Former councillor Ian Driver due in court accused of criminal damage

Ian Driver

A former councillor charged with seven counts of criminal damage is due in court on Monday (August 2).

Ian Driver, of Sea View Road, Broadstairs, was arrested on June 30 when police carried out an investigation in relation to a series of anti-racism graffiti tags sprayed in Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

The case was due to be heard in April but was adjourned.

The Broadstairs resident is accused of spraying graffiti on Broadstairs and St Peter’s Town Council offices at Pierremont Hall, the office of the Broadstairs Folk Week, the Thanet council owned Dickens Museum, the box protecting the controversial Uncle Mack memorial plaque and two street signs in Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

The father-of-three has pleaded not guilty to the charges and says he believes he has a lawful excuse which he will bring before the court.

He is due to appear at Margate Magistrates Court at 10am.

37 Comments

  1. He might be weird and I didn’t find the graffitiing good in his anti-racist campaign but he was trying to bring it to the attention of us, which he did. He has also brought a lot of corruption within local council to the fore and I actually admire him for that.
    Many councillors are too frightened to speak up in public because of the draconian bullying measures taken against them. They get threatened with anti transparency gagging orders and discipline from the executives.

    • Well said, Kent resident.

      It’s a pity that other Councillors don’t have his experience and keen eye for corruption,hypocrisy in Local Government and discriminatory attitudes sadly held by many in our area.

      His critics, especially those who may be the subject of his investigations defame him to deflect from their guilt.

      • I think he is vindictive, spiteful and full of ill-will.
        Who does he think he is? A knight of the round table? A crusader?
        I feel very sorry for his family.

        • I think he’s got a huge grudge against the Labour party and probably against quite a lot of other people.

  2. He is the worst spray paint artist ever seen but maybe she did it as a protest, if only he took lessons from so many others that regularly do the same and never get their collar felt.

    There is a reason why everything happens (if he actually did damage is another point)

    Why is there so much disgusting graffiti in thanet, ? Its a daily issue very often in direct line of cctv operators sight.

    Has thanet forgotten they have cctv ?

    Not a fan of the artist but its being done for a reason !

    The true reason will prevail, watch this space

  3. I can not wait to find out, how after having yourself photographed graffitiing.
    You can plead not guilty. He may think for some reason he had a right, to commit criminal damage. But the damage was done. So guilty send him down, for time wasting.

  4. one minute we are supposed to be encouraging peoples artistic side , and when they express themselves we chastise them , i thought we were living in a wonderful open air gallery ? second thoughts ………..

  5. No criminal damage is not ok but this was not a criminal act, he’s standing up for the right to protest to the ( I know better than you crowd) idiots who are making this country a real mess. Sometimes you have to break the law to make a valid point, racism, human rights and freedom of speech should be there for everyone to uses not just the few who are narrow minded in the first place. At least he has the balls to stand up and be counted, not hidden behind like many others that could be named at tdc. So yes fight on and have your day

    • How was it not criminal damage? He sprayed paint over property that didn’t belong to him.
      If I sprayed paint on your car (assuming you have one) in order to draw attention to climate change, would you be ok with that?

  6. Andrew yes I have a car and understand your point, if you spayed my car and then you stood next to it and have it photograph and published in the news to draw attention, then in court you would have your say, paint can be removed. It’s not nice but it might be the only way to get your point across. If you had done it and not had picture taken and published in news, then yes would be upset. So what was done is wrong but he has not hidden or denying that. He has his day in court so good luck with it. No one was hurt that’s most important, hope you understand

    • What utter drivel you talk? Yes it is criminal damage. No you do not have the right to commit crimes to make points. Who says his point is right? Or your points or my points? We can’t allow people to destroy stuff to make points. He has the right to peacefully protest which means no damage. Anything else leads to what we have now where entitled woketivists believe they can do anything because they are right and everyone else is wrong. This guy is a prime example of a sneering woketivists who believes he can do anything as he is right and everyone else is wrong and they can suffer. He should join the Labour party he would be in good company.

  7. The man done wrong and was silly but deep down he only wants the best for Thanet and he is sick of the corruption

    • What corruption?
      If there was any, why has it not been dealt with by the police or appropriate government department ?
      TDC is notable for its absence on the “Rotten Boroughs ” page of Private Eye. (Peter Checksfield claimed that TDC has frequently featured, but despite being asked to provide examples, he hasn’t)
      As others have pointed out, this is how Ian Driver assembles his arguments:
      “If it’s true that did then ”
      The problem is, if the first condition is false, then so is the whole argument.
      He will then go on to seek a FoI request, and when no information is released (because there isn’t any), he will claim a conspiracy.

      • I don’t keep old copies of the mag from years ago (not even last month), but it was certainly featured at least twice.

        • (Incidentally, I wasn’t even reading/following this as anything to do with Mr. Driver bores me to tears, but I got a google alert – yes, I have web updates of anything with my name on!)

        • Yes Peter … I used to have very interesting email exchanges with Bertie Biggles. IIRC 2009 Mark Nottingham was Northwood Cllr (Before Ian Driver) Mark worked for MEP Mary Honeyball. They were dodging the consequences of a crime complaint made by Bertie. As well as dodging ward and Thanet health issues of contaminated aquifer and K Laundry direct water abstraction.

          Part of their column dodging overlapped into EU Resolution on GLADIO .. very much connected with Berties crime complaint.

          I got another MEP to take it forward. That was the time when TDC CEO Richard Samuel chose to respond ONLY to the blogger of Steve Ladyman choice … Michael Child. The result of which is to this day cover up of the GEC and Sericol toxic environmental contaminations.

          To that extent “Green” Cllr Driver’s column dodging on environmental hazards to health, is his history as a “Green” of following the line set by the CEO, the blogger, the MEP, the MP and the cllr of Labour persuasion.

          • The blogger “Eastcliff Richard” was from and of Private Eye which, as well as featuring Thanet in “Rotten Boroughs”, was exposing James Shortt, of Deal Royal Marines Barracks infamy, as a bogus ex SAS con man

            SHORTT was an associate of the Thanet chap against whom Bertie had made crime complaint. I took my blog down 2008 to report a comment exchange shortly before tragic death of Pc Eley. I reported my own blog comment exchange to HM Coroner. Suspecting the anon challenger, whom I crushed, was Eley. In order to crush the anon I published some 6th Thanet Gun Range evidence.

            So the James Shortt expose’ was also going on at Rotten Boroughs time. Although Eastcliff Richard denied being Private Eyes Thanet Eye in the Sky re matters paramilitary.

            This led 2009 to my judicial review of Chief constable FULLER. The JR file was stolen from Royal Courts of Justice as you know. 2010 FULLER was due to answer in Crown Court re 6th Thanet Range aspects in an abuse of process action when he was rescued, to a CPS sinecure, by Attorney General Baroness Scotland.

            Peter that was going on at Private Eye period of interest in Thanet.

  8. Seems a bit of a geezer who stepped over the line – his exposure of serious issues at TDC has to be respected even though you might not like him as an individual.
    This case does though highlight the double standards that operate – the police have pictures of at least one of the people responsible for the covid denial/anti vaccine/vapour trail/London protest stickers that are all over Thanet. He (yes, you Wayne) is pictured placing stickers on public danger warning signs yet nothing has been done.
    I would say the latter is a far more imortant matter than chasing a publicity seeker who handed himself in.

    • But he dodged the important issues of environmental hazards to health

      He has column dodged on that consistently. Including non disclosure in TDC gagging action on him re Pleasurama.

      Associated with this he kept quiet about Manston acquisition fraud and UKIP electoral fraud on industrial scale.Part of this was betraying his ward by dodging the column of demanding tests of K Laundry direct abstracted water supply. The toxic chemicals involved are absorbable.

      Driver is an attention seeking oaf.

  9. The only thing Ian Driver cares about is attention and he will attach himself to any cause that will keep his face in the papers. He has hopped from political party to political party including the Labour Party and Green Party in Thanet in an attempt to gain political power but always falls out with colleagues , who then become targets in his various posts. He did not resign as a councillor when he left the Labour Party and temporarily joined the Thanet Independent Group and then the Green Party, but would have been the first to demand that any other councillor resign if they had done the same thing.
    When he was a Southwark Councillor prior to moving to Thanet, Ian Driver was also a member of Arthur Scargill’s Socialist Labour Party, which he left the Labour Party to join, was later expelled from and then rejoined the Labour Party. He was also a member of Militant Tendency, so he’s deceived voters as to his true political colours.
    Anyone who has had the misfortune to cross swords with him will know only too well the toxic and bullying behaviour he is capable of but he is the first to claim he is the victim if anyone has the audacity to stand up to him.
    He is also a hypocrite, for example building an extension to his house without planning permission under the pretence that it was a shed whilst attacking another councillor for not complying with planning regulations.

  10. Why should he go back to wherever he grew up when he and his family have been living here for years? What’s your suggestion for local-born residents who break the law, Simon?

      • Originally he was from Yorkshire but he spent many years causing mayhem in London’s various far left factions before deciding to grace us with his presence and starting all over again here.

    • Don’t break the law, behave and don’t cost me a fortune on FOI applications on his crusades every few weeks. This would be a good start Marva!!

  11. Driver uses his blog to bully and is no better than those he seeks to vilify.
    When found guilty I hope his punishment reflects the crime, his lack of remorse and the cost to the public of the damage and subsequent trial.

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