Latest news with #Cloughley
Scottish Sun
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Labour councillor deliberately drove at protester amid heated campaign dispute shocking onlookers
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LABOUR councillor shocked onlookers when he drove his car deliberately at a man filming a protest over school bus cuts. Raging Pat Patton then got out of his Hyundai Santa Fe and told victim Graham Cloughley to put his camera away. 3 THIS is the shocking moment a Scottish Labour councillor is filmed revving his car at protestors 3 Patton (left) had been campaigning for Frank McNally before the incident The politician, of Bellshill, Lanarkshire, now faces disciplinary action from his party after he was found guilty of assault. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard how the incident happened in nearby Coatbridge on June 26 last year, Patton's 59th birthday. A small group of parents and around 10 children had gathered to voice anger at North Lanarkshire Council making changes to school bus services. The protest took place outside the general election campaign HQ of Frank McNally, who was a Labour councillor and the party's candidate for Coatbridge and Bellshill. McNally went on to win the seat. Patton left the building and emerged from the car park in his Hyundai. Mr Cloughley, 46, told the court he was filming the protest and walked past the front of the councillor's car while it was not moving. He said: 'His car had been stopped for approximately five seconds. "He then looked at me and accelerated towards me, striking my knees. 'This caused me to move back and then jerk forward. 'I wasn't injured but I was shocked, taken aback that someone would do that. Labour councillor filmed telling crowd to 'cut throats' of far-right thugs is arrested for 'encouraging murder' 'Councillor Patton then got out of his car and tried to grab my phone.' Mr Cloughley's phone footage was shown in court. He could be heard telling Patton he had 'no right to run me down'. The councillor replied: 'You have no right to record me.' Asked if Patton's car could have hit him by accident, Mr Cloughley told prosecutor Fergus Warner: 'If it had been an accident he would have got out and apologised, but that didn't happen. "He was aggressive, clearly enraged and unapologetic.' Mr Cloughley's wife, Marissa, 48, said she was standing behind Patton's car and didn't see it hit her husband. But she told the court: 'It moved quite fast and I saw Graham lurch forward. I was really alarmed. Pat Patton was aggressive and angry.' Another parent, Mark Feeney, 52, added: 'The car kind of lunged forward and hit Graham on the legs. I had a perfect view of it.' Patton, who was elected as a councillor in 2022, said in evidence that he stopped his car when he saw Mr Cloughley walk towards him. 3 The incident unfolded as Councillor Patton was out on the campaign trail He added: 'The car never came into contact with him because I stopped. 'I got out and put up my hand to stop him filming. I had no intention of taking his phone from him.' Fellow Labour councillor Maureen Devlin said she was only a few feet away and insisted Patton's car didn't strike Mr Cloughley. She told defence lawyer Stephen MacBride: 'If it had I would have seen it.' Sheriff Walter Mercer said he wasn't convinced that Patton's car had struck Mr Cloughley but concluded: 'It's beyond reasonable doubt that he assaulted Mr Cloughley by accelerating and driving the vehicle towards him.' The sheriff said he considered the councillor's conduct 'towards the lower end of the scale' and fined Patton, who has no previous convictions, £420.
The National
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Labour councillor guilty of 'deliberately driving at activists'
A LABOUR councillor shocked onlookers when he drove his car deliberately at a man filming a protest over school bus cuts. Raging Pat Patton then got out of his Hyundai Santa Fe and told victim Graham Cloughley to put his camera away. Patton, of Bellshill, Lanarkshire, now faces disciplinary action from his party after he was found guilty of assault. Airdrie Sheriff Court heard the incident happened in nearby Coatbridge on June 26 last year, Patton's 59th birthday. READ MORE: Rachel Reeves rejects reports about change to £20,000 ISA allowance A small group of parents and around 10 children had gathered to voice anger at North Lanarkshire Council making changes to school bus services. The protest took place outside the general election campaign HQ of Frank McNally, who was a Labour councillor and the party's candidate for Coatbridge and Bellshill. McNally went on to win the seat. Patton (left) left the building and emerged from the car park in his Hyundai. (Image: Supplied) Cloughley, 46, told the court he was filming the protest and walked past the front of the councillor's car while it was not moving. He said: "His car had been stopped for approximately five seconds. He then looked at me and accelerated towards me, striking my knees. "This caused me to move back and then jerk forward. "I wasn't injured but I was shocked, taken aback that someone would do that. "Councillor Patton then got out of his car and tried to grab my phone." Cloughley's phone footage was shown in court. He could be heard telling Patton he had "no right to run me down". The councillor replied: "You have no right to record me." Asked if Patton's car could have hit him by accident, Cloughley told prosecutor Fergus Warner: "If it had been an accident he would have got out and apologised, but that didn't happen. "He was aggressive, clearly enraged and unapologetic." Cloughley's wife, Marissa, 48, said she was standing behind Patton's car and didn't see it hit her husband. But she told the court: "It moved quite fast and I saw Graham lurch forward. I was really alarmed. Pat Patton was aggressive and angry." Another parent, Mark Feeney, 52, added: "The car kind of lunged forward and hit Graham on the legs. I had a perfect view of it." Patton, who was elected as a councillor in 2022, said in evidence that he stopped his car when he saw Cloughley walk towards him. He added: "The car never came into contact with him because I stopped. "I got out and put up my hand to stop him filming. I had no intention of taking his phone from him." Fellow Labour councillor Maureen Devlin said she was only a few feet away and insisted Patton's car didn't strike Cloughley. She told defence lawyer Stephen MacBride: "If it had I would have seen it." Sheriff Walter Mercer said he wasn't convinced that Patton's car had struck Mr Cloughley but concluded: "It's beyond reasonable doubt that he assaulted Mr Cloughley by accelerating and driving the vehicle towards him." The sheriff said he considered the councillor's conduct "towards the lower end of the scale" and fined Patton, who has no previous convictions, £420.
NZ Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
South Waikato's largest new residential development ready for 200-home second stage
Last week, the South Waikato District Council announced the project's $120m second stage would consist of 200 senior living homes. South Waikato District Mayor Gary Petley said Overdale Estate was an opportunity for South Waikato to 'stand out' as a long-term option for retirees. 'We're excited to work alongside developers to support high-quality, affordable retirement living that brings people to our district.' According to a council statement, the retirement homes would include a mix of lifestyle and retirement villas, alongside onsite care services. 'The development is designed to adopt multi-generational living, with families able to remain in one neighbourhood from first home through to retirement,' the council said. Overdale Estate's development is being overseen by Ultimate Global Group, a New Zealand-based international conglomerate specialising in the development of sites in New Zealand and Asia. Ultimate Global Group chief operating officer Lloyd Cloughley said the retirement stage of the development would inject $120m into the local economy through construction and services. 'Once complete, ongoing contributions from residents, employees and visitors will provide even greater benefit for the region,' Cloughley said. 'We're proud to be delivering more than just homes, we're building a community that meets the needs of retirees and drives long-term economic growth for South Waikato.' Overdale Estate's first stage was originally scheduled to deliver 22 homes. When ground broke on construction, seven of the houses had already been purchased by families and investors. At the time, Cloughley said an Overdale Estate 'entry-level house', built to stand alone on a 600 square-metre section was priced at $715,000.
CBC
12-03-2025
- CBC
Nunavut judge approves $8M settlement for victims abused by former teacher
Social Sharing WARNING: This story contains details of sexual abuse. A Nunavut judge has approved a settlement in a class-action lawsuit against the Nunavut government on behalf of a group of students who were sexually abused by a teacher in the territory. It means the Nunavut government will now pay out $8 million in a lawsuit started by students who were sexually abused by Maurice Cloughley between 1969 and 1981 The Nunavut government agreed to settle the class action in May, and Nunavut Chief Justice Susan Cooper has approved the settlement in a written decision. That decision was filed in the Nunavut Court of Justice on Tuesday. Cloughley pleaded guilty mid-trial in 1996 to nine charges of abusing school children in several Arctic communities between 1967 and 1981. He originally faced 22 charges. Cloughley served three years of a 10-year sentence. The class-action lawsuit alleges the territorial government did not do enough to protect students from abuse and may have known about the abuse without doing anything about it. Compensation for the plaintiffs will range from $25,000 to $200,000, based on their injuries. In her decision, Cooper said the class action lawsuit is estimated to have about 250 members. Years in the making The lawsuit was first filed in 2004 with 31 plaintiffs. Then, in 2008, a second similar lawsuit with 32 plaintiffs was filed against the federal government and the governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Those lawsuits stalled until 2015, when two law firms teamed up and combined the cases into a single new case. Alan Regel, a lawyer representing the victims, previously told CBC News some of the plaintiffs had died since the lawsuit was first launched.
