UPDATED JULY 19, 2014
Ann Parkes is a good friend of mine, a veteran animal rights activist, a brilliant and dignified woman, and yet another victim of neoliberalism, class oppression, and state repression. Below and in her own recorded video statement, is a shocking story of capitalist war against the disadvantaged and the subsequent campaign of harassment, threats, and intimidation the UK Social Services, police, and State unleashed against Ann Parkes for daring to challenge their deplorable treatment of those in need and those who dare to speak against the agents of repression. Ann Parkes is a brave and noble woman fighting a courageous battle on behalf of her sick husband (Alfred Parkes), her embattled family, and her own right to dissent. This is her story.
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Statement on Behalf of Ann Parkes:
As a global community of Human Rights Advocates, we are beginning to question the legitimacy of Social Services, particularly at Solihull Council. The travesty of justice through their derelict duty of care towards the Parkes Family of Solihull is incomprehensible, aside from reprehensible.
Mr. Ian James, Director of Social Services, accompanied by Fiona McGill, systematically ignored emails pertaining to a disgrace that occurred at Jubilee Gardens whilst Mr. Alfred Parkes was in their care.
This has been an ongoing but preventable saga since January 2013. Social Services is simply a service to the people they represent. In the case of the Solihull department, their intention has not been one of care, compassion and integrity, rather the opposite. Antagonistic, bullying, abuse of power towards a citizen and absolute derelict duty of care. Collectively James and McGill not only refused to investigate blatant impropriety regarding the staff but denied knowledge of the fact. Emails in our possession suggest a cover up connected to flagrant lies.
Mrs. Parkes aside from experiencing the police arriving at her home, requested specifically by Fiona McGill in an attempt to prevent her posting this sorry saga on social media, has been forced to endure despicable disregard by those who are paid to serve the people. This disgraceful abuse of power prompted Mrs. Parkes to follow up visiting the police station herself, only to discover there was no record or log regarding the two officers involved, which leads us to believe it was a favor owed or bestowed. Attempting to personally speak with James and McGill at Solihull Council, in an endeavor to resolve these issues, she was promptly asked to leave by security. Is the UK becoming a “police” state of oppressors? Many people are watching this story from around the globe, in disbelief and horror.
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To support Ann, please send letters to:
andy.burnham.mp@parliament.uk (Shadow Health Secretary); huntj@parliament.uk (Jeremy Hunt, Health Sec.); mb.scfs@dh.gsi.gov.uk; burtl@parliament.uk (Lorely Burt, MP/Solihull); hemmingj@parliament.uk (John Hemming, MP); ianjames@solihull.gov.uk (Director of Solihull SSD); caroline@carolinespelman.com; roger.harmer@birmingham.gov.uk; John.o’shea@birmingham.gov.uk; stewart.stacey@birmingham.gov.uk; labour.secretariat@birmingham.gov.uk; npage@solihull.gov.uk
UPDATE:
Ann’s battles with Solihull Social Services and to receive justice from the UK Police State continue to this day; please view her recent video which speaks to her recent battles to receive fair treatment over health care in the UK:
Also, please sign this petition to “Hold Solihull MBC Accountable For Abuse of Power & Corruption”
Dr. Steve Best 
Because of Ann’s tenacity and fortitude I have every confidence that she has set in motion a change in the way social services treats its citizens. They had no idea who they who they we’re dealing with when they ignorantly thought she would just keep quiet and leave things status quo.
Kudos to Mrs. Parkes
with your permission, I am reposting this on my FB page. If you in fact object, I will of course take it down.
Please do, thank you.
Thank you Steve for your stoic support, a brilliant blog full of truthful facts. This issue is another UK police state travesty of justice. Personally I,m wondering if neo nazi infiltration has seeped into the beau monde of the stiff upper lip oppressors. They appear reluctant to investigate their own mistakes, bullying, intimidation, unprofessionalsim, and those fraudulently taking money from the public purse when obviously not qualified to do so. I stand behind and with Ann Parkes and family.
Thank you Steve
Ann is a sister/friend who I greatly admire for her strength and endurance. A great example to all of us about what REAL women are made of. Another sad thing about all this is Alf was in the Royal Military. He has earned his care. Just like here in America,, a grateful nation my ass. So this is how England treats their veterans & their families? The royal family owes Ann & Alf and apology and those ruthless people should be fired.
Thank you very much for sharing. x
Thank you Steve for supporting Ann and her family.
This is a terrible situation that Ann and her family are in and is NOT acceptable. I am so disgusted with the UK system and wish i didnt pay UK taxes, which i have done all my life, To see what we pay into and what people get back for it, makes my blood boil.
I hope this wonderful strong woman succeeds in getting the care and service her husband deserves.
i have also shared this blog in support.
Thank you so much for supporting ann and her family steve, ann and her family have been going through hell, it has been an absolute disgrace. I am utterly disgusted at their treatment, Alf is a veteran and for him to be treated this way is despicable. this country is becoming an absolute disgrace. I too have shared this blog. thank you steve. xxx solidarity xxx
I feel like I have known Ann for years and I love her dearly. Even though she is strong and unshakeable, she desperately needs our support and help in shaking up the corrupt business of Social Services. Please share her video, and join in the weekly email events to let the abusers know that we will not stop until restitution is paid to Ann and her family, as well as those responsible for Alfred’s mistreatment are held accountable!! I am with you to the end my spicy little sister!! 😉 Love you!! xx
Thank you once again Steve, you are a true and stoic friend.
Almost a year has passed and I am more determined than ever that not only my family’s situation be resolved, but that the whole issue of residential care be addressed. That includes not only physical and psychological abuse in care homes, but the bullying bureaucrats who deem people as lesser or of little import should they no longer be ‘productive’ – therefore unable to afford the parasites the spoils of their labour.
I’m only one (fairly loud) voice, but hope the echo of my outrage impels others to join the fight against these thugs!
This is a complete disgrace – the Solihull Social Service Department need to be investigated thoroughly regarding this. Extremely vulnerable people really on them and they are not competent to do their jobs. This is a UK wide disgrace and the whole of the SSD needs to be overhauled, investigated and changed. They don’t care about the family, the patient, the care or lack of it.
Oh Ann, this is an ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL post, and hopefully the answer to all the prayers we have sent out to the Universe on behalf of you, and I was overjoyed to see that Dr.Steve has rallied behind you and Alf!
Hopefully now, after all you’ve been through, Karma has decided to take over from here.
I’ve yet to have my request to ride “shotgun”on the Karma Bus granted, but it looks like I’ll get to take this ride vicariously through you 😊
I personally take great pleasure in knowing that Ms Fiona “Don’t you dare mention my name” McGill and Ian “Pass the Buck” James
will now be totally unable to find a rock anywhere in which to slither back under and hide…
And Fiona “Don’t you dare mention my name” McGill’s name will now be in more ears and on more tongues than she could have ever been able to imagine.
Shame has rarely been as fun as this looks to be turning out to be for her and all of those involved…
And that the power of loving and caring friends standing beside us has once again proven to be one of the most magical gifts we can ever be given.
ROCK ON ANN -YOU’VE DONE IT GIRLFRIEND! ✊💕👍💕👍💕
ps…Coinky Dink. ..I just happened to have shared a few of Dr Steve’s speeches and some things from his fb page about a week ago…
The world needs to wake up and if his words don’t do it nothing will! Pax ❤
Brilliant work Steve Best, well written and well put across.
Well done Ann for standing up to these corrupt people and the corrupt Solihull MBC. I would say that they who tried to keep this quiet and sweep it under the carpet have failed, the same way they are failing to look after the vulnerable of Solihull. Heads should and will role, certain people will be out of post, and rightly so.
Keep up the good work your doing Ann, your not only fighting for your own families rights you are fighting for EVERYONE’s rights.
HOLD YOUR HEADS IN SHAME IAN JAMES, FIONA McGILL, AND MIKE STRAUSS.
Steve!! brilliant support for a brilliant lady,AR activist and person…Ann Parkes.Justice has to be done,They cant get away with this shitty treatment of decent human beings.Ann and her family have been through hell thanks to those scumbags at Sollihull….JUSTICE HAS TO BE DONE….thanks Dr.Steve Best…xxx
Two thumbs on your comment, Ellen! 🙂
The update video is straight from the heart. Ann brilliantly spoken. I,m almost speechless with rage that this disgraceful excuse for a supposed Social Services Department, run by Ian James with his side kick Fiona McGill has not been addressed. State Oppression at its worst, Stalinism alive and kicking in the UK, freedom of speech being met with the plod at “ones” door, and the very worst, the belief that Solihull Borough Council is itself above the law. How many others have fallen victim to these corrupt, elitist servants of the Crown. How many billions of pounds have slipped from unsuspecting law abiding citizens into the pockets of Government over the years.
Thank you Steve for your introduction and support..respect.
The situation that Ann and Alf have been through will eventually filter through all our lives in one way or another. We must stand together on this. People must be found accountable and justice must be served. Thanks to Steve Best and also to our beloved Ann Parkes.
Thank you Steve for coming to the aid of Ann Parkes and her family! She, more than anyone deserves all the support in this world. And she has it. There are thousands who know her and the incredible work she has done during her life in defense of the more unfortunate, be it animals or humans!! Her outstanding qualities as a human being put her in a class of her own and what is happening to her at the hands of the Social services system is indeed a disgrace, for the system and for the UK! VERY disappointing for a ” civilized” European nation… SHAME!!!!
Thank you Dr Steve for speaking up for Ann and her family …. she who doesn’t want her name mentioned.. Fiona McGill … and Ian James and Mike Strauss … have caused and are still causing Ann and her family untold stress, they have treated Ann and her family in the most despicable and disgusting way, and they must be punished for what they have done, and Ann has nearly died because of them, and the evil git Mike Strauss even had the audacity to tell Ann to have her beloved Amber euthanized, that says just how evil they are, they cannot be allowed to get away with this, and through it all Ann has still been here for the animals who need help, and she has been here for us too, which just goes to show what a wonderful and strong lady she is. we love her. thank you again Dr Steve for being here for Ann. god bless … solidarity … xxxx
Solihull Social Services need to be held accountable for their total disregard for human life and suffering. I have watched how Alf, Ann and their whole family have suffered through this ordeal. They are CRIMINALS…the whole lot of them. They deserve to be publically shamed for how they have acted. I will share this blog, the petition and Ann’s story widely.
Steve, thank you so much for speaking up for Ann. MUCH RESPECT XXX
Thank you Steve for this great blog & support of Ann. She’s such a great lady & in no way deserved what she’s been through. She deserves justice to be done & promptly.
They should all be ashamed of themselves, by all i mean Ian James, Fiona McGill, Mike Strause, and the rest on Solihull Adult care for their actions not only to the Parkes family but to other families that they are trying to bring down in order to improve their Figures and Financial account.
Ann, you are the strongest person i know who has made a stand to these corrupt Government officials, well done to you, your actions are known not only just within Solihull hut also worldwide. Your a outstanding person, who after winning her fight with these people, needs a big and public apolagy for them all.
In my mind, physical, psychological, and emotional abuses against the elderly and/or disabled are just as despicable as the same against animals and should be named, shamed, and punished. On a minuscule level I can relate to Ann’s struggle to constantly advocate for her dear husband, Alf as well as the painful decision to place your loved one(s) into a care facility outside your home. It breaks my heart into pieces that Alf and Ann have suffered so much, and that the fight still continues to expose the corruption, greed, and malicious behaviors by the very people who are paid to look after those who cannot look after themselves. Thank you, Steve, and everyone else who is standing beside, and helping Ann expose these dirty bastards and bring them to justice! I love you, sis!! ❤ xx
What trauma this woman and her family have endured at the hands of these greedy, uncaring bureaucrats. As people progress through life, they are meant to relax and enjoy what they’ve worked for. But they have taken everything away from Ann and her husband. To think one can end up being treated like this! It should make us all sit up, take notice of and seriously think about doing something to change it or we’ll all be in the same boat. Thanks to Ann, Steve and their supporters, we have a head start. Don’t let them down. Let’s help them keep fighting, for all our sake.
Solihull MBC must be in line for the award of most uncaring, sadistic, greedy and incompetent local council in the uk. There is no excuse for their mistreatment of the Parkes family. To have a relative under residential professional care is heartbreaking for the next of kin who makes that decision, even though it is in their relation’s best interest. To have the heartbreak compounded by those whose duty is to help means that those who have caused this crisis are irredeemable as far as their professional conduct is concerned. They should be dismissed. More power to you Ann and we know you will be successful and follow through also on the behalf of other uk citizens. There are thousands of people, human rights and animal rights activists standing beside you. Media and anonymous are urged to grasp the importance of this human rights issue and give Ann a voice on behalf of her family and others similarly suffering.
Alana Roy — you are completely right. After working for decades and rearing children with a strong work ethic, paying taxes and volunteering to help others, people should be able to anticipate reaping the benefits of a life well lived – rather than being robbed, with the security they strived to provide for their partner and family to be ripped away by bureaucrats, whose criminal actions – thus far – have been legitimised by corrupt central government.
However, I would challenge the legitimacy, even in the corrupt environs of a Tory regime, as to whether the actions of Solihull Social Services Dept. can be justified by even the most corrupt of the spivs employed as local government lawyers. Hence the bumbling responses to myself by a half-baked qualified lawyer employed by Solihull SS (SS – how descriptive!) who simply says “get a lawyer” or I need to speak to my colleagues… haha
The coming weeks will see me giving interviews, with a view to this sorry state of affairs being further publicised. This fight will be taken to the doorstep of Solihull MBC and, should they wish to involve the police, they are most welcome to do so. Because further publicity will emanate from that, and I welcome it!
I am no longer fighting alone – and intend to pursue those who are culpable for wreaking such havoc and despair in people’s lives.
You are in a lose – lose situation Solihull MBC. And your colleagues in other boroughs, who have been raking in a very nice income thank you, from stripping the vulnerable and their families of all they have, will not thank you for highlighting this particular little scam.
By taking money at source, by refusing to honour direct debits/standing orders or insurance policies, by not being transparent about how much money you actually are taking (which may well exceed that which the client should be paying for residential care), by illegally withholding personal allowances, by refusing to communicate or meet with families, by ultimately putting people’s homes at risk – bankers take all eh? All of these issues must and will be addressed.
You treat people as numbers on account sheets. Rather than acknowledging them as people whose assets are THEIR assets – not yours, to be thieved in order to enhance your budget. Rather than perceiving them as souls who are entitled to dignity and care. Further, you treat their loved ones as dross.
This particular piece of dross by the name of Ann Parkes, is determined to bring you – and your like – to account. Whatever it takes. And however long it takes.
Solihull MBC – you will rue the day!
Excellent statement Ann Parkes to these people who are blatantly corrupt not only in their politics but their devoid in any morality or ethics, they have gone to the darkside, and thus will stay there for eternity.
THURSDAY 7th August 7PM BST THE PAXMUNDI SHOW WITH NIGEL ROWLAND THE REAL NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND LOCAL this is one of the best researched Shows on the radio
9PM BST Peoples Voice The Ann Parkes story the shocking treatment of her and her family by solihull mbc social services
http://www.darkcityradio.com/
TRUTH SPEAKS TO POWER…..
Solihull MBC – Social Services/Adult Care – You have been rumbled and soon you, along with the political gangsters in power, will be tumbled.. By the common men and women of this Country! SOLIDARITY… Love and Light..
Please listen – last night’s D’ARK CITY RADIO interview (I apologise for my crappy computer marring the sound – going to get a new laptop at the weekend).
[audio src="http://www.dcrark.com/showaudio/2014-08/2014-08-07/Peoples%20Voice%20-%20The%20Ann%20Parkes%20stroy%20-%2007th%20Aug%202014.mp3" /]
Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/19252
Too many people are getting away with such behavior.. These people really do need to be made to answer for their wrong doings…and made to pay the price… They are the lowest of the low.. They must be made to realize that everything cost’s and the price for this is HIGH.
Thank you all for your support. It is anticipated that further publicity via the media will emanate over the next few weeks. The Hon. John Hemming, MP is also giving some assistance.
Again, I was hospitalised due to recurring ulcer problem – a condition firmly attributable to the stress built up over the past couple of years. This, thanks to Solihull MBC (Social Services) whose duty of care could more aptly be described as a vengeful mission to destroy. I am home again now, and will make up for lost time shortly.
If my condition deteriorates, my family and friends will continue in their efforts to bring Solihull MBC to account. Ian James, Director of Adult Care, and those despicable personnel involved in this debacle should be summarily disciplined – if not dismissed, in the case of those who have lied, defrauded and caused such mayhem.
Subsequently, across the UK, the chaos pertaining in regard to residential care and to the lack of cohesive policy in regard to nursing and social care, must and will be addressed. At the highest level.
Ahhh Ann, So sorry you are still suffering so harshly and that justice for you has not come swiftly, this is so crazy, I never expected to see such horrific human rights violations on such and insane scale in this day and age..so many people are conditioned to become quiet victims, makes it harder for those of us who fight for right, I actually had a cop come to my door this morning to tell me he would file charges against me if I didn’t stop blogging about my crazy neighbor who’s attacking me again, this is blatant corruption in the most progressive state in our country, of course I blogged what he told me immediately and called the ACLU, I’ll have to go to jail, because I won’t give up my civil rights for freedom of speech, so I empathize & am sending you so much positive energy for you are such a brave, courageous warrior woman, bless your heart and soul Ann Parkes.