Lib Dem Candidate Caught 'Defrauding' Students

[T_i_B]

Looks like someone's been following Nick Clegg's example.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201009115890360

A Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate and university lecturer has been implicated in defrauding students out of thousands of pounds in tuition fees, a Sky News investigation can reveal.

Dr Vincent McKee, 52, offers private tuition through the Institute of Colleges and University Teachers (Icut), in Coventry. But students and parents who hand over bank details to the company have discovered large sums missing from their accounts.

Student Ivie Ogodan claims she booked just £90 of tutorials through Icut, but after giving McKee her credit card, £685 was removed from her account. She said: "That money was for Christmas presents for my family. I called him several times to ask for my money back but he kept making excuses. My sister and I went to Coventry and turned up on his doorstep and refused to leave. But he yelled at my sister and was rude and intimidating. Eventually he wrote me a cheque for £250. But then he ripped it up again. I felt very scared and began crying."

McKee has stood as a Liberal Democrat candidate for parliament in four general elections and is currently head of policy for the party in Coventry. He is also a director of the Electoral Reform Society and a member of Solihull Chamber of Commerce.

[LeftishBrit]

1. My first cynical reaction to the headline was 'Yes, I knew the party had done that'...

but I see that it's a case of individual serious criminal behaviour (if proven).

Also on checking, ICUT itself looks like a pretty dodgy, and anti-universities, outfit:

http://home.btconnect.com/icutuk/news.htm


Even if he'd stayed within the law, this seems like a strange candidate to have been selected in a constituency that presumably has plenty of students in it.

[LeftishBrit]

2. On looking at it further...

the acronym of his organization is startlingly appropriate: 'ICUT'. If someone had used it in a TV series, I'd think it was over the top!

On Googling this man, I find that he is a sanctimonious religious-rightie and vehement political anti-secularist, who would make Mad Nad Dorries look gentle on such issues in comparison. He has been criticized for his extreme views not only by secularists but by a Christian chaplain.

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=47062

http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/2009/05/11/lib-dems-older-traditions-and-the-rise-of-militant-humanists/

Like many such people, he seems to have no trouble in serving both God and Mammon!