Thursday, 8 September 2005, 2:44:56pm

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Do not collect £1.3 million

Baylissgate Latest: Mr X Goes to Jail
"Mr X" in the Baylissgate scandal we reported below was jailed last week for 2 1/2 years over a landfill tax scam. Mr X is in fact Steve Sampson of Paradise Wildlife Park ('Company A'). Sampson, a friend, business associate and ex-employer of Assistant General Secretary Bayliss was convicted of conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to falsify accounts documents. Bayliss had described this thief as trust-worthy and honest or in his words, 'straight'.
Bayliss had been arrested and was under investigation for 2 years on similar grounds but the Fraud Squad decided to take no action. Bayliss himself said he 'had now been cleared'. The landfill tax conspiracy is separate from the Baylissgate scandal where Steve Sampson was alleged to be creaming off a 10% 'kick-back' from charity donations arranged by Bayliss. However there are remarkable similarities, in the case for which Sampson was jailed:

"Grants made to environmental projects were conditional upon kick-backs being made to companies controlled by the defendants. The value of these grants was £656,000 and the largest was a £400,000 for the construction of an environmental centre at Paradise Wildlife Park in Hertfordshire. Mr Sampson was a director of Paradise Wildlife Park."
Regarding Baylissgate a spokeswoman for Amicus said: “The allegations were thoroughly investigated and have proven to be without foundation. Les Bayliss has been completely exonerated by the inquiry.” General Secretary Simpson said "there is no evidence whatsoever of any impropriety". Simpson went on to thank "Ed and Tony [Deputy General Secretaries Sweeney and Dubbins] for their thorough and diligent work" in conducting the inquiry (whose detailed findings remain secret). The union's Senior Legal Advisor wrote to us:
"Your actions in publishing the article on the website potentially renders you liable both to disciplinary action (including expulsion) and High Court litigation."