Speaker Rtn Robert Sladdin -

Robert told us that because of this scandal 21 people went to jail and 300 Councils were involved with the bribery and corruption.

Because he was speaking in Bradford he concentrated on the corruption that was uncovered in our city. In 1965 Poulson had an architectural practice in Pontefract that employed 750 people and in 1965 had a turnover of £1 million. Poulson himself failed the architectural exam but still set in practice because at that time it was not necessary to have a qualification. He picked up a lot of work re-building after the war and during this work came into contact with T Dan Smith known as Mr Newcastle or more derogatorily "The Mouth of the Tyne". Smith got a lot of painting and decorating work from the Council and became a councillor and eventually the leader of the Council. He set himself up as a PR consultant because of his many contacts including Harold Wilson and he set up other councillors as sub-contract consultants with Smith get a percentage of their contracts.

Between them Poulson and Smith became involved with Stanley Wardley's Master Plan for Bradford which led to the demolition of Swan Arcade, John Street Market, Collinson’s Cafe and the Mechanics Institute, and other landmarks. But their involvement involved bribing a lot of council officials. Thanks to the investigative reporting of Ray Fitzwalter at the Telegraph and Argus the Metropolitan Police eventually started an investigation which ended with Poulson being imprisoned for 5 years and Smith for 6 years. Among the 20 people who appeared at Leeds Crown Court on corruption charges were former Bradford Lord Mayor, Alderman Eddie Newby, and former Bradford City Council architect William Brown and his secretary Mary Fenelon, who all received suspended sentences. Even cabinet minister Reginald Maudling was tarnished by the scandal and had to quietly resign.