Birmingham City Council begins it's own tornado damage limitation PR exercise
Gotcha! | 03.08.2005 17:51 | Social Struggles | Birmingham
Monday August 1st appears to mark the beginning of a public relations operation designed to refute claims by local people and whistle blowing Council employees that Birmingham City Council poorly handled its emergency response to the tornado.
Unannounced to local residents, David Maxted Strategic Director of Local Services from Birmingham City Council gave a live interview overlooking the decimated row of terraced houses on Birchwood road, Balsall Heath.
David Maxted refutes any criticism of the council's handling of the disaster
During the television interview Maxted didn't seem to be able to respond to criticism by a local councillor who didn't even know who was in control of the emergency operation. The segment before his interview profiled how inept the council were at co-ordination, communication and getting vital information out to people following the disaster.
At one point in the interview one of the news anchors interrupted Maxted when he was trying to say the council had responded promptly and effectively by saying that one of the emergency officers in his team had resigned and another officer was on holiday! Another local resident was overheard heckling Maxted with shouts of 'sack him!' and 'he's incompetent!'
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