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SACKED ASTONBROOK STAFF BLAME “CONSPIRACY”

28-05-2008

A sacked worker from Birmingham based Astonbrook Housing Association claim there’s a “conspiracy” between the Home Office and accountants Baker Tilley to close it down. Berrenga Forbes was one of 15 employees given his cards last week.

Forbes is bitter about the level of fees taken out of the business since interim managers were appointed last July.

To see his interview with The Stirrer in Small Heath, click the video below

Baker Tilley, for their part, deny doing anything to undermine the business and say their charges are not excessive (see link here).

A planned march along Coventry Road to Small Heath Park yesterday fizzled out amid claims that police had sabotaged the event by warning off local residents – allegations that were dismissed as “absolute rubbish” by Inspector Mick Binney of the local force.

In any event, it now seems likely that Astonbrook – which houses refugees, homeless people, youngsters leaving care homes and ex-offenders – will fold. The fate of the remaining 120 staff is uncertain.

Company insiders say that members of a rival company were spotted at the organisation’s offices in Highgate last Friday downloading valuable commercial information from computers – although The Stirrer has been unable to confirm this.

Astonbrook is still being investigated for fraud, although no one has been charged, and as we reported yesterday, former chief executive Mohammed Arwo (who denies any wrongdoing) will have his second police interview exactly one year on from his first (see link here).

We make no comment about the police activity, but there remain a number of disturbing unanswered questions about the affair.

1) Why has a previously viable company been taken to the brink of extinction despite the intervention of a highly respected firm of accountants?

2) When 15 staff were dismissed last week amid allegations of financial impropriety, why did their number include drivers and other relatively junior staff with no access to company cash?

3) Why did the alleged misconduct take so long to come to light, given that Baker Tilley have been in control since July?

4) Why did Baker Tilley tell staff that a major Home office contract wasn’t being surrendered when all the evidence suggests that it was already being put out to tender elsewhere?

5) Have members of a rival company been given access to Astonbrook’s internal documents in advance of the completion of the tendering process?

6) If so, isn’t this highly irregular?

We will endeavour to get answers to these questions – and others we can't currently print for legal reasons - although Baker Tilley have told us that they are unwilling to “get engaged in a dialogue.”

That’s a pity, and we hope they’ll reconsider, as these are serious issues.

Our door is always open.

Can you cast any light on what’s happened at Astonbrook Housing Association? Contact editor@thestirrer.com

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