Oldham suspends trading standards chief
Oldham suspends trading standards chief after kitchen case collapses
Oldham's chief trading standards officer was suspended today after a judge threw out a fraud case against kitchen entrepreneur Vance Miller.
Miller, who ran a number of kitchen companies called Discount Kitchens Direct, Forever Kitchens and Rock Solid Kitchens from a mill on Cardwell Street, was accused of conspiracy to commit fraud and making false representations.
But Judge Jonathan Foster QC threw out the charges against Miller and three co-accused, saying the case was "misconceived from the start".
Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, which was left with a £4m bill for costs, suspended its head of trading standards Tony Allen, whom the judge said was an unreliable witness.
The council sought to show that Miller had passed off material as sold wood when it was in fact chipboard, but the court was told that materials had not been analysed properly.
The trading standards investigation began after hundreds of customers complained about the materials used.
Charlie Parker, Oldham council's chief executive, said the local authority was disappointed by the judge's decision but added that there would be no appeal.
The council has appointed Stewart Dobson, aformer acting chief executive of Birmingham City Council, to review the case.
Parker added: "“I can also confirm that a senior member of staff has been suspended – without prejudice – pending the outcome of Mr Dobson's findings.
“Until the review is complete it would be wholly inappropriate for Oldham Council to make any further comment on this matter.”
Miller, who defended himself in court but had his case prepared by Manchester-based solicitors Burton Copeland, said he was not surprised by the outcome.
Trading Standards failed investigation cost public £5m
A judge has criticised trading standards in Oldham for pursuing a 'flawed' prosecution against a businessman at a potential cost of £5million to the taxpayer.
Vance Miller, 44, who ran a multimillion-pound company, was accused of cheating customers by selling them supposed high-quality kitchens made of chipboard and MDF.
But Judge Jonathan Foster QC threw the case out, saying the investigation was 'misconceived' from the start.
The prosecution was brought by Oldham Borough Council's trading standard's department, where Mr Miller's business was based.
The counterfraud operation, led by the council's head of trading standards, Tony Allen, is understood to be the largest undertaken by trading standards officers in Britain.
Mr Miller, from Ramsbottom, Lancashire, was charged with conspiracy to defraud following the investigation, alongside his colleagues Nichola Brodie, 33, from Ramsbottom, Sadiya Hussain, 29, of Milnrow, and Alan Ford, 45, from Ashton-Under-Lyne.
But a catalogue of errors by the council meant the defendants could not receive a fair trial, the judge said at Manchester Crown Court.
Thousands of hours were spent interviewing 3,000 of Mr Miller's customers.
It is understood Mr Allen has been suspended from his job, as a result of the case.
The trading standards boss admitted in court it was his 'desire' to close the company down, contradicting his earlier evidence, Judge Foster said.
'The investigation was flawed from the start. Mr Allen's initial desire to close the business down coloured his thinking thereafter. It led him to lose his objectivity,' he told the jurors before he dismissed them.