Some rather traumatic events, in the late 1980s, at the aerospace company I was working for at the time, lead to me joining a consulting company elsewhere in Hampshire.

Having nursed the ambition to develop the diversification possibilities in materials for some years I became involved with a composites moulding company to do just that. The name I gave the company for the purposes of the Book, was Sweeneys. Even though they took up less than fifty percent of the proposals I put in front of them and the introductions I made for them, Sweeneys tripled their turnover in two years, increased their staff by fifty percent and opened up another factory.

I felt that I could do more for industry generally if the work with which I was involved was more widely known. I had estimated that there were thousands of millions of Pounds worth of diversification business. Professional acquaintances, from industrial colleagues to Professors, agreed.

During that period Professor Sarhadi, Pro-vice Chancellor, and I, along with a local Bank Manager attended a meeting with the Head of Innovation of a major Bank and his Deputy. The outcome was that the Bank was willing to discuss co-sponsorship of a major Centre at the University. The local Centre would have been a stepping stone to that and become forty to fifty percent of the whole.

Bob Gumbrill persuaded Havant Borough Council to "go along with me to obtain funding" for the Project. The Council took me seriously because of Bob Gumbrill's support and because I had Brunel University behind me.

In the meantime, Business Link Hampshire helped to the extent of advice and suggested contacts. Those who were particularly supportive were David Bartlett, David Nicholas and Ian Black. At David Nicholas suggestion I sort the support of Dr Bernie Rickinson, Chief Executive of the Institute of Materials, and was given that support.

The Project was my idea. It was my proposal. I attended all of the meetings (on my own) and fought all of the battles, which at times were considerable.

The funding was won. Havant's contribution was very largely confined to typing up the proposal and putting their name to it.

My proposal won £136,000 of Konver Funding from Europe.

Belatedly, Havant handed the project over to Peter Marshall, just appointed as the Manager of the newly created Havant Borough Partnership. I was not consulted. They gave me no choice in the matter.

A Board was set up by Havant to "oversee" the Project. With a budget of only £136,00 to last two years that was, in my view, very much overkill; unless further resources were to be provided; they were not.

The project was taken in a different direction, put under someone without the knowledge or experience to pursue it as it was conceived and (predictably) failed in its changed form anyway. The project was wrecked with me being "encouraged out" by unsavoury means which were beyond what others, and I, regard as acceptable business practice, or acceptable practice in any sense.

The loss to the region is that of a major facility for technology and business development as well as the loss of millions of Pounds worth of business.

Those losses are in addition to the loss of all but £42,000 of the £136,000, because Havant did not reach the targets set by the Government Office for the South East (GOSE). Havant actually accepted more stringent requirements from GOSE than I had set out in my proposal. With the original concept for the Centre we might have met those. With Havant taking it off in a different direction and my expertise and contacts being dispensed with, there was little, if any, chance of doing so.

There were other funds, secured by the University of Portsmouth and Business Link Hampshire to support consultancy service for small to medium enterprises, (SMEs) in the region. I had spoken to Linda McCormack of the University of Portsmouth and agreed, in principle that the Centre could legitimately access those funds as well. So that can be added to the funding loss and is, arguably, of the order of £50,000 to £100,000.

No Board Member, either the Board Mr Marshall set up to "oversee" my Project, or the Board of Havant Borough Partnership asked for my side of the story. Similarly with the body of Councillors, though a few individuals are aware. For all the failings of judicial systems, including the British one, a fundamental tenet is that both sides of a story should be heard.

During a conversation with Professor Eric Billett, Pro-Vice Chancellor for External Affairs at Brunel University, he told me that Professor Sarhadi, Research Pro-Vice Chancellor, had sent an E-mail to Peter Marshall, reminding him that "none of this would have been possible without me" and asking him to, in effect, make sure that I was all right, treated fairly. Clearly that did not happen. It is another illustration of the stark difference between the high standards of Brunel University and those of Havant. 

During an earlier meeting with a Professor, I, a little reluctantly, expressed my feelings for the situation rather bluntly. "I feel that I have been shafted by Havant," I said. "You have been," was the immediate reply.

Over the days when I was being forced out I received a number of telephone calls from the University. Fairly obviously, Professors and Pro-Vice Chancellors do not readily assent to hour-long meetings, 'phone of their own volition and spend up to the best part of an hour on the 'phone unless there is genuine concern.

During late January 2001, I was informed that the Councillors still might do something if someone told them that a wrong was perpetrated. For some reason my word, the above concerns of the Professors, plus far more detail than there is in this Web Site is insufficient. Some suitably eminent authority from "on high" needs to spell it out to them in words of one syllable. However, at least there was a positive element in the conversation that conveyed the possibility.

In contrast, I met another Councillor in a supermarket the same day. The response was, "I am reducing my commitments", "I represent XXX" (i.e. a different Ward of Havant to where I live), "I'm shopping". Somewhere among that there was a possible commitment, suggestion to at least ask a question, maybe. I do not think that the entire conversation lasted more than three minutes.

I regarded many of the actions taken by Havant as a breach of the Code of Conduct of a Chartered Engineer on several counts. For example, it is a breach of the Code to harm the reputation or business of anyone, let alone another Chartered Engineer, either by intent or default; I was seriously harmed on both counts. A Chartered Engineer is required to ensure that a person made responsible for a project is suitably qualified for that project. I developed the Technology Diversification Centre Project on the basis of my extensive materials knowledge (especially advanced materials and composite materials), contacts, consultancy experience and success in business development; the person put in charge of it came from an electrical/electronics background with no particular materials knowledge and no consultancy experience.

As a result, I filed a formal complaint with the Institution of Electrical Engineers as Mr Marshall used the designatory letters "MEngSc, MBA(Harv), MIEE" on his Havant Borough Partnership business card. The Institution wrote to me to say that Mr Marshall was not a Member of the Institution so they were unable to take the complaint any further. He is still the Managing Director of Havant Borough Partnership and responsible for large budgets.

A more detailed comparison of Havant's actions with the Chartered Engineer's Code of Conduct is covered on another page.

Mr Marshall's Master of Business Administration Degree, from Harvard Business School is valid; I checked with the Dean, Kim Clarke.

How a £136,000 project did not survive the attentions of someone with a Harvard MBA is a very interesting question.

Havant put the project in the hands of a Harvard Alumni. Now my "mighty thing" no longer exists. That seems the complete antithesis of Harvard's aspirations and intentions.

A Professor at Brunel University said he had come across some research which came up with the conclusion that the more MBAs a Country had the less well it performed, in economic terms. Having not seen the research myself I cannot comment on it. I can only report on that element of our conversion.

To be fair to Harvard, he also pointed out the obvious that however good the tools it is how those tools are used that matters.

However, while searching the Internet for more suitable quotations for my books, as well as for this Site, I came across the following:

The Board of Havant Borough Partnership:

As yet, neither the Board of Havant Borough Partnership, nor the Councillors, has been willing or able to do anything about the situation. The Board is composed of prominent people in local business, representatives of business development agencies, a College Principal, a Canon, and so on, nominally "pillars of the Community". I am surprised that they acquiesced to, or supported, what was done.

One Member of the Board, to whom I recently spoke (12.15 p.m. to 12.25 p.m., Friday 3^rd November 2000), said that he did not know about my complaint to the Institution of Electrical Engineers and Mr Marshall's non-Membership despite the "MIEE" designation on his business card. Although I am sure that the matter was brought up before (I would have to go back through eight to ten A4 notebooks to be absolutely certain). At least one member of that Board now very definitely does know.

A recent (January 2001) conversation with the Secretary of one member of the Board confirms that I had brought up the matter of my treatment by Havant and the Borough Partnership in a conversation with her many months ago, the spring of 2000.

During a conversation on the same morning with the Secretary of another member, she did not understand why Havant had been allowed to get away with that type of behaviour, any more than I did.

Previously, I had advised at least one Councillor and a Council Officer. The matter has been stated in numerous letters and is certainly no secret, even though it has yet to reach the public through the media.

Obviously, through this Web Site, even more people will know. However, that is a by-product of the Site, not its main purpose.

In Havant, years of hard work, commitment and sacrifice count for nothing at all.

My experience of Havant is that the Borough's concept of "Partnership" is to take everything from you and to do with your ideas and achievements as they see fit.

Note that all of the above is fact which is supported by an extensive diary, notebooks, files, etc. Havant Council fully supports, and still employs, someone who wrote on a copy of my notepaper (they have admitted as much, in writing) and did not hold professional qualifications which were claimed. They have also gone to great lengths to suppress this story, so far successfully. That is part of the reason for this Web Site, though a very minor part.

Being fact, it is not libellous. However, should I receive any more threats, or intimations of threats, as a result of this Web Site, I will post them on the Web Site as I update it.

A Barrister has advised me, that as long as one refers to a Council as a body, as a collective, rather than to individuals who compose it, under British Law, no slander or libel is committed. The matter of Mr Marshall's Membership of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, or lack of it, is simply statement of fact supported by written evidence and verifiable with the Institution.

As for the rest, I believe I am entitled to my opinions and views as much as anyone else is. After all, Britain is a free Country, at least notionally. Apart from which, I am probably covered by the European Human Rights Act.

Had Havant's ethics been as high as those of the local Chamber of Commerce and Brunel University, the outcome would have been very different.

I have extensive notes and wish the story to go into the public domain. My qualifications are entirely genuine and may be verified with Brunel University, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Council of Engineering Institutions.

I am a healer committed to helping people.

Who is the most believable?

That such a story can be kept quiet makes the region even more dangerous for business, especially small business.

Brunel University was extremely supportive throughout and behaved impeccably. The University comes out of the affair "smelling of roses". Regrettably, Havant comes out of it smelling like the material that makes them grow fast, though has precisely the opposite effect; it is lethal.

I have found Havant deadly for business, rather than fertile, as it should be. I very much hope that will change, though, at present, I see no sign of that at all.

It will be interesting to see just how committed to working together the people of this Region really are. Hopefully, the faith expressed by "The News" will be amply justified. Certainly, positive efforts like theirs, and mine, ought to be supported.