Lyons' Spy Bugs Simpson

Amicus MSF section fulltime officer Arthur Taylor has been caught secretly tape recording a meeting held by Joint General Secretary Derek Simpson. Mr Taylor is known to do 'jobs' for the other amicus Joint GS, Roger Lyons, in particular he attended and made notes at the Employment Tribunal case of Lyons v MSF whistleblower Marcia Solomon.

Derek Simpson has been holding meetings with members and supporters throughout the country. It was at just such a meeting in November in Bristol that Lyons' employee Arthur Taylor turned up with a recording device, and unbeknownst to those present, bugged the meeting. National Executive member and known Lyons supporter Alastair Fraser also turned up with Taylor.

Taylor may well have got away with it, had he not made the fatal mistake of playing back the recording to astounded officials at the amicus MSF South West Regional Office the next day.

In typical form Taylor faces no disciplinary action, however he has had to apologise to Simpson.

By way of contrast, during Lyons' witch hunts against MSF members, e.g. when the President, Secretary and Treasurer of London Region were suspended for supporting Ken Livingstone, followed by suspension of their elected replacements, all the defendents were expressly forbidden by Lyons from tape recording their own disciplinary trials.

Many view all this as symptomatic of the way Lyons and his Executive have run the corrupt MSF section. It certainly illustrates the absurdity of having two fully paid General Secretaries, one of whom (Lyons) will have gone ten years without election by the time he finally goes in 2007.
Posted by www.rogerlyons.com on 5th January 2003, updated 6th January 2003