Paul Simpson, of “Plane Crash” Homes for Lambeth, is now actually trying to sell his services in consultancy! Picture kindly and irrevocably licensed by Paul Simpson from his Flickr under CC-BY-2.0. Edit: In an attempt at rebranding, Paul is now going by Paul Hutchinson Simpson.

Largely unregulated, management consultancies can provided a useful service but it is very much a case of caveat emptor (‘buyer beware’). The dubious decision by Askival, a housing and project management consultancy, to take on Paul Simpson (now rebranded as Paul Hutchinson Simpson) of the very publicly failed and abolished property development company Homes for Lambeth, demonstrates just how important that can be. The move raises questions about the judgement and competence of CEO Mike Nestor and Managing Director Malcolm Ward. Meanwhile, consultancy Newman Francis, which seems more capable (or at least possessing a greater facility for self-preservation), has begun an investigation after a media inquiry from MHN.

MHN covered the Homes for Lambeth disaster last year. The full article is here. In short, Lambeth council tried its hand at property development by setting up a property development company. That company failed, squandering around £25 million of public money and only starting (starting – not delivering) 65 houses in 5 years. At the same time the company was criticised for waste, luxury and profligacy at the expense of taxpayers – for example spending just under one million pounds on upmarket WeWork offices in Waterloo when the council that wholly owned the company had empty, but less luxurious, buildings in Vauxhall.

The story is a scandal in its own right. Many vulnerable, impoverished residents of Lambeth live in undown, unpleasant, even unsafe residences. Money which could have improved their lives was squandered on the white elephant project.

My personal interest was piqued, however, because I knew one of the key figures in the failure. Paul Hutchinson Simpson (formerly known as Paul Simpson) was a former Labour Party staffer I had the misfortune to work with nearly twenty years ago. I was not impressed then and so I was unsurprised to be able to draw a clear line between many of the failures identified in the Kerslake review, which led to the decision to close the firm, and functions that Simpson personally boasted responsibility for.

To be clear, Simpson is not named in the Review, but he was by his own words in charge of many of the functions which led to the failure. According to Kerslake, feedback from Lambeth residents on those functions, including communication, was uniformly negative. Not one person had a good thing to say. To quote from Kerslake:

“As part of this review we spoke to residents on these estates to ask them about their experience. We did not speak to every resident, and we cannot pretend to represent every view. However, among those we did speak to, feedback was uniformly negative. They spoke of inconsistent approaches, poor communications, delays, lack of consideration, and confusion of responsibilities between HfL and Lambeth Council.”

I then added to that clumsy attempts by Simpson via a member of Homes for Lambeth staff (an HR officer) to threaten me with defamation proceedings. This was hilariously incompetent both in conception and execution. It was like Tokyo threatening Godzilla. Really? Defamation proceedings? Readers will be aware that I have an LL.M LPC (Commendation), obtained a distinction on my litigation exam, have over a decade of experience as a McKenzie Friend, and have represented myself and assisted others in multiple High Court defamation claims including against defendants represented by A-List firms like RPC and Graham Atkins. No defamation proceedings were issued. My article went up and stays up, with the statutory limitation period for libel having expired. Hilariously at one stage, directly contrary to his LinkedIn profile, it was claimed Simpson had not been working for the business at the time.

This clumsy approach was reminiscent of inappropriate behaviour towards myself I remembered from my days working with Simpson. So was the failure. Simpson had been in charge of Stephen Twigg MP’s election campaign, losing Enfield Southgate when Joan Ryan MP over in Enfield North successfully defended a smaller majority. Edmonton, where I was employed as the organiser, also successfully defended the seat. Simpson took a better hand and played it worse.

Finally, I noticed some poor practice in Simpson’s online presence, including inappropriate distribution of images of his own child.

The facts are set out in detail in my main article, “The Tragedy of ex-Labour Communications Staffer Paul Simpson and the Homes for Lambeth “Plane Crash”. On the basis of those facts, which readers are encouraged to review for themselves, including my experiences with Paul and the Kerslake Review nearly twenty years later, I opined that, “Paul Simpson is incompetent, a bully, a coward, dishonest and failed in his role”. Despite the threats, that opinion was never successfully challenged – nor were the facts I based it on.

Like Kerslake, I contacted a number of persons for comment including Paul’s former bosses, the leader of the council, the CEO of Homes for Lambeth. Not one spoke up in his defence. Not one. Former MP Stephen Twigg did give Simpson a recommendation on LinkedIn but it does not contradict my allegations nor praise Simpson’s work specifically on his re-election campaign. Twigg did not write to me defending Simpson nor denying my allegations. Joanne McCartney, a member of the London Assembly for whom Simpson was election agent, for neither denied the allegations nor has she recommended Simpson on LinkedIn as far as I can see.

Simpson has now resurfaced, having parted ways with Homes for Lambeth, as an, “associate” at consultancy firms Askival and Newman Francis.

This is who Mike Nestor and Malcolm Ward want to put to clients. It is the consultancy equivalent of a used car dealership, “A few minor dents on the bumper … nothing to worry about”. According to Simpson’s LinkedIn he is great. According to the other evidence … not so much. The official profile for Simpson on Askival’s, “Our Team” page (archive) is (black) comedy gold:

“Paul is an engagement and communications expert with over 20 years of experience. He uses engagement, communications, digital channels, and stakeholder management to explain challenging issues and projects between communities, stakeholders, councils, politicians and businesses to enable change.

His first job was as an assistant for a local councillor, and since he has worked in and around local government, first as a contractor, then as an employee and then for Homes for Lambeth, Lambeth Council’s wholly-owned housing company. These experiences have given him a significant understanding of councils’ work and how best to communicate with them.

Paul has worked in estate regeneration and housing in Lambeth for several years. He understands the process of developing schemes, getting planning permission, and then moving on to detailed design, construction, and completion with residents moving into their new homes. He also knows how to take residents through this process and sustain support for change. Alongside this, Paul has run social investment programmes linked to regeneration, focusing on ensuring residents benefit from the jobs created and improve their digital skills and well-being.

He is a hands-on problem-solver. For example, during the pandemic, he created virtual drop-ins, which minimised staff on the ground but allowed residents to access all the needed services and staff.

Paul is personally committed to diversity and inclusion. At Homes for Lambeth, he spearheaded the company becoming a ‘Dyslexia Friendly’ workplace and HFL Homes becoming a ‘House Proud Pledge Pioneer.’”

The passage is notable for its omissions. The fact that Homes for Lambeth was closed down for catastrophic failure is not noted. The fact that Simpson was at director level is not noted, presumably because whilst it looks like an achievement, it begs the question, “Why is he now an associate?”

It is quite obvious that other organisations looking to recruit at executive level are aware of the issues. The decision to close Homes for Lambeth was taken at a council cabinet meeting on 5th December 2022. Paul has had just over a year between that decision and his final parting of the ways with Homes for Lambeth during its painfully slow winding down. Over 12 months to polish his CV. Yet, as other executives departed for pastures new, Simpson clung on to the sinking ship and is now shown as, “Open to Work” on his LinkedIn. Clearly, many other prospective employers have shown discernment. The mere fact that Simpson has gone from being a director at Homes for Lambeth to a mere, ‘associate’ at his new companies shows how far he has fallen.

I cannot see how marketing Simpson as a consultant is going to work when his core and recent experience is catastrophic failure. I would not take bus driving advice from a guy whose last bus drove off a cliff, let alone pay for the privilege! In my opinion Simpson presents an obvious risk of failure, loss and inappropriate behaviour towards others. Furthermore, MHN and other media have a strong moral interest in querying Simpson’s involvement in public sector projects. There are ethical concerns ranging from use of public funds, personal integrity and treatment of staff. It is difficult to see how Askival can present Simpson to customers without being … less than candid. Such relationships will warrant further scrutiny.

This article was put to Askival executives Mike Nestor, Malcolm Ward and also to Paul Simpson. They were offered an extension of time to take legal advice. No response was received and the allegations were not denied.