake payslips online to hand over to a mortgage broker as evidence of income just to ensure that their application goes through. Alternately, they may have a letter drafted by their accountant to ‘confirm’ an unrealistic and fictional yearly income because, here in the UK, the focus and drive behind the hugely fashionable desire to get on the property ladder is, for

What is the How much What about best type of can I afford the small mortgage to borrow? print? for me? 2

many, all consuming and a status symbol they cannot afford to lose. Mortgage lending banks and institutions will lose out in many cases, every year, having to repossess and sell on a property from a defaulter who cannot keep up their monthly instalments. Often, the property will be sold at a vastly reduced cost in order to expedite the sale after a repossession which can result in the sum funds being recouped, including any payments received from the mortgagee, totalling less than the money lent out in the first place. These losses will, regrettably , contribute to increases in interest rates and mortgage fees for future lenders. Hopefully they will also make for an increase in ‘due diligence’ when vetting a potential mortgagee. Where this type of fraud becomes more criminal and extremely damaging is when brokers, solicitors and valuation agents come together to purposefully dupe a mortgage lending bank into paying out vast amounts of money for properties which are worth a fraction of their supposed’valuation’. This type of scheme has proven vastly profitable and has oftentimes been used by criminal syndicates or gangs to continually defraud bank after bank out of a staggering volume of cash. A criminal, in this instance could, for example, start a mortgage fraud by purchasing a property, usually in a large estate, at a purposely inflated cost. This price hike would automatically appear on the Land Registry and could subsequently be used as the foundation of an unrealistic valuation of another property in the same area, with the end result

MORTGAGE TYPES Repayment mortgages Each monthly payment pays off a little of the underlying debt, as well as interest on the loan. At the end of the term the mortgage is cleared. This is widely considered to be the most easy to understand and least risky mortgage type. But remember if you do not keep up with repayments the lender can repossess the property.

Interest only mortgages

With this type of mortgage, you pay-off the interest on the loan but not the capital. At the end of the mortgage term you are expected to repay the capital, how you fund this is your business. Interest only mortgages have grown in popularity in recent years amongst buy-to-let investors and first-time buyers in particular because, put simply, they are cheaper than a repayment mortgage.

Endowment Mortgages

You use an endowment policy to provide life insurance and save funds to repay the loan at the end of the term (usually 20-25 years). If the investment performs badly, you could face a shortfall on your loan at the end of the repayment period.

of having a mortgage lender pay over the odds for a fraudulently valued house.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukwales-22819018 As an independent mortgage broker with over 11years experience I have seen many changes within the mortgage industry, especially since 2007/2008, and mostly for the better. Whilst it is fair to say that the mortgage lenders lending criteria has tightened, this was something that was long overdue if we were not to repeat the mistakes made before the recent financial meltdown.

With the aid of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; solicitors and valuation agents, criminal gangs have been known to obtain funds from the sale of property at vastly inflated prices and then syphon their funds offshore or put them in to other deposits. This particular brand of deception was at its peak during the property boom in the UK between 1998 and 2007,mainly because the drastic increase in the cost of your average home served to hide the exaggerated As mortgage brokers we have valuations. never been so heavily regulated by the Financial Services An example showing the huge Authority (FSA), soon to be the amount of money has recently Financial Conduct Authority been brought to trial: (FCA), but the general public

always need to be on their guard against mortgage fraud. Whilst mortgage brokers must always be aware of mortgage fraud committed against them, so the public need to be vigilant that a broker is who he says he is and is operating within the organisation he details to them. If you do use an independent broker to help you utilise the mortgage market you can always check that they are fully compliant and registered with the FSA by checking their website, www.fsa.gov.uk. Every broker should have a 6 digit FSA registration number that

you can check is still active on the website and which will also detail their current status. All mortgage brokers compliance information should be contained within their business card and a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Key Factsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; document, which you should receive a copy of at any initial meeting, which details the individual brokers registration status and details the clients rights under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

see the applicantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original documents but we then need to send certified copies of these documents to the mortgage lenders. You should always be suspicious of any broker who wants to take away your original documents, especially your passport in this situation. If you are charged a broker fee you should always have to sign a fee agreement which you should get a copy of as your receipt for this transaction.

If you do have any suspicions of Always remember that as mortgage fraud you can always mortgage brokers we need to contact the FSA direct, if the

broker is directly authorised by them, or if they are an appointed representative the company they are linked to. All this information should be detailed on their business card and given to you at any initial meeting when a mortgage broker will introduce himself and explain his current status and circumstances. By Stewart Beards Director SD Beards Ltd Independent Mortgage & Insurance Brokers

Parliament Watchdog to Probe Remploy Closure After Secret Deal Revealed

Following redundancies, more than 1700 disabled workers across the UK lost their jobs. The National Audit Office have promised Labour MP Willie Bain to review ‘the whole disposal process’. Willie Bain has said that “ it highlights serious questions the Department for Work and Pensions have to answer about the whole process.” The controversial scrapping of Remploy has seen over 35 factories closed down placing many disabled people in a jobless situation and leaving them to deal with the consequences of the Welfare Reform Act that came in to force in April this year. The Springburn factory closure in Scotland, which saw the loss of 50 staff at Remploy, was subject to a secret deal with R Healthcare in July; meaning they

could cash-in in a take over of the “front end” of the business. An investigation* by the Scottish newspaper Daily Record revealed that the deal had taken place in July 2011.

Middlesbrough businessman Colin Scarsi intended to take over the firm and to save the jobs but was blocked after raising concerns. Factory staff are angry over the “unfair advantage” handed to R Healthcare and Factory workers at the site feel believe jobs could have been that the deal sealed their fate protected had other firms been and laid the groundwork for the given the opportunity to save privatisation and closure of the jobs. factory operation. The contract had been kept secret under “The signing of that agreement commercial confidentiality laws was the moment we were sold until recently. down the river,” GMB union factory shop steward Phil Remploy have now admitted Brannan told the paper. “It that the deal involved the sales, was that deal which laid the marketing and distribution of groundwork for the privatisation Remploy’s healthcare products. of Remploy. Business sources to the Daily Record have said that the terms “The terms were such that it was made it virtually impossible a deal-breaker for anyone else for any other firm to take over who was looking at buying the Springburn once the DWP firm. decided to pull out.

Remploy Norwich Workers Picketing the Factory that they were ‘satisfied’ that the process was robust and transparent and that they welcome the involvement of the NAO: “Our priority throughout Following pressure from unions the Remploy commercial process and MP’s, the NAO (National has been to safeguard as many Audit Office) have now agreed to jobs for disabled employees as audit the process and report to possible. We welcome the NAO’s decision to review whether the parliament. process also provided value for R Healthcare have chosen Haven money to the taxpayer.” as their ‘European distribution partner’ and state the move will The NAO is an independent organisation that scrutinises create 9 jobs. spending on behalf of Parliament. Meanwhile, the DWP said The Auditor General, Amyas “The process has been corrupt and a betrayal of the disabled workers who made this factory what it is.”

Morse is an Officer of the House of Commons. He and his 860 staff are totally independent of government and do not report to any minister and are not civil servants. NAO may also bring about more pressure to the DWP later this summer when they finish their report** on Universal Credit; a reform that is now expected to cost £12.8bn rather than the £2.2bn that has previously been claimed.

Image (creative commons): http://www.flickr.com/photos/ rogerblackwell/7602409056/ * http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ news/politics/revealed-fate-ofaxed-remploy-staff-1460815 ** http://www.nao.org.uk/ press-releases/universal-credit/

Forty Percent of Dating Site Users Experience Scam Profiles

The search for love is an exciting adventure when it begins to happen for you. Promisingly, the top reason for people leaving dating sites is that they have found a partner. However, those heart strings of yours are a potential gold mine in the minds of those who want you for other reasons and you should not let love blind you in to being scammed. A recent survey* by the popular consumer magazine Which?, found that 2 in 5 people they surveyed had encountered a fake profile when looking for online love with 1 in 5 being asked for money.

Many people from the region looking to get money from you will be looking to move fast making them easier to spot. They may be telling you that they love you very early on in the contact and will be telling you about how they need money for a wide variety of reasons (see common narratives below). Whilst the threat of hunger may or may not be real to them, their ‘undying love’ is not. Others may play the long game and then ask for funds for plane tickets and visas. This is a much bigger financial reward for their efforts and if you are taken away with it all, a lot less easy to detect and much more devastating to the victim. Fake Images

Firstly, invite them for a webcam chat so you two can meet digitally before you meet in real life. Try to encourage an audio to audio discussion as it’s possible to play a video of someone text chatting online down the video feed. If they only want to use the text box you, may say something like “give us a smile” to try and determine whether or not you are looking at a genuine live video feed. If you are talking to a ‘hotty’, then well done but they maybe looking to scam you still so don’t go feeling like you’ve hit the jackpot just yet.

Unfortunately for some of the fraudsters, they may not be the right gender or be as sexy as they need to be to groom a potential victim. Images are either stolen from corporate websites using models or they may have stolen the image from such places as Facebook. Your suspicion should always be heightened if

Secondly, Google Images has a feature that lets you search by image. This is a bit difficult to do via a mobile, especially if you are using a mobile application provided by the site, but easy in Windows. Searching for copies of the same images may lead you to the real owner of the profile image or it may become apparent

International Scammers There is a growing problem coming from abroad; especially from Asia. As financial hardship becomes a daily struggle for the poorer countries, some people look to gain money via affection from wealthier countries such as the UK. Some online daters from the region will be genuine of course and there are things to look out for to help you decide.

the picture depicts a stunning 20 year old hotty or has a professional look to it. There are a number of ways to work out what is going on.

it’s a modelling shot.

husband/wife, or because they are just tired of living in their Here’s how to do it: country and somehow never comes, or says that they are Firstly, you need either the being held against their will by image or the image URL (it’s web immigration authorities, who address). To get the URL in most demand bribes. browsers, you can right click and select the option that says The scammer says they are being something along the lines of ‘copy held against their will for failure image URL’ or ‘copy address’. In to pay a bill or requires money for Microsoft’s Internet Explorer it’s hospital bills. slightly more awkward and you may want to just download the The scammer says they need image instead. the money to pay for the phone bills in order to continue To find the URL in Explorer, you communicating with the victim. right click and select ‘Properties’. The scammer says they need the Otherwise select ‘Save Picture money for their or their parents’ As …’ to download it to somewhere urgent medical treatment. you can find it again. You then, in Google images (http://images. The scammer says they need the google.co.uk), click the small money to successfully graduate camera icon (search by image) before they can visit the victim. and then either paste in the URL The scammer offers a job, often or upload the image and run a to people in a poor country, on search. Good luck! payment of a registration fee. These are particularly common Common Narratives at African dating sites. Narratives used to extract money from the victims of romantic scams include the following: 1 The scammer says their boss paid them in postal money orders. The scammer wants the mark to cash the money orders, and then wire money to the scammer. The forged money orders leave the banks to incur debts against the victims.

A new variation is where the scammer contacts the victim claiming to be a model working in the victim’s city for only a couple of weeks and found the victim on the “yahoo directory”. The scammer will invite the victim into a chat session, where a rapport is built, and pictures are given - usually of a pornographic nature. The scammer will then ask if the victim wants to meet, The scammer says they need the and when the victim says yes, he mark to send money to pay for a is told that he will need to obtain passport. a “security ID pass”, or in at least one specific case, an “EMP”, The scammer says they require or “Exclusive Model Pass”. This money for flights to the victim’s involves logging onto a number country because of being left of webcam sites, all of which there by a step-parent, or require credit card information.

The ID code is not sent, and the victim is then told he can get one by sending money ($200 - $500) to the models’ “manager” in the Philippines. When the victim questions this, the scammer will try to guilt the victim, saying “I guess you don’t really want to meet”, “I’m sorry you don’t trust me”, and many other things to keep the victim on the hook. The scammer actually is employed directly or indirectly by a website, with a share of the victim’s member or usage fees passed on to the scammer. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Romance_scam All in all you should remember not to ignore your instincts. If you have common interests and you both really enjoy talking to each other then the chances are you are on to a winner. Spending a little bit of time getting to know a person and not just rushing in to something because of loneliness will always be the best option. OkCupid found in 2010** that most people lie about pretty much anything from height to income. Treat these profiles as a date CV and keep in mind they may be doing their best to impress. But once you love someone for their faults as well as their attributes, what their original profile suggested may not matter to you by then anyway. * Which? Survey: http:// c o nve r s at i o n .w h i c h . c o . u k / c o n s u m e r - r i g h t s / i n te r n e t dating-website-scams-fakeprofiles-fraud/ ** OkCupid: http://blog.okcupid. com/index.php/the-biggestlies-in-online-dating/

UK banks Give Cybercrooks Impunity by Failing to Report Fraud The Home Affairs Committee has warned that Britain is losing the war against online fraud and calls on government, citizens and industry to do more to tackle it. MPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s have also expressed their concern over a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;black holeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of impunity created by UK banks who fail to report incidents and simply reimburse their clients. MPs have concluded in the report that banks must now be required to report all e-crime fraud to law enforcement agencies and create a log of each incident. The report called for a dedicated cyber-esponionage team to respond to attacks that some believe are backed by foreign governments. Western media companies have also experienced

attacks from countries such as China and Syria. However, budget cuts could make the effectiveness of the UK to tackle such problems worse; evidence given by Adrian Leppard, deputy assistant commissioner at the City Of London Police told of how 800 specialist internet crime officers could be lost due to budget cuts. Keith Vaz, committee chair, says: “You can steal more on the Internet than you can by robbing a bank and online criminals in 25 countries have chosen the UK as their number one target. Astonishingly, some are operating from EU countries. If we don’t have a 21st century response to this 21st century crime, we will be letting those involved in these gangs off the hook.” As well as the role of banks and the current infrastructure of the UK, concerns over the Government’s accepted measure on the cost of e-crime to the UK economy were expressed. The figure of £27bn was produced by the cabinet in conjunction with Detica was heavily criticised. The 2011 report, The Cost of Cyber Crime, was criticised for not listing the assumptions or definitions used in the modelling – giving the figures the appearance of being ‘anomalous’ or even being plucked from thin air. The report also omitted

malware and child pornography from its estimate but did include industrial espionage which is not a crime in the UK. Some witnesses believe shows ‘poor understanding’ of the scale of e-crime and see the policy being driven by GHCQ and major security firms to ‘increase spend in this area.’ The report says: “We understand that any measure of crime will always be subject to challenge and e-crime even more so. However we are puzzled that the Government continues to use highly controversial figures, in which independent experts or indeed other government departments such as the Ministry of Defence

have little confidence, as its figures which show the incidence basis for policy-making. of e-crime and any observable trends. This group should Improving the way in which include representatives from e-crime is reported and recorded the cyber security industry and is key to improving Parliament’s independent experts to ensure and the public’s understanding the figures are robust.” of it. It is important that policy makers have an up to date and Prof. Ross Anderson told the accurate estimate of the threats from e-crime. We therefore recommend that the Government publicly distances itself from the £27bn estimate of the annual cost of e-crime to the UK economy.

committee that whilst the recent increase of £640 million in spending on the NCSP (National Cyber Security Programme) was ‘very welcome’, it would be better served in law enforcement as 59% of the funds went to GCHQ whilst only a few million went to the police.

We recommend that the Government commission a working group of experts, drawing on existing good practice already developed by academia and industry, to produce annual

Jackie Chan is Not Dead Messages circulating Facebook since June have been claiming that the Hollywood star Jackie Chan has died during filming. However, this is not the case and is another grim dead celebrity Facebook scam. Facebook is now a main source of news stories for people when shared by their friends. This new situation in our media lives is why this hoax is so effective.

me to see if I was alive. “If I died, I would probably tell the world! I took a photo with today’s date, just in case you don’t believe me! However, thank you all for your concern. Kiss kiss and love you all! “

The Austrian cliff version originates from a prank site that allows you to ‘fool your friends’ by picking news templates The original version of the hoax and news stories about the claimed the actor fell off a cliff. celebrities supposed death: This linked to a Facebook page that has now been removed from “Jackie Chan died while filming a the network. But new versions movie in Kitzbühel, Austria early have appeared claiming he has this morning - June 20, 2013. plunged to his demise off a 12 Preliminary reports from the storey building. Jackie denied Austrian Police officials shows his own death saying on his that the actor fell more than 50 Facebook page: feet to his death in a remote area of the Hahnenkamm mountains “Hi everybody! Yesterday, I got on while on-set during the filming a 3am flight from India to Beijing. of a movie. Specific details are I didn’t get a chance to sleep and not yet available. The accident even had to clean my house when occurred at approximately 4:30 I got home. Today, everybody a.m. (UTC/GMT +12)” called to congratulate me on my rumored [sic] engagement. This new recent version is a Afterward [sic], everybody called link that promises a video of

the incident. The video doesn’t exist, you instead get sent through a paid survey Facebook application. The application claims that the survey is a means of age verification. Whilst they get money for the survey, you get nothing but a waste of time. These kind of hype scams on Facebook are becoming increasingly popular. Recently, a link with the title “Drunk 14 year old girl does this on camera” links to a page that launches malware that takes over your Facebook profile and reposts the same thing on your wall. Safe ways to manage links on Facebook: It’s very difficult to get round this problem at times, especially if the link appears to have been shared by your friend. Sometimes the comment with the link is a give away as the language used in the post isn’t the same language that your friend would use. An example might be “Amazing new products now with 20% off your first order. I love it!” If it sounds a bit like a sales pitch then it may be a scam and you are best to search on Google about it. News stories are a bit more difficult. If there is a celebrity death then normally people will be talking about it already and you can see this in your news feed. Most reputable news agencies will already be on to the story and have it featured on their websites. If you ‘like’ your favourite news agency’s page, then you can be sure that posts from that page are real news stories.

inboxes. Hovering over the link and looking in the bottom left hand corner of your browser to see where the link goes may also provide you with a clue as to whether it is genuine or not. Once you come across a few of these scams, you do generally get a 6th sense for them. Trust Facebook link scams have also that instinct, it is the best been known to occur in Facebook defence you have.

Why do I Need a Will?

The vast majority of people put off making a Will for a variety of reasons, either believing that the people they would wish to inherit will automatically do so, or because they don’t think it is relevant to them at this particular time. The reality is that putting off making a Will until it is too late can pose all sorts of problems for the people left behind and could mean that some or all of your inheritance either goes to the wrong person or to the State. Affording you Peace of Mind Firstly and most importantly is the peace of mind making a Will provides. Making a Will enables you to plan exactly what will happen to your property (estate) following your demise. This ensures that those you would like to benefit

actually do so, in accordance you do not simply make a Will. with your wishes and at the same time avoiding any possible So what happens if I don’t make disputes between relatives. a Will? Who needs to make a Will?

This is called having died “Intestate”. There are specific rules of intestacy which set out who will inherit and by how much. If you do not leave a valid will, this may not be what you would have wished and in the worst case scenarios where relatives cannot be traced, your assets will be taken by the Crown.

The answer is everyone. In particular, anyone with dependent relatives, (children under the age of 18, elderly relatives or relatives with a disability who have special needs), anyone who owns property or has any type of asset which they would wish relatives, friends or charities to benefit from. How Can I Protect My Children’s Inheritance? But won’t everything go to my husband / wife/civil partner / This is commonly known as parents / children automatically? “Bloodline Planning”. Effective Bloodline Planning ensures that This is a common misconception your assets reach your children, and dependent on the size of your grandchildren and other estate, there are set rules which relatives, rather than ending up will be applied to determine who in the wrong hands! inherits how much and when, if

When assets are distributed to beneficiaries “absolutely”, (ie. they receive cash, property or other assets as a direct lump sum payment) valid protections can be lost. These assets will be considered to be part of the beneficiary’s estate and would then be at risk of “attack” from any future settlements through separation, divorce, bankruptcy, Local Authority Care cost assessment and even taxation. With the strategic use of Trusts, you can ensure that your children and grandchildren are able to benefit completely from the inheritance you want them to receive and at the same time, you can protect the family home and other assets from being significantly effected by the potentially high costs of Long Term Care. Consideration should be given to a few key questions; issues that

effect families in the UK every chance, when with professional day: help you can plan to avoid all these problems. Using specialist - What might happen if you die qualified planners, your assets and your surviving spouse were can be fully protected from these to remarry? How would this outside attacks, whilst still being affect your own children if he / immediately available to your she later changed their will in loved ones after you are gone. favour of the new spouse and any subsequent children? Providing all is going to plan, it can be immensely satisfying - Where you have children from a building up assets and increasing previous marriage already, how your personal wealth but, as do you ensure that they would we all know, life can change get their fair share after you have in a heartbeat! Implementing passed away? a robust wealth protection strategy is as important as - What if your children are very wealth creation itself. young or have special needs? How can you ensure that they are How can you safeguard your fully provided for? familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future Do you really want to leave it all to

when looking to protect your family and your home. Without the right professional advice and careful financial planning, HM Revenue & Customs could become the single largest beneficiary of your estate, following your death. Preventing Payments

Unnecessary

Tax

The easiest way to prevent unnecessary tax payments such as Inheritance Tax (IHT) is take the correct advice on how to organise your affairs, including having a valid Will in place to ensure that your legacy does not involve leaving a large tax bill for your loved ones.

There are many things to consider Effective IHT planning

is taxed at 40 per cent on death. Implementing an effective IHT plan could save your beneficiaries thousands of pounds, maybe even hundreds of thousands, depending on the size of your estate. At its simplest, IHT is the tax payable on your estate when you die, if the value of your estate exceeds a certain amount. It is also sometimes payable on assets you may have given away during your lifetime, including property, money and investments. At present, the first £325,000 (2013/2014) of an individual’s estate is not liable to IHT. For married couples and registered civil partners this means there is a total allowance of £650,000. Anything in excess of this amount

any life assurance or pension death benefits are paid when Mitigating Inheritance Tax you pass away. These benefits often are the main reason an You can mitigate Inheritance Tax, estate exceeds the Inheritance legally and you should consider Tax thresholds. the following areas: NB: Thresholds, percentage rates • consider transferring assets and tax legislation may change through the use of lifetime gifts in subsequent Finance Acts. Levels and bases of, and reliefs • have your Will written and from, taxation are subject to constructed correctly by change and their value depends professionals who understand on the individual circumstances how to save the maximum of the investor. The value of your amount of tax investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less • consider creating Trusts to than you invested. enable the beneficiaries of your estate to receive your family The article above was kindly wealth. provided by Mike Douglas of the What Partnership • take advice on how and to whom

Top Lawyer suspended over ÂŁ500k fraud probe

Andrew Taylor’s certificate to practice law has been revoked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority with immediate effect. The suspension by the Authority will mean that he will be unable to act on behalf of clients. A spokesperson for the SRA told Manchester Evening News who originally broke the story of his arrest that the SRA had intervened as there are reasons to ‘suspect dishonesty on the part of Mr Taylor.’ Mr Taylor, 56, had been arrested over an alleged £500k fraud operation where it is claimed he transferred clients funds in to a personal account. His business partner, Doreen Lovett, is unaffected by the suspension. The “Andrew J Taylor Solicitors” practice on Wimslow road in Cheadle as well as his own home. The SRA accompanied the police on the raids and the watchdog has also launched their own investigation.

His practice specialises in commercial property, wills and probate and employment law. Other responsibilities includes chairman of Cheadle Civic Society, tresurer of Cheadle Cricket Club. He also sits on the committees of the town’s village hall and traders’ association. Police have bailed the well know community activist later this year in October. The SRA have appointed an agent, Gordens LLP, to deal with all matters currently held by Mr Taylor according to their spokesperson.

“Andrew Taylor himself will not be in the office and we would like to reassure our clients that the matter reported in the press does not impact on any client or any dealing currently being dealt with by Andrew J. Taylor Solicitors. If you would like any further information, please contact Doreen Lovett on 0161-4281875”

Andrew Taylor himself has either replied no comment or ignored requests from the The practice itself has released a media to comment on the statement on it’s website saying: matter.