Havering Councillors: Their ‘Register of Interests’ Statements, 2026

When you are first elected, co-opted, or appointed a member to your council or authority, you must, within 28 days of becoming a member, tell the monitoring officer who is responsible for your council’s or authority’s register of members’ interests about your disclosable pecuniary interests…..A person’s pecuniary interests are their business interests (for example their employment, trade, profession, contracts, or any company with which they are associated) and wider financial interests they might have (for example trust funds, investments, and assets including land and property).¹ (emphasis added)

It is a criminal offence if, without a reasonable excuse, you fail to tell the monitoring officer about your disclosable pecuniary interests, either for inclusion on the register if you are a newly elected, co-opted or appointed member….² (emphasis added)

Councillor Malvin Brown’s Register of Interests statement reads strangely.

Q1. Please state your employment or business carried out or any Partnerships or Directorships?

Answer: Landlord

Q4. Do you have any beneficial interest in land or property in Havering?

Answer: Residential address withheld – Localism Act 2011, section 32A.

He says his employment or business is ‘Landlord’ in answer to Q1. Yet he says that he doesn’t own land³ or have a beneficial interest in ‘land or property’ Q4 apart from his house. This is implausible and should be challenged by the Section 151 officer.

Councillor Martynas Cekavicius is also interesting.

Q11. Do you hold membership of bodies influencing Public Opinion or Policy?

Answer:

Member, Gidea Park & District Civic Society	–
Member, Emerson Park and Ardleigh Green Residents’ Association

Martynas belongs to a Residents Association but according to his answer to Q4 he doesn’t own land. Once again, this is strange. Belonging to a Residents Association is typically the activity of houseowners. This too should be probed to reassure voters that he has fulfilled his legal duty of candour.

Councillor Robert Attree’s ‘answers’ are odd. There are 12 questions in the Register of Interests document, which he is legally bound to answer truthfully. He has replied to all 12 questions ‘None’.⁴ Robert appears to be an elderly man and it’s unlikely that he doesn’t own his residence, which could make difficulties with Q4. Alternatively, he might not live in Havering, which again is problematic.

Conclusion

This isn’t nit-picking. If councillors can’t fulfil their legal obligations by accurately filling out a very simple form then that is worrying. What else can’t they do? These three councillors are part of the story. They are a sample from 55 councillors that were elected on May 7^th 2026. Every Register of Interests statement should be reviewed with a critical eye as opposed to being mindlessly accepted as truthful and accurate.

Notes

1Title This is the government’s guidance for councillors

2 loc.cit

3 That is, other than his personal residential property

4 Your Councillors | London Borough of Havering Every councillor is to be found on this site.

Havering’s Register of Interests: The Cabinet

Filling in the Register is a legal obligation and yet Havering’s councillors struggle. Havering’s councillors have professional assistance but seem disinclined to use it. The Cabinet are elite councillors so it’s very important they’re open to scrutiny. Question One is stupid simple and is routinely not answered, ignored, or misunderstood.¹

Q1 “Prescribed Description: Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.”

Cabinet members receive £35,000, which qualifies, “for profit or gain.” Surprisingly none of Havering’s cabinet members think so. There are other anomalies, which will be revealed in this survey.

Keith Darvill’s¹ entry says he’s a self-employed consultant. He doesn’t remark he’s a cabinet member.

Gillian Ford’s entry says she’s an Associate of Shared Service Architecture Ltd. She doesn’t say she’s deputy leader of the Council on £37,500. She’s also a member of the Local Government Association’s² City Regions committee earning £8,908

Oscar Ford ignores the fact he’s a cabinet member despite it being a substantial supplement to his pensions.

Paul McGeary’s entry says he’s Head of Estates, NELFT without adding he’s a cabinet member.

Paul Middleton owns Essex PC Fix without adding he’s a cabinet member

Ray Morgon’s entry says that he’s a “Full-time councillor”. That understates his actual position as Leader of the Council on £50,000

Barry Mugglestone answered ‘None’ for Question One. As a cabinet member he earns £700 pw

Christopher Wilkins agreed with Barry and answered ‘None’. He’s a cabinet member and a landlord (Q4).

Cabinet members earn more than many Havering Council employees who work full-time. If they can’t understand “profit or gain” what else can’t they understand?

Graham Williamson I couldn’t access his entry.

Notes

1 For Keith Darvill see Councillor details – Councillor Keith Darvill | The London Borough Of Havering All the other named councillors have identical access points.

2 Keith Darvill, Ray Morgon and Michael White are also on this association but aren’t paid. For paid members see SRAs September 2022 (local.gov.uk)

Havering’s Register of Interests: Three Case Studies

Every councillor has a legal obligation to fill out the Register of Interests. The government regard this as so important that if statements are false, it’s potentially a criminal act. Every councillor knows this.

The Register must be completed within 28 days of the election, which, this year, falls on the 2^nd June 2022. Anyone not filling in the Register isn’t meeting their legal obligations.

Philip Ruck (HRA: Cranham) apparently hasn’t filled in his form, which is a significant failure. Philip’s a new councillor but Keith Prince (Con: Squirrels Heath) has a long and distinguished career behind him. He too hasn’t filled in his Register of Interests which makes me suspicious. Keith’s GLA entry is overflowing with detail. Can it be that they’ve filled in their forms and been let down by the Council? If not, then it’s a reprehensible failure.¹

Sue Ospreay (Con: Rainham and Wennington)² signed a blank form, which is legally binding. It can be tested under the true/false criteria. On the basis of the Register statement of Jacqueline McArdle (Con: same ward) Sue’s statement is false. Jacqueline received donations from the Conservative Party. It’s highly unlikely that Sue didn’t also receive a donation.

The Register of Interests³ is a vital part of democracy. The Councillors who apparently failed their legal obligation, without a reasonable explanation, should lose their allowances. Sue should be given the opportunity to revise her form if it’s deemed necessary.

Notes

1 Councillor details – Councillor Philip Ruck | The London Borough Of Havering This entire discussion is based on the information held on this site. The information was accessed on June 21^st 2022. For other councillors go to the relevant entry. For Keith Prince see for his GLA statement Keith Prince – Register of interests | London City Hall

2 mgConvert2PDF.aspx (havering.gov.uk)

3 MPs also fill in a Register of Interests. This one is for Jon Cruddas (Lab) (Dagenham and Rainham) House of Commons – The Register of Members’ Financial Interests (3 May 2022: Cruddas, Jon ) (parliament.uk) For other MPs just fill in the relevant name.