Having seen how nervous Box appeared at the Council Meeting earlier this year when the matter was discussed,it will be interesting to see how he reacts when being cross examined by a QC.Many years ago I appeared as a defence witness in a civil case and the way the defence QC challenged the opposition witnesses with his detailed knowledge of the issue was impressive.These guys earn big money but they earn it by the work they do prior to the court appearance and will have read and researched every statement and agreement relating to the case.If Box stands up and claims that minutes of meetings were not kept and he can't remember who gave any "legal advice" he will be torn to shreds.

I too was in the public gallery at that meeting and yes in a court room he would be exposed. I think there is every possibility he would stand down rather than have to succumb to his fate in the courts.

Let's hope justice prevails in the end, and this corruption doesn't extend any further up the hierarchy. Wish I was there to see Box, Yorkcourt and their minions squirm - shame we can't get coverage of that on Sky too!

I was in the gallery that day and if box speaks in court as confidently as he did in the council chamber we're halfway there!

I agree that there needs to be full accountability if any wrongdoing has taken place.

However it would be naive to think the councillors and top council officers would be like deer in the headlights when it comes to a court date.

I'm sure they have been taking legal advice at every step and you can be fairly confident they'll be no mugs....

As I say, I would hope there is full accountability but I wouldn't be counting chicken's at this point. I'm sure the club and trust are proceeding very carefully, it's certainly not going to be an easy ride.

It will be very very interesting from a relatively neutral point of view

Like they took legal advice regarding Newcold.

They took legal advice but couldn't rember from whom, or when and if it was minuted. That advice?

Catnip for Barristers

Or Rohypnol for barristers?

Yes the advice that they claimed to have taken but could not produce when asked to do so under the FOI Act.

If they had taken good independent legal advice throughout this process. AND HAD ACTED ON IT I feel we would be much nearer to a stadium. Their past actions and decisions, along with recent press comments tells you how clueless they are.

Lmao

That is wakey council through and through
They are a complete shambles

It might be easy standing up in front of your colleagues in the Council chamber, but standing in front of a judge in the Law Courts is a totally different situation altogether.
Believe me I have been there on lots of occasions over the past 28 years (for the prosecution, I might add

), but even though you know you have done nothing wrong, it is still a traumatic experience.
Heaven help anyone who has done something wrong......

Luckily I've never had that experience and that's not something I'd wish to change, but I can certainly imagine it's pretty intense.

We all know deep down that some things that have occurred in this process are "unusual" shall we say..... However the labour council has been around a long long time, and I'm sure they've acted in such a way to cover their tracks or negotiate their way through loopholes etc etc.

As I say, it'd be very naive to just now assume that a QC is going to unravel an entire local government with 40 odd tears worth of experience in these matters.

I'm not saying it won't be done, I'm just fairly confident it won't be plain sailing.

The council have maneuvered their way through this entire saga in such a way nobody could've ever anticipated - I'm sure when NM got approved a few years ago nobody expected what has followed.

I certainly hope justice prevails and I'm confident it will, whether that's for the benefit of the club and community or not....

But leopards don't change their spots and I'd be very surprised if this legal battle will be quick and easy

I’ve been stood in court being drilled by barristers both as a witness and the prosecutor and like you say FIL, not a nice position. All I wanted to do was jump over the dock and rip his face off, very clever people.

Should the incident go to the High Court and the decision go Trinity's way, then a pleasant byproduct of the whole situation must surely mean that Box, his Wally head and that Jeffreys woman would surely have no alternative but to resign there posts, and the City of Wakefield could look forward to a new era. There again, that would be the honourable thing to do!!!!!!

Come on redcat you know better than that. Why do you think box is letting his lackies make all the statements? He will throw them and whoever else he can under a bus if it means he can cling on to power. After all he will just find another couple of folk willing to earn over 150k to do what he tells them to

Redscat

Yes that would be a good result. However someone would have to step up and run the council.
I hope by now you are starting to recognise the calibre of the rest of the Labour councillors that prop up Box. That's the frightening bit !!!

I spent an hour or so reading some of those applications, particularly Yorkcourts/Council and those related to them and to say it made me angry is a bit of an understatement. The way they manipulated & used the good faith of the Wakefield public and in particular Trinity supporters, to back the project (which wouldn't have obviously happened without our backing and the S106). Apart from all the warehousing that was supposed to create 2000 jobs or whatever the number was (which they haven't got clse to reaching), it was also piggy backed off it all being about improving the Sporting facilities of Wakefield. The talk of obesity in children being a problem and quality sporting facilities in solving that is crucial etc. Plus all the other facilities that would get used by the Community, Wakefield College and maybe Carnegie as well was mentioned . Plus getting a Stadium built for the City of Wakefield's last & only professional sports team, so they could flourish etc. Makes me sick.

Just seen a tweet from Manni confirming that the club will stay in the city.

Nothing confirmed though by the club.

Maybe Fordy was right with his comment earlier today when he was advised an agreement had been reached

Where’s this??

41 min since on Manny 88M's Twitter

Article is dated 20/09/17 www.wakefield.gov.uk/Pages/PR8655.aspx

Article is dated 20/09/17 www.wakefield.gov.uk/Pages/PR8655.aspx

The councils problems stem from both what is documented or can be evidenced and what can’t. Things that should be documented aren’t and things that are do not reflect well on them

Imo that is why box has suddenly distanced himself from the situation probably in th3 hope he can blame someone else. Unfortunately for him some of his faux pas are out there including his ridiculously repeated assertion that the s106 was nothing to do with the council! Something he was still repeating whilst his staff were no doubt negotiating the five town parks s106

Think he might be looking at a pinned tweet.