Thanks to Newfred's tipster for the following gem. S/he will remain anonymous for her tip-offs, as I wouldn't want him to be Trafigura-ed by Ms Pratt. She can Trafigura me if she likes; it's the price you pay for not being Ms Pratt, I suspect. As if to prove my point about her persecution complex, the CEO and co-founder of this increasingly dubious-looking charity has just ejaculated the following press release. Where does one begin? These people are ultimately their own undoing, and for this we must be grateful. It is just a shame that other people get caught up in their psychodramas.

PRESS RELEASE UPDATE 24th FEBRUARY 2010

Our Patrons have resigned at a time when we needed them most. It is a shame that not one of them ever visited our charity offices to see how we operate or meet with our Volunteers and Trustee's, despite request.

Due to the situation at this time we are temporarily suspending our helpline. However, the website is still operational and contains practical, downloadable, documents for those who need it. Competitor anti bullying charities, individuals with an axe to grind and a few others have forced our hand. We are extremely sorry for any distress this may cause to those who need help right now. We apologise also to those who are detrimentally affected by this situation - we include all charities doing very good work across the UK.

We would assure you that we are not politically driven in any way. Indeed, our local Labour MP hosted our launch at The House of Commons in April 2007 - for which we will always be grateful. We would be pleased to meet with Gordon Brown, to whom we wish no ill, if it would help to remedy the situation.

We are currently considering the future of the charity. Christine Pratt is prepared to resign if necessary. However, this will necessitate the appointment of a paid CEO which is a luxury we have not been able to afford in the past. We have very limited funds. Whatever happens, we will endeavor to act in the very best interests of the charity and all those who suffer from bullying and abuse of power - adults and children - everywhere.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are working with us in a supportive manner. Your kindness is overwhelming and is appreciated very much indeed.

It was never our intention to cause hurt or distress to anyone when we set up a helpline.

We will release a more comprehensive Press Statement as soon as we are in a position to do so.

Thank you.

Source: http://www.nationalbullyinghelpline.co.uk/

Update, again

• Homo Ludens on Pratt's conflict of interest (and that's putting it mildly) between her "charity" and her business, HR & Diversity Management
• A conflict of interest, moreover, that was identified independently some months ago
• Oh, and their blog is getting flamed. Ha.
• Oh, depressingly, the helpline is back in service and the above press release has been pulled. I hope the Charities Commission shuts them down sooner rather than later.

Labels: politics

Now, we all know I'm no longer Gordon Brown's biggest fan. But for heaven's sake, let's draw a line somewhere.

1. In a book, Andrew Rawnsley makes some vague, unsubstantiated comments about goings-on in No 10 and serialises them in the Observer, a newspaper of which he is an associate editor.
2. Mandy denies the allegations.
3. Ms Christine Pratt, co-founder of the National Bullying Helpline, contacts the BBC claiming that No 10 staff have called her helpline.
4. Story kicks off again, but there is widespread condemnation of Pratt's breach of confidentiality in making the phone calls public. (In a small office, it all but identifies the person who rang.)
5. Numerous patrons of the charity resign over Pratt's behaviour.
6. Pratt has the audacity to claim that she feels "slightly intimidated" by responses to her totally inappropriate decision to go public.
7. She persists with her deluded logic.
8. Oh, and, as it turns out, there are publicly available narratives of Ms Pratt's own extensive (and rather unhinged) bullying behaviour, as recorded both by an employment tribunal, and by a panel considering her totally unsuccessful appeal of its decision.

In short, the woman has a persecution complex. Possibly not the best person to be running a bullying helpline. Hopefully it will shut up shop now, and be replaced by one which is run by people with fewer psychological problems than its clients, and which will not take its clients' stories to the papers for entirely political ends.

Update

John Prescott gave a combative interview with Newsnight yesterday. You can always tell the difference between an authentically angry politician and one who's parroting a party line.

Labels: politics

A bike crash, hot pink nail polish, fish, chips, and a beautiful godson. (Thx for the photo, DC.)

Labels: newzealand, photography