Latest news with #CarltonClub
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fire engine, DJ and rugby stars at Stroud's Carlton Club event
GLOUCESTER Rugby players will be making an appearance at a Stroud bar. The Carlton Club is hosting a School's Out for Summer fun day on Saturday, July 26. The event will feature a meet-and-greet with a Gloucester Rugby coach and possibly two players. Other activities include a fire engine visit, live music, a bouncy castle, face painting, and a barbeque. DJ Dave Sykes will be playing some tracks in the evening. The event begins at 12pm and continues until late. Proceeds from the day will go to the Hollie Gazzard Trust. The charity supports the reduction of domestic violence through programmes and workshops.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Councillor accused of forging loan signatures
A Gloucestershire county councillor obtained loans of £150,000 for a social club by lying about documents and forging signatures, it is alleged. Senior members of the Carlton Club in Stroud claim councillor Nick Housden, who represents the Stonehouse district, forged signatures and lied about the nature of application forms to four committee members in order to secure several loans from the Association of Conservative Clubs (ACC). The club's managing director said it has left the business with "crushing" amounts of debt and almost forced it to close. Mr Housden, who is standing as an independent candidate in the county council election on 1 May, said he "absolutely denies" the accusations and believes it is a "politically motivated" attack. More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Mr Housden became chair of the Carlton Club in May 2023. Documents seen by the BBC show the first application to the ACC, which supports Conservative affiliated social clubs across the UK, was made in March last year for £80,000. Two subsequent applications for £42,000 and £14,000 were made in August and September of the same year, to be paid back over ten years at a rate of 6.75% interest. However, the board members, who have asked not to be named, claim Mr Housden told them the ACC had given them £80,000 in grants to carry out improvements to the building, which the club was not expected to pay back. Invoices and quotes show £62,303 was spent on repairing the club roof and patio area, but managing director, Jamie Stewart, who entered the business after Mr Housden left, said almost £90,000 may have gone on expenditure that was not authorised by the club or which may otherwise be unaccounted for. He is concerned it may have been used to help fund a seemingly "lavish lifestyle" including payment for cars and eating in restaurants. The BBC has seen bank statements featuring various payments board members say were unauthorised, including £5,000 to a motor company, £4,000 to DFS, and hundreds of pounds to menswear stores. "We don't really know what the money was used for," Mr Stewart added. "He seemed to eat at a lot of restaurants, he used to get fast food a tremendous amount of the time on the company card. "[This is] explicitly something you're not allowed to do. This is a non-profit club, so all of the money, the profits, need to go back into the actual running of the club." The three ACC loan applications feature the signatures of a mixture of four board members alongside Mr Housden. Each have told the BBC they did not knowingly sign the applications. Two claim they only ever signed one document which may have been for what they believed to be the ACC grant application. Two others said they did not sign any financial forms, with one saying his nickname appears on two of the applications even though he only signs official documents with his legal name. Mr Housden said he never forged or lied about loan documents. He said he had the agreement of members to set up a limited company to run the club of which he was the sole director, so all decisions about loan agreements or how money was spent was down to him. "Every penny that came in and out of the club was accounted for and is in the accounts," he added. "There's no missing money. Everything that came in was spent on the things that we said it was spent on. "There is no club money. All finances in and out were done through the limited company and I'm the only one who can control those." The club claims it never agreed that Mr Housden could set up a company to run the business and it's rules state all financial decisions have to be made through the committee. Mr Housden was kicked out of the Gloucestershire Conservative group last October after a spokesperson said it was made "aware of allegations made against" him. These allegations were never made public. Mr Housden was officially asked to leave his role as chair of the Carlton Club in November once details of the loans came to light. Mr Stewart said the 34-year-old left the business in a financially precarious state. "We have been left in incredible, crushing amounts of debt." he added. "We're starting to hit that recovery point, but it's a long road, it's tough. "I think it's a miracle that the club survived." The manager is now urging the police to thoroughly investigate the claims. In a statement, Gloucestershire Constabulary said it is investigating... following a report made by an organisation in Stroud. "A person has been voluntarily interviewed in connection with the case," a spokesperson added. "Enquiries are ongoing." The ACC has declined to comment. A full list of candidates standing in Stonehouse and across Gloucestershire in the county council elections on 1 May can be found here. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
BBC News
29-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Gloucestershire councillor accused of forging loan signatures
A Gloucestershire county councillor obtained loans of £150,000 for a social club by lying about documents and forging signatures, it is members of the Carlton Club in Stroud claim councillor Nick Housden, who represents the Stonehouse district, forged signatures and lied about the nature of application forms to four committee members in order to secure several loans from the Association of Conservative Clubs (ACC).The club's managing director said it has left the business with "crushing" amounts of debt and almost forced it to Housden, who is standing as an independent candidate in the county council election on 1 May, said he "absolutely denies" the accusations and believes it is a "politically motivated" attack. Loans Vs Grants Mr Housden became chair of the Carlton Club in May seen by the BBC show the first application to the ACC, which supports Conservative affiliated social clubs across the UK, was made in March last year for £80, subsequent applications for £42,000 and £14,000 were made in August and September of the same year, to be paid back over ten years at a rate of 6.75% the board members, who have asked not to be named, claim Mr Housden told them the ACC had given them £80,000 in grants to carry out improvements to the building, which the club was not expected to pay and quotes show £62,303 was spent on repairing the club roof and patio area, but managing director, Jamie Stewart, who entered the business after Mr Housden left, said almost £90,000 may have gone on expenditure that was not authorised by the club or which may otherwise be unaccounted for. He is concerned it may have been used to help fund a seemingly "lavish lifestyle" including payment for cars and eating in BBC has seen bank statements featuring various payments board members say were unauthorised, including £5,000 to a motor company, £4,000 to DFS, and hundreds of pounds to menswear stores."We don't really know what the money was used for," Mr Stewart added."He seemed to eat at a lot of restaurants, he used to get fast food a tremendous amount of the time on the company card."[This is] explicitly something you're not allowed to do. This is a non-profit club, so all of the money, the profits, need to go back into the actual running of the club."The three ACC loan applications feature the signatures of a mixture of four board members alongside Mr have told the BBC they did not knowingly sign the claim they only ever signed one document which may have been for what they believed to be the ACC grant others said they did not sign any financial forms, with one saying his nickname appears on two of the applications even though he only signs official documents with his legal name. 'No missing money' Mr Housden said he never forged or lied about loan said he had the agreement of members to set up a limited company to run the club of which he was the sole director, so all decisions about loan agreements or how money was spent was down to him."Every penny that came in and out of the club was accounted for and is in the accounts," he added."There's no missing money. Everything that came in was spent on the things that we said it was spent on."There is no club money. All finances in and out were done through the limited company and I'm the only one who can control those."The club claims it never agreed that Mr Housden could set up a company to run the business and it's rules state all financial decisions have to be made through the committee. Close to closure Mr Housden was kicked out of the Gloucestershire Conservative group last October after a spokesperson said it was made "aware of allegations made against" him. These allegations were never made Housden was officially asked to leave his role as chair of the Carlton Club in November once details of the loans came to Stewart said the 34-year-old left the business in a financially precarious state."We have been left in incredible, crushing amounts of debt." he added."We're starting to hit that recovery point, but it's a long road, it's tough."I think it's a miracle that the club survived."The manager is now urging the police to thoroughly investigate the claims. 'Enquiries are ongoing' In a statement, Gloucestershire Constabulary said it is investigating... following a report made by an organisation in Stroud."A person has been voluntarily interviewed in connection with the case," a spokesperson added."Enquiries are ongoing."The ACC has declined to comment.A full list of candidates standing in Stonehouse and across Gloucestershire in the county council elections on 1 May can be found here.
The Guardian
20-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Chief whip's diaries reveal rescue of Tory MP from KGB agent in London brothel
They say that to govern is to choose, but for one former chief whip it meant rescuing a Conservative MP from a suspected KGB agent in a London brothel. The story of said MP is one of many colourful anecdotes in Simon Hart's political diaries, which have become the talk of Westminster this week. Hart, who served as Rishi Sunak's chief whip for nearly two years, offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of his government — including the sexual misadventures of members of the whips' office. He also lifts the lid on Sunak's troubled premiership, including the tensions between ministers and how whips grappled with a series of misconduct allegations involving Tory MPs. On 24 November 2022, Hart recalls getting a phone call at 2.45am from a Conservative MP from the 2019 intake, sounding 'clearly pissed but just about coherent'. 'Hi, chief. Hope I haven't woken you,' the MP begins. 'I'm stuck in a brothel in Bayswater and I've run out of money … I met a woman as I left the Carlton Club who offered me a drink, but I now think she is a KGB agent. She wants £500 and has left me in a room with 12 naked women and a CCTV.' Hart tells the MP to sit tight and calls his special adviser, Emma, who 'offers to leave her house and go personally to Bayswater on an extraction mission'. They decide against this but instead send a taxi to extract the MP and return him to his hotel. Hart is asleep when the MP calls again at 4.10am. He has made it back to his hotel but not without a further twist. 'I slipped out of the room and saw the taxi Emma ordered across the road, so I legged it over and jumped in,' he tells Hart. 'However, it turned out it was a different taxi being driven by an Afghan agent called Ahmed … He demanded £3,000 for a blow job.' Asked what he did, the MP tells Hart: 'I legged it back to the hotel and locked the door.' Politicians brazenly asking for honours is a recurring feature of the book. In April 2024, Hart met one Conservative MP who was first elected in 2019 in a safe seat — which they now wanted to trade for the House of Lords. 'Give me a peerage and I will give up my safe seat,' this MP said. Told this was not an option, the response was: 'Well, you are all bastards and this is unfair.' A few months earlier on 1 February 2024, Hart recalls a meeting of the honours committee where 'one prominent Labour MP seeking an upgrade to his knighthood gets defeated' and a Conservative MP's campaign for a CBE 'gets similar short shrift by the lay members' — apparently amid vague rumours of wrongdoing by said MP on a foreign trip. On 7 June 2023, Hart gets a call from Harriet Harman who tells him the privileges committee she chairs will publish its report on Boris Johnson later that month and hand it to him that week. Harman discloses that the report will recommend a 20-day suspension for Johnson, which will almost certainly result in him facing a recall motion and by-election. (As it happened Johnson quit parliament after being handed the findings). Hart speaks to Johnson, who begins 'questioning whether there is any procedural route by which we can kill off the report or at least vote it down'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'In any normal circumstances, a former PM asking for special treatment would be a big deal but this being Boris, it doesn't surprise me at all,' Hart muses. He reminds Johnson that it was he who set up the process, approved its terms of reference and accepted Harman as chair. 'But I was in India and I wasn't concentrating,' Johnson replies. 'I left it all to the whips.' The book lifts the lid on Sunak's cabinet reshuffles and deteriorating relationship with his first home secretary, Suella Braverman. Days after being appointed she got into trouble for leaking confidential information to Tory backbencher John Hayes, an ally of hers, but she survives the scandal. She survives the February 2023 reshuffle as well, though Hart recalls how 'one lucky cabinet appointee is less grateful than her promotion deserves'. The three female cabinet ministers who were given promotions in that reshuffle were Kemi Badenoch, Michelle Donelan and Lucy Frazer. 'Let's all agree about one thing,' Sunak said about the female minister in question. 'She is fucking useless but we can't get rid of her.' Half a year later, Sunak is ready to sack Braverman. In the room with the closest members of his team, the prime minister puts her on speakerphone as 'all hell breaks loose' and she begins a 'ghastly ten-minute diatribe of vindictive and personal bile'. The book also reveals the more prosaic side of being prime minister. It was 9pm and Sunak was meeting close aides in his office when his phone rang. The room sat in silence as he had 'a rather oblique conversation with someone in which he tells them to 'take the package to the black gates halfway up Whitehall and someone will meet you''. Sounding 'faintly alarmed', Rupert Yorke, Sunak's deputy chief of staff, asked for an explanation. It turned out to be the prime minister's Nando's order. According to Hart, Yorke reminded him that 'as PM he can ask other people to do that kind of thing, but he seemed rather hurt by the suggestion'.
