*NEW* UPDATE - LES BALKWELL TO SUE ESSEX POLICE (was: Arrests of 5 members of Bromley family on suspicion of MANSLAUGHTER, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, PERVERTING THE COURSE OF JUSTICE and PERJURY)

At last!! Lets hope the charges stick and Justice is served.

Thinking of you Les x

Excellent news Tony!

Thinking of Les today.

Brilliant news, at last!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0b7bpOQIXM

I've just seen this video for the first time - with a very familiar face therein! - and will be reading up on the case now. I wasn't very familiar with it before though it happened not that far from where I live.

Very encouraging news!

It is shocking to encounter time and again, such rampant corruption within the British authorities. These (so called) 'seriously flawed investigations' seem to abound.

Hopefully Les Balkwell's valiant struggle to obtain justice for his son Lee is about to pay off, and those responsible for his death and for perverting the course of justice, will all be held accountable.

So good to see the fruits of your courageous efforts paying off, Tony.

Now on BBC website.

14 November 2012 Last updated at 12:55





Five arrested over Lee Balkwell cement mixer death


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-20325953

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-16731805

HOORAY.

Guardian ..

Cement mixer death: five arrested after police forced to reopen case


Three men and two women held after campaign for full inquiry by father of man found dead at Essex farm 10 years ago

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/nov/14/cement-mixer-death-police-arrest-essex

BBC report in full:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-20325953

Five arrested over Lee Balkwell cement mixer death

Lee Balkwell, 33, died in July 2002 at an Essex farm after suffering from multiple injuries

Five people have been arrested over the death of a 33-year-old man found with multiple injuries in a cement mixer at a farm in Essex in July 2002.

A 43-year-old man from Upminster was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and perjury over the death of Lee Balkwell.

Two men, aged 49 and 66, a woman, 63, also from Upminster, and a 38-year-old man from Southend were also held.

They are suspected of perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Mr Balkwell of Upminster was found in the cement mixer in suspicious circumstances, police said.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission earlier this year said Essex Police were found to have made "serious flaws" in their initial investigations of the death in 2002.

Senior officers were criticised in the report which was carried out following a long campaign by Mr Balkwell's father Les.

The five people arrested are understood to be members of the Bromley family who owned the cement mixer at the farm.*

They were arrested at their homes under the direction of Det Ch Sup Lee Catling of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime directorate.

The directorate said it had been investigating the circumstances leading up to Mr Balkwell 's death since August 2010.



[ * NOTE: 'tigerloaf' on the StoptheMyths forum went into hyper-overdrive today criticising me for naming the Bromleys in my press release. No doubt he will now be filing an urgent complaint with the BBC LOL! The muggins doesn't know that for the press to name suspects - even if the police don't - happens every day. Doh! ]

Five Arrested for Concrete Mixer Death of Lee Balkwell in Upminster

By Hannah Osborne: Subscribe to Hannah's RSS feed

November 14, 2012 1:00 PM GMT


Lee Balkwell died in 2002 and police have been investigating his death ever since (BBC)


Five people have been arrested in relation to the death of Lee Balkwell, whose body was found under a concrete mixer lorry in July 2002.

Balkwell, then aged 33, died in an industrial incident on a farm near South Ockendon. His death has been under investigation for the past ten years.

Now, five people have been arrested by Essex police. A 43-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter, perverting the course of justice and perjury.

A 66-year-old man, a 63-year-old woman, and a 49-year-old woman from Upminster were also arrested for for perverting the course of justice and perjury, while a 38-year-old man from Southend was also arrested for the same crimes.

The arrests were made today by officers working under the direction of detective chief superintendent Lee Catling, who has been investigating Balkwell's death since August 2010.

Catling joined the investigation following a review conducted by the West Midlands Police. An inquest found that Balkwell's death was a result of unlawful killing through gross negligence.

Tony Bennett, a retired solicitor who represents Mr Balkwell, told IB Times UK: "Obviously it's been a long old haul.

"You long for results of some kind and this is progress, but they could be released on bail. It's been very painful for Les and the family, who have coped with Lee's death in different ways.

"The inquest took five and a half years and police approached it as a tragic accident.

"I have spoken to Les today and he is content. He sees the arrests as very significant.

"His daughter went to visit the site today and said it is crawling with police, so it is a major development. We want to see it followed through with charges and convictions."

Balkwell had been drilling set concrete on the evening before his death. A post-mortem showed he died from injuries consistent with being drawn into moving parts of the cement mixer.


Five people have now been arrested in relation to Balkwell's death following an IPCC investigation (YouTube/Harlovian)

Following his death, over 130 complaints were made against Essex Police officers and an investigation was launched by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

It found there were failings during the course of the investigation and after the report, deputy chief constable Derek Benson sent a letter of apology to Balkwell's father, Les Balkwell and the victim's partner, Lorraine Mitchinson.

The IPCC report said: "Lee Balkwell was found dead at a farm in Upminster, Essex with his head and shoulders wedged between the drum and chassis of a cement mixer. His family was understandably devastated at their loss and expected Essex Police to thoroughly investigate the incident.

"At an early stage, Lee Balkwell's father, Mr Leslie Balkwell was dissatisfied with the police investigation and made a number of formal complaints.

"Mr Balkwell has campaigned tirelessly to find the truth, whilst also enduring the trauma and grief associated with the loss of a son. His persistence and determination have been admirable, but have undoubtedly taken a massive toll on him and his family."

During the initial investigation, crucial forensic evidence was not examined, including a knife found inside the cement mixer and a pair of trainers.

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:

h.osborne@ibtimes.co.uk

To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.co.uk

http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/10045822.Exclusive__Five_arrested_in_Lee_Balkwell_unexplained_death/

I can scarcely believe the stream of lies about my involvement in the Lee Balkwell case (and about other matters) on the StoptheMyths forum, but I must nail one outright and deliberate lie put out over there by a poster called 'urcrazy' tonight.

He wrote: "As an aside, I wonder if when Mr Bennett told the press about the arrests he mentioned his theory, propounded all over Havern's forum, that the real reason for this unfortunate man's death was that he and the rest of them at the farm were all involved in drug running?"

This a wholesale misrepresentation of what I have said and about the facts of the matter. So let me correct 'urcrazy's deliberate lies by setting the record straight as follows:

1. On the date of his death, Lee Balkwell was in his second short spell of employment working as a driver for Mr Simon Bromley, owner of Upminster Concrete.

2. There is no evidence whatsoever that Lee Balkwell was ever involved in drug-dealing of any kind, and the Deputy Chief Constable of Essex Police, Mr Derek Benson, recently made that emphatically clear in a letter sent to Lee's father, Mr Les Balkwell.

3. On a CCTV which was running on the night at Baldwins Farm (home of the Bromley family) for a total of 7 hours, there is plain evidence of a delivery of drugs by a well-known local drugs dealer. On that evening, those drugs were distributed to a number of people who arrived by car to make collections. Lee Balkwell was in no way involved in any of that dealing as the CCTV also reveals. There is evidence that drug-dealing was allowed to continue unabated at Baldwins Farm for as long as it did because of a ring of corrupt police officers at nearby Grays Police Station.

4. In 2005, as a result of Operation Portwing, three members of the Bromley family were arrested, charged, convicted and sentenced to prison terms for their offences.

5. It is a poster on 'StoptheMyths', therefore, not me, who has made the false allegation that Lee Balkwell dealt in drugs.I trust they will withdraw that slur on Lee Balkwell immediately.

Here's a couple of the messages Les Balkwell has received on his website tonight:

+++

Hello, this is a message for Les Balkwell.

Les, I remember, years ago, reading about you and your fight for justice for your son. I am so, so pleased to see the Essex news today and see that you are finally getting somewhere. I've never met you, I didn't know Lee. I remember being touched by your quest and in my heart, as much as I believed you. I didn't think you would get your voice heard against Essex Police.I'm so pleased to see that I was wrong and I have so much respect for you for persevering. It must have been such a hard road to walk and I just wanted to congratulate you.

Well done Les.

Much admiration and respect to you.

L

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Good work sir!

I read about you in the Mail and just checked out your website. You are an inspiration and your son would be so proud. Your story is a very important one, and shows that sometimes persistance pays off. Many would have given up, I am glad you didn't.

Not sure what I can do to help - but I am here if you need anything.

I will be following the story as it unfolds.

May your son rest in peace.

Respect,

A



Also, the story is being reported here:

http://www.theenquirer.co.uk/read.aspx?id=8943

http://www.yourthurrock.com/2012/11/14/five-arrests-over-ockendon-cement-mixer-death-in-2002/

http://www.brentwoodweeklynews.co.uk/news/basildon/10045822.Exclusive__Five_arrested_in_Lee_Balkwell_unexplained_death/


http://www.london24.com/news/crime/five_arrests_in_investigation_into_death_of_man_crushed_in_cement_mixer_1_1693108

http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk/arrested-Lee-Balkwell-investigation/story-17319360-detail/story.html

http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2012-11-14/five-arrests-in-connection-with-farm-death/