The former Assistant City and County Manager, George Redmond has admitted to receiving up to £20,000 from Michael Bailey. Mr Redmond has been recalled before the Flood Tribunal to answer questions about payments he received from the builder Michael Bailey. The tribunal has heard that records of meetings between the two men were contained in Mr Redmond's diary for 1988.
Mr Redmond said he met Michael Bailey several times and took money from him. He said he never counted the money, but would know by looking at the bundles of cash how much was involved. He also said he never asked for money, it just arrived out of the blue. His crime, he said, was accepting it. He said Michael Bailey was a great builder but would not have been aware of all the nuances of planning. He said he would advise him and put him straight on certain issues.
Earlier, Caroline Bailey, who kept the books for Bovale Developments, denied that she entered false payments to James Gogarty in a notebook. The tribunal has again been examining the so-called kitten book. Three payments to James Gogarty totalling £30,000 are recorded in the book. In reply to James Gogarty's lawyers, Ms Bailey denied that she entered the payments retrospectively. Ms Bailey has now concluded her evidence.
The tribunal was told a forensic examination of a notebook used by Ms Bailey has produced an inconclusive result. The kitten book was sent to England for examination to ascertain if entries could have been made retrospectively.
The Flood Tribunal also heard that over £500,000 was lodged to the personal accounts of the Baileys in a three-year period. Ms Bailey has told the tribunal that the money came from Bovale Developments. The money was additional to the salaries being drawn by the directors Tom and Michael Bailey and Ms Bailey. The lodgements were made between 1989 and 1991. Ms Bailey has said that she cannot explain how these amounts were accounted for in the books. The Tribunal is to go on to examine 36 bank accounts in the names of Caroline and Tom Bailey.
