u utncmc nuoeruser cc 1 ones, si/iru 1 4M,


----AND COUNTY COUNCIL'S CASE FOR A STATUS QUO] Loss of county


itlieroe 22324 (Editorial), 22323 (Advertising). Burnley J,22331 (Classified) -------------------------------——


council would move


COUNCIL tax could rise by up to £70 per person il Lancashire County Council is abo­ lished, council leader Mrs Louise Ellman


has claimed. Speaking; at the launch of the council’s submission


to tile Local Government Commission, Mrs Ellman warned that the demise of County Hall could lead to a £70 rise in council tax in the first year, with a fur­ ther £00 in subsequent years. She said: "If eight uni­


independent consultants." Mrs Ellman described


the concept of the "unitary district” as a myth and claimed it was “simply the bait to encourage districts to participate in their own destruction.'


tary districts are formed, the immediate extra cost will lie £28.5m, or £25m if 1-1 unitarv districts are formed, These figures have been worked out by council officers with first­


ervices and verified by


of providing those bv


County Council is abo­ lished. what will be created will be a mixture of quangos, joint boards, joint committees, lead authorities and residuary bodies running services like education, police, fire, transport, s u p e r a n n u a - tion. some social services and strategic planning."


She said: "If Lancashire


hand experience of the with sensitivity to cost


government in Lancashire delivers cost-effective and accountable services, com­ bining strategic capacity


She added: “ Local


needs. The alternatives are expensive, inferior and aim


local nnerioi


less accountable. The uni­ tary district is a myth. It is simply the bait to encourage districts to par­ ti cipate in th e ir own destruction."


warned that services would be threatened and community partnerships


Mrs Ellman further


broken up if County Hall were abolished.


partnerships between churches, ethnic communi­ ties, health authorities and the voluntary sector will be broken up, damaging education, social services, the environment and the


She said: “Successful


arts." If the Commission were


to recommend the reten­ tion of the present two- tier system, a future Lan­ cashire County Council would "discuss with the district councils possible


s s s s s s s e s s p i


changes in their working relationships,” the docu­


ment claims. It states: “Devolution


of the council’s submission to the Local Government Commissio Within that


resources, policy framework, district


______________________________________■


would take the form of delegation. The county council would retain its statutory responsibilities by setting service stan­ dards and allocating


councils would be able to exercise local discretion/ Asked whether she lelt


the status quo was a viable o p t i o n . M r s Ell m a n


replied: "The Commission has been instructed to assess each area on its


~


Aim was to ‘make awful lot of money for family of clients


THE Kibble Valley businessman accused of stealing £1 million from in v e s to r s has claimed that he was told to do what he could to make money


Roger Griffiths denies 32 cases of theft involving over £lm III


he set out to build up a solid client base by provid­ ing a “quality service.” "I believed that if you


for them. Roger Griffiths, of


derived from his Army davs in Borneo in the late


looked after your clients they would continue with you and introduce new cli­ ents,” he said. “1 saw the future as


Stocks House, Bolton-by- Bowland, told a jury at Liverpool Crown Court that investors asked few questions about how he would make them rich. “Certain clients would


quite rosy. I'd put a lot of time into the business and got a good name and you could say my clients thought the world of me. I had visions of expanding it even further and there seemed no limit to expand­


indicate they had capital, mavbc in stocks an(1 shares or in a building society, and they would want me to play the mar­


lion and spanning almost seven years until his Isle of Man bankers pulled the plug on him in late Sep­ tember, 15191.William Waldron prosecuting, has


Earby, has denied 32 counts of theft, winch totalled more than XI mil-


QC, Mr


claimed Griffiths had no right to use money from new clients to allegedly pay off losses incurred by other clients or to fund a lavish lifestyle. G r i f f i th s said his


ket,” he said. Griffiths, formerly of Applegarth, New Road,


ing it."As the 1980s unfolded, Griffiths took on a pen­ sions and life assurance manager as his involve­


he request of some cli­ ents, Jie silid.


ment in the stock market took up more of his time. At one time he even dealt t in gold and jewellery, at


stock market started with a telephone call from a


His involvement in the .


firm of London brokers in the early 'SOs and contin­ ued when he took his busi­ ness to Manchester-based John Siddalls and Son in


interest in the stock mar­ ket was a natural devel­ opment of his business, which he began as an agent with Hambro Life Assurance in 1975. He told the court that


198(5."It was at the time of the BT and gas notations. People were becoming more aware of the market and some were making small fortunes. My clients were no different to any­ body else and would ask if 1 could do something with


their money." The court heard that Griffiths called his method


trading under the name Roger A. Griffiths and Co., from 1978 onwards,


of using money, as and when it was needed, the “Ghurka” system, a name


19(50s.He named three inves­ tors from the Barnolds- wick area initially making up the “Ghurka Bank team." He said the trio, which included now- deceased local bookmaker Mr Ronnie Blackwell, were “looking for excite­ ment" and would tell him: “Here's some money. Do


with it what you can.” He claimed they would


frequently ask for cash payments and demanded secrecy. If he made money for them, he shared in the profit, but he bore any losses himself, he claimed. Griffiths said: “Account­


ing was one thing I was always very bad at. I left it to the accountant. That’s


what I paid him for.” The court heard details


from a number of certifi­


cates Griffiths issued to in v e s to rs promising returns on tneir money held in a high interest- bearing “client account.” He said there was no


specifically to meet the needs of that client at that , time. For everybody’s ! sake I gave them eertifi- cates for accounting and tax purposes,” he said. His intention at all times


had been to “make an awful lot of money for my family of clients.” Following the “ Big


Bang" computerisation of the Stock Exchange in October. 19S(>, he had suc­ cess with shares in local bed manufacturers Silent Night, but also suffered losses elsewhere on what he claimed had been "bad


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advice.” "We were waiting for


the ’Big One’, waiting for it all to come right,” he


ket crash in October, 1987, l e d t o “ c a t a s t r o p h i c


said. Instead, the stock mar­


losses.Griffiths told the court Roger Griffiths (right)


he had been “gullible” when an ill-advised ven­ ture into the London


"client account” as such and claimed he opened an account with that name on1v because of the demands of the Financial


space of 21 hours. Griffiths said he turned


futures market cost one of his clients £30,000 in the


Services Act. "Whereas previously I


had dealt with clients’ money in a business


account, I thought it pru­ dent to open an account called 'client account.’ What the certificates were for did not represent what was happening with the money.I often wrote them out


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his attentions to Griffair after a number of bad experiences on the stock market.“I had a lot of money from clients that I had to invest and had an obliga­ tion to pay the interest 1 said I’d give them. I had these sums of money and had to make it work. I decided to use that fund at my discretion and invest it


in Griffair,” he said. “Having had a very


painful experience with o th e r in v e s tm e n ts , because of circumstances nobody could control, I


day crash, he took his first solo helicopter flight. Grif­ fiths denied he had lived an extravagant lifestyle and said he had been working "15 hours a day, seven days a week” in order to make the business


work.He said he took a num­ ber of trips to Northcoie Manor, Langho, at the behest of its new owners, who needed advice about the building of a heli-pad and provided him with free lunches in return. The court heard details


"optimistic,” despite what could have been termed a “catalogue of investment disasters" in the 1980s. He denied having t a k e n advantage of vulnerable


QC that he had remained


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of what he described as "working holidays" to the United States, France and Cyprus and of trips abroad with his disabled wife, Marianne, to see her octa-


genarian parents. Griffiths maintained


decided to look to areas I could control,” he added. The court heard that he


used money from investors trade shares in his in tha t of Mrs Boulting, with


that clients came to him by word of mouth and that he would never badger people


whom he shared Stocks House at the time, and in Griffair, for the conve­


people.“Unfortunately, very like a mother hen, I lelt Sony for them. For some of the older people, I was their only visitor. When I saw a mechanism to make money, 1 thought, ‘What a fantastic opportunity by which to help them,’ ’’ he said, maintaining that he was still friends with many


of his clients


for business. "I would explain in


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great detail exactly what was involved and the


nience of his clients. The jury heard that he


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tried to operate the fund in th e way b a n k s operated. Griffiths said lie had been trying to provide the company with a “firm basis" and had valued the venture at “somewhere around £1 million” near to t h e t im e o f h i s bankruptcy. The court heard that on the dav of the Black Mon-


repercussions,” he said. “Most of them couldn’t care less as long as they got their 1-1% or 15%. The clients knew what was happening. Had they wanted to put it into a bank, they could have. “I didn’t look at it as a


risk. It was something 1 was contracted to do. I


said to clients, ‘1 will guar antee vou this interest.’ It was up to me to guarantee


Collapsed on day he moved home


STAFF and residents of a Clitheroe home for the mentally handicapped are mourning the death of Mr Bernard Edge (61), who collapsed from a heart attack on the day they trans ferred to new premises.


Elms House, Whalley Road, since leaving Brock- hall Hospital nine years


______ ’P-.--------- Mr Edge haa lived at


ago.“He had been looking forward to life at our new address,” said proprie­ tress Mrs Joanne Brown, who has now closed her Whalley Road premises. “He died on the very day of our move to Woone Lane and it came as a


great shock to us all. "Mr Edge was a very


cheerful person, popular with staff and residents, and he will be sadly missed.”A year before his death, Mr Edge discovered a niece he knew nothing about and then received


regular visits from her. Mrs Deni Glover, of Eux- ton, near Chorley, disco­ vered his address on the death of another uncle, who lived in Blackburn, and immediately made contact with him. "It brought a lot o f ,


that risk.”Griffiths told defence counsel Mr Peter Collier


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own merits. If it is not satisfied that a case for change has been made, it must recommend the con­ tinuation of the status quo. Our major concern is that none of the councils are abolished, either the nib­ ble Valley Council or the county council."


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into his life to see his niece,” said Mrs Brown. Staff and residents of


the home will be among family mourners at the funeral service at St Michael and St John’s RC Church, Clitheroe,tomor­ row. It will be followed by interment at Clitheroe


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