Brown wades into independence row
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By Chris Tindall THE FORMER statutory senior traffic commissioner (TC) Philip Brown has spoken for the first time about the row over independence that threatened to engulf the TCs 18 months ago.
Brown describes the decision by TCs Beverley Bell and Sarah Bell to publicly write about their concerns that civil servants were interfering with their judicial independence as “unfortunate” , and says: “My view is always to never wash dirty linen in public. It’s not the way I would have conducted myself as a TC.” The TCs’ unease was prompted by a letter from the Department for Transport that Sarah Bell interpreted as inviting “the perception of the chief executive of Vosa having a de facto role of supervising and managing aspects of the traffic commissioners, which could be read as control powers.” But Brown dismisses their fears of being made to keep a record of their activities and how they spend their day as being “neither here nor there – it’s good management practice” . “My concern about independence is the perception of independence. There’s no question they are independent,” he adds.
Asked whether he was constrained about what he could say publicly due to the nature of his role, Brown says: “I think sometimes people who say a lot throw a lot of things at the issue on the basis that one might stick.
“Day-to-day good management and good housekeeping; it’s stuff that becomes more important than the issue itself. You could use the independence argument about any number of things,” he adds.
Brown retired from the statutory post in October 2011 on health grounds, and now works as a transport lawyer.
• An interview with him will appear in CM on 4 August.