Thursday, 23 February 2012

Trouble in paradise

There’s been a lot of press coverage recently about Emma Harrison, whose company A4e has raked in millions from the government for securing jobs for the unemployed, many of which on closer examination appear to be non-existent.

What isn’t so widely appreciated is that she is the chatelaine of Thornbridge Hall in Derbyshire, and that:
Emma’s husband, Jim, runs Thornbridge Brewery, housed in a converted outbuilding on the estate and another site in nearby Bakewell. One of his ales is called Jaipur, a nod to the city where he and Emma married. He also owns a number of pubs and restaurants, all of which operate at a loss according to the latest accounts. None of which matters, as long as Emma is doing her bit for the unemployed.
They may produce some fine beers, but you get the impression the brewery is something of a vanity project funded by your taxes and mine.

And put that belly button away, love!

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16 comments:

  1. Tandleman23 February 2012 at 12:53

    I think you ought to be careful about spreading such idiotic lies Mudgie. It was A4e that alerted DWP to a case a fraud as the PM said on the record in the house yesterday. Jim Harrison founded Thornbridge with his own money earned before he met Emma.

    All big organisations have fraud detection measures. A4e detected it and DWP would have. Emma is too fond of publicity but the company takes the risk before getting paid a penny.

    Daft muck raking post worthy of the Daily Mail where you no doubt read it.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous23 March 2012 at 09:23

      Well seem's like Mudgie is not such an idiot after all,and as for Jimbo earning his money before meeting Emma..Bullshit, his main job has been being Emma's bitch,or he is so dull that he thought she was a financial genius(sic) She will turn out to be nothing but a carpet bagger,unless you have not noticed she was the first one to jump ship and distance that this train wreck called A4E.
      And as for fraud detection,bit like the fox auditing the hen house!

      Delete
  2. Curmudgeon23 February 2012 at 13:12

    Given that the link is to the Daily Mail, it's a fair bet that is where I read it.

    Still, it could have been worse, it could have been the Guardian.

    I salute your confidence that A4e is entirely above board and beyond reproach.

    Also, given that Thornbridge Brewery was started some time after Jim and Emma married, how confident can we be that their respective finances are wholly ringfenced?

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    1. Anonymous22 March 2012 at 07:54

      Well having lived through the Enron collapse, it still amazes me that the husband/wife/wife /husband never co-mingle funds or have any clue what each other was doing. Something smells bad at A4E and some of the other main providers are a bit smelly,as for Thornbridge Brewery I personally have never tried their products,but most comments are positive and the staff appear dedicated to providing a superb and unique product.That being said Jim and Emma rented out their home to A4E to the tune of £1.7 million last year(did they pay business rates?)which came from the taxpayer,so by design or not, we helped fund Jim's hobby.Maybe they realize the gig is up and are trying to hide the ill gotten gains

      Delete
    2. Anonymous22 March 2012 at 20:24

      Well based on the BBC they have obtained documents that show all the way back in 2009 A4E was aware of systematic wide spread fraud. It would be a shame if under the proceeds of crime act that we the taxpayer ended up with Emma's gaudy commune.

      Delete
  3. Cooking Lager23 February 2012 at 13:39

    I feel less guilty about the cheap "loss leading" Jaipur in the spoons.

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  4. Ed23 February 2012 at 16:55

    It does rather sour the taste of Thornbridge.

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  5. deadmanjones23 February 2012 at 18:28

    You appear to have just tricked me into feeding the advertising revenue of the Daily Mail. I am far more upset about that than any of the interpretations of the lifestyles at Thornbridge Hall that form the crux of this article.

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  6. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 20:58

    At first I thought this was a bit hyperbolic but looking into it, it does look potentially a little shady.

    Boycott Thirnbridge?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 20:59

    Of course it would help if I could actually type Thornbridge correctly...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous23 February 2012 at 22:59

    This is a story which has more to run. It is in the Grauniad: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/feb/21/emma-harrison-a4e-nice-work?newsfeed=true

    There has been a funny smell about a4e for years now , just search the net for a4e scams and see some of the realities

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  9. Curmudgeon23 February 2012 at 23:54

    "It is in the Grauniad"

    So one in the eye for all the predictable anti-Mail whingers ;-)

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  10. Curmudgeon24 February 2012 at 14:51

    And it's reported today that she has stepped down from her role as "Back to Work Tsar" - ooh, the power of the blogosphere!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sat In A Pub24 February 2012 at 17:16

    You blog-Cameron listens!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Curmudgeon24 February 2012 at 17:33

    Unfortunately he doesn't on alcohol policy :-(

    ReplyDelete
  13. deadmanjones26 February 2012 at 10:18

    I'll bow out of this discussion gracelessly. It is confusing when the Daily Mail print a news story. They should do it more often.

    ReplyDelete

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