Details TDC contacting Kent Police and Scotland Yard 1990s

Thanet District Council did not have the information requested.

Dear Thanet District Council,

Please disclose details of the two following contacts from Thanet Council to Police:

(1) Cllr Barry COPPOCK handing in misfire and empty case evidence recovered from the former 6th Thanet Gun Range.

This included 9mm, .38 and .45. The large amount recovered was from the NEIGHBOURING land of the TRUE family. It was recovered from the quarry rim ABOVE the target end of the range. Evidence of prolific firing from neighbouring property 24 feet above the range level and, presumably back down into the range towards the club house (That didn't have planning consent. Evidence of serious firearms and paramilitary offences and serious breaches of Planning Law.

Please provide the dates this ammo material was handed in to Kent Police by TDC Officers. And detail what Planning action resulted from clear evidence of breaches of the Range Planning parameter of .22 25 yard.

(2) Circa 1998 believed via Deputy Leader of TDC direct to Scotland Yard Anti Terrorist Branch. All details please.

Please also provide the dates Kent Police were investigating at TDC early 1990s. And the dates the 6th Thanet Gun Range Licence was suspended. The licence was suspended twice for irresponsible operation and finally withdrawn for good on the 1995 intervention of MR TRUE re Range architecture parameters.

Yours faithfully,

Richard Card

Alan Martin, Thanet District Council

Ref No:51394 / 2432337
 
Dear Mr Card
 
Thank you for your communication of 09/07/2013 requesting information as
follows:
 
Please provide the dates this ammo material was handed in to Kent Police
by TDC Officers.  And detail what Planning action resulted from clear
evidence of breaches of the Range Planning parameter of .22 25 yard.
 
Please also provide the dates Kent Police were investigating at TDC early
1990s.  And the dates the 6th Thanet Gun Range Licence was suspended.
 
Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Environmental
Information Regulations and will be answered within twenty working days. 
 
If you have any queries about this request do not hesitate to contact me.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
 
 
 
 
Alan Martin
Information Request Assessor
 

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Dear Alan Martin,

Thank you. I understand that there may be research, for a book and possibly a film, who may be interested in the response to this FOI.

What may not be clear to TDC, with the range planning enforcement duty, is that in 2003 General De Chasterlain (Head of the International Arms Decommissioners under Good Friday Agreement) sent a report of concern. I think it was Pontypool MP Paul Murphy who was NI Secretary at the time.

The French Canadian General was querying whether his terms of reference empowered him to deploy to Kent to investigate 6th Thanet Gun Range history and a 25 year history of Kent Police issued firearms certificates and Home Office issued Licensed Gun Dealer certs.

As I understand it he was advised that it was beyond his terms of reference. But this advice is to say the least questionable, on the Kent History, under Army Act 1955, Unlawful Drilling Act 1819, Public Order Act 1936 and the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

I think you, Cllr Hart and Harvey Patterson are well aware that I think the arena for examining these matters should be a retrospective Article 2 Inquest into the killing of 11 Royal Marines at Deal Barracks 1989. Equally however I would support the cause for an Article 2 inquest into the 1971 Ballymurphy massacre.

One of the seriously odd investigatory ommissions in the Thanet history is that there is no doubt of the conviction of Cyril HOSER for forgery. Yet there seems never to have been inquiry into whether firearms certificates were forged. And this ommission would reveal a serious flaw in the advice given to Gen De Chasterlain ?

Harvey knows we reached an impasse as I now argue that the whole matter of allegations and Standards Procedures (from which the 6th Thanet evidence file was withheld) that Cllr HAYTON intimidated a man to stop his evidence of witnessing unlawful live fire training at 6th Thanet, would now be a matter of loaw under Clive HART and Full Council jurisdiction only.

In 1998 my information is that ex Cllr Maison's employer Sericol held inquiry into forged qualifications. That they gave their site safety engineer Maison severance about two months before he appeared at High Court to be found guilty of libel. As you know Cllr Hayton has always refused to clarify what he told the High Court in evidence on Maison's behalf.

The implication of the Fraud Inquiry in Thanet is that the investigation did arrest the neighbour to 6th Thanet Range who was leader of council Bill Leadbeater. I want to know if this was during a period of time the range licence was temporarily suspended for irresponsible operation.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Card

Dear Alan Martin,

There are rules on the FOI site that no new questions can be introduced to an FOI under way.

But I should ensure that you know that, in correspondence between Police Licensing Officers TDC and solicitors acting for range neighbour Bill True, the police mentioned a newly built "Club House".

I think you will find that there was never a planning application or consent for this building.

For your information in the evidence proffered to police at that time there was the allegation that range users had been seen firing from this building.

As you know the unlawful earthworks, cutting the quarry edge 12 feet back into Mr True's property, must have occurred after 1992 and before April 1995. 1992 being when Ordnance Survey had last carried out aerial survey thus establishing the position of the target end at that time.

Mr True carried out overhang safety work on the quarry edge in April 95 and he says that, in plan view, the quarry edge had been sort of shaped into two arcs like the top of a heart shape.

Hence there are clearly TWO matters of failure of TDC to enforce planning law. Construction and earthworks.

For your information the complaint information to police concerning live fire "Hostage rescue" training relates to the Stone Lodge Range at Dartford. A person tied to a chair between two targets representing the captors who trainees then shoot. You couldn't write this as fiction. Equally armour plate welded at the back of a driver seat in a pursued car being fired at but I am not sure that is alleged to have been done in UK.

The evidence relating to 6th Thanet is of firing sub machine guns. Firing from the building. Firing from cars and whilst exiting and rolling from moving cars.

All this on a range only ever consented for 25 yard maximum calibre .22

Then there is the evidence you are addressing of prolific 9mm fire from the quarry rim on a neighbouring property presumably back into the quarry towards the building erected without planning consent.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Card

Dear Alan Martin,

I have communicated with Council leader and deputy leader today. Because some new information has come in.

So if you have dealings with them just to get us on the same hymnsheet. Cllr COPPOCK used TDC officers to hand empty case and misfire ordnance into police. The evidential significance of misfires is that it establishes LIVE ROUND use. On the neighbouring property of Mr True. (IE Not blanks)

I am now going to prepare a report to send to the cold case team Deal barracks Bombing 1989. Harvey Patterson should be advising Cllr Hart now. If you find the records for this FOI Harvey may advise that you respond in writing. Or email me direct Harvey has the details.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Card

Alan Martin, Thanet District Council

Ref No: 51394 / 2432337
 
Dear Mr Card
 
Thank you for your communication received on 09/07/2013 where you
requested information about Police investigation relating to the Thanet
firing range and the licensing of the gun club .
 
Having checked our records I can confirm that we do not hold information
about any such investigations nor do we grant operating licenses for gun
clubs.
 
You have the option, however, of contacting Kent Police on this matter.
 
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the
right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be
submitted within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your
original letter and should be addressed to: Information Request Assessor,
Thanet District Council, P O Box 9 Cecil Street, Margate Kent CT9 1XZ, or
send an email to [email address].
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future
communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9
5AF
 
Yours sincerely,
 
 
Alan Martin
Corporate Information Officer
 
On behalf of
 
Simon Thomas
Planning Manager
 
 
 

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Dear Alan Martin,

Thank you. I never suggested that you licensed ranges.

You granted planning consent and and had a duty to enforce planning at the range.

The request was about records of TDC acting as an evidence hand in recovered ordnance to police.

In fact I have Cllr Coppock's letter of the time but I was interested to establish that TDC would claim now to have no record.

Yours sincerely,

Richard Card

Richard Card left an annotation ()

It emerged in a later FOI that Thanet Council has never had a policy or guideline to comply with the statutory reporting duties of Terrorism Law.

I have reported this to Lord Carlile QC and to the independent QC who reviews effectiveness of Prevention of Terrorism Law.

I have also raised an FOI to Home Office on this issue as they are lead authority for prevention of terrorism

Best wishes Richard