• The basic groundwork on Fire Service Pensions;

• Setting out the detailed evidence;

• The ground rules for document reproduction.

Dear Reader,

currently we are at the point in the development of the website where we have laid out the basic groundwork for understanding the historical evolution of Fire Service pensions and who currently has Statutory responsibilities for their implementation and governance.

We have provided current costs to the taxpayer and the pension contributors for operating the Schemes and the legal background against which Schemes must be operated.

We have provided the essential legal source legal documents which will be required both now and in the future when addressing queries and disputes and the lawful mechanisms to be used when pursuing these disputes by asking questions.

We have provided a key Opinion on a technical pension issue which we believe affects countless FSVs in terms of underpayment of their existing pensions and in a short time we will provide a worked example to be used as a template for those wishing to seek to question the accuracy of their own pension.

We have broadly highlighted corruption to be found at different levels in the Fire Service in general and in particular in the mismanagement of Pension Schemes and most specifically we have highlighted Lancashire as the exemplar of all that it wrong in the maladministration of its Fire Pension Schemes.

In respect of Lancashire we have also provided examples of human rights abuses in the lack of pastoral care to be found in Lancashire and we shall provide more, and in addition, we will publish those across the Fire Service nation which are brought to our attention.

We have touched broadly on individual corruption in Lancashire and identified those we will look at specifically in presenting independent evidence for the statements we have made supporting charges of individual corruption extending as it does from the top of the political executive to the most junior member of staff who has the role and responsibility for the lawful, and it has to be said, the fiduciary and moral implementation of pension Scheme Rules .

It is now time to call for a public accounting by presenting detailed evidence against these ‘experts’ (much of it in their own hand), both corporate and individual, so that the Public, as the final arbiter, may make the final judgement, whether or  not, corruption has become embedded and institutionalised in these Lancashire agencies responsible

for the Statutory duty of the correct timely payment of all pensions placed in their duty of care, or indeed if these ‘experts’ have overtime simply become unsupervised and out of political and managerial control.

To lay out this documentary evidence on the Morning Bugler is not without its own technical challenges. It is the intention to follow and enhance the existing protocols used throughout the website by using familiar technology linking a narrative to a specific evidential document which itself will be lodged in the appropriate library where it can be viewed separately.

Because this pension dispute has extended over such a long period it can well be understood that comprehensive Archives of documents have accumulated some of which it would simply be impracticable to publish and which might have no great substantial impact on the truth of matters.

Nevertheless in fair play, a sentiment never extended to Fire Service Veterans,  in understanding this complex dispute should any Reader feel that it would help his/her comprehension of a particular dimension they should seek clarification from the Morning Bugler who will publish the related documents in full.

To assist the reading of the reproduced documents, every single one of which has already been published in the public domain, all PDF format documents will include ‘sticky notes’ using an icon ‘Key’ which will be entitled ‘The Bugler’.

Should any Reader feel that a particular additional note is required for the general comprehension of a specific point then a note or notes will be added. A drafted note supplied to the Morning Bugler to make the point of clarification would be helpful.

Facsimile documents will never be abridged.

Any Reader who feels that they have been misquoted or maligned has a duty in the first instance to raise the matter directly with the Morning Bugler, open access facilities are provided to that end.

The Morning Bugler will after public  dialogue or discussion issue, if necessary, a retraction if it is fairly and publicly demonstrated that an error has occurred.

Until now not a single challenge, either personal or legal, has been raised against a single word written in the Morning Bugler. It is the intention that this aspirational standard be retained. Morning Bugler statements or opinions will always be supported with independent documentary evidence otherwise an opinion is simply that, an opinion.