By Charlotte Webster-
The death of late Mp James Brokenshire makes a South London mother feel tearful regularly because of the commitment he showed for her case. Mother of three, Simone John, said the commitment and concern the late Mp showed her in her fight to hold notorious Croydon Council to account after her son was stabbed twice within a four-month period brings her to tears often.
Brokenshire lost his fight against cancer in October 2021 many months after he had been helping Ms John in her fight for justice, but one which was delayed by the bureaucratic set backs of failing councils like Croydon. The late cheerful Mp was getting responses from the council about John’s sad case, though she counts herself one of the lucky mothers to still have her son alive, but without a properly functioning arm, and often suffering recurrent nightmares like his mother.
Brokenshire was the first individual to confront irresponsible Croydon Council and force a response from them, after she was continuously stone walled by officials at the councils at different levels.
Eventually, after The Eye Of Media.Com got in touch with MP Brokenshire on her behalf, Brokenshire continuously made contact with Croydon Council and regularly gave her feedback about her fight for accountability. The Council admitted liability, but never compensated her in any form or shape.
Matters were progressing with the active role of Brokenshire who directed the troubled mother of three to the council’s legal department. Even while being treated with cancer, MP Brokenshire updated her via emails, and she wished him speedy recovery. When she learnt of his sudden death she contacted this publication to pay tribute to him.
Although still waiting for redress and accountability for her terrible ordeal, she told The Eye Of Media.Com that she is regularly affected by memories of his commitment to her case, and comforting words via mail. She has described him as ”surely one of the most committed and thoughtful Mps in Britain”.
John, who is suffering from post-traumatic stress, contacted Croydon Council officials repeatedly in 2018, begging to be moved and expressing the threat to her son’s life, but was constantly ignored. One meeting with Croydon Mp, Susan Jones, offered hope, but yielded no immediate outcome until she was eventually moved outside the borough to Bexleyheath.
This interview was meant to get an update on Croydon Council, but she was more emotional about MP Brokenshire.
Croydon Council remains one of the most notorious councils in the UK, and is known for its negligent council staff who have long been undergoing a crippling financial crises.
John says she suffered continuous nightmares and flashbacks after the stabbing of her son, led her to regularly panic whenever she saw hoodie thugs or heard flashing sirens from a distance.
Ruin
‘It ruined my life, all I wanted was in the end was accountability, but none was forthcoming. I contacted James Brokenshire, and immediately he was supportive and got the first official response from Croydon Council. I had been asking them repeatedly to address my problems and even when [The]Eye Of Media contacted the council on behalf, they still just ignored me like I was a ghost. It was very painful.
‘Eventually, I was referred by their legal department to Jackie, but that council changes personnel like we change clothes. One minute they are there, the next minute they are not’
‘I was so grateful to James when eventually I got a result. Even when he was in hospital dying of cancer, he would still contact me and assure me of the efforts he was making for me for me. I sent him a number of e mails during his last months, and was not aware until very close to his death that he was dying of cancer. Even then, he was so dutiful and committed to his role, that he would still email me and let me know what he was doing to support my case.
I was touched when one of his emails informed me he was in hospital battling for cancer, but was still sending his representatives to communicate with Croydon Council on my behalf. His death affected me a lot emotionally and psychologically because you couldn’t possibly find a sweeter and more considerate man than Mr. Brokenshire, so selfless and considerate.
Anytime I think of my ongoing situation and the way I have been dumped by all the Croydon authorities who were communicating with James , it makes me feel so sad and tearful for him, I sometimes feel guilt for even emailing him in his final months about my troubles, but I had no idea of his situation.
Emotional: Simone John Image:Supplied
The thought that my situation with Croydon Council was no doubt one of the things on his mind in his final weeks makes me feel cry a lot some nights, I wish I were able to show him just how much I appreciated his support.
‘Recently I looked him up on google to see if there was anything recent in his memory and when I read about his last moments with his wife, I was shattered and reduced to uncontrollable tears. I didn’t know him personally but he was such a nice man. I want to support whatever I can for lung cancer in his memory.
Now that he has gone, Croydon Council has just gone completely quiet and returned to ignoring me and it drives me mad all over again. I think James Brokenshire is a standard all Mps should try to emulate. Every time I remember my situation, I remember James Brokenshire, and I just wish his soul to rest in perfect peace’.
Psychiatrist
Simone John has been seeing a psychiatrist for 2 years due to recurrent nightmares and paranoia she suffers ever since her son’s stabbings. The first stabbing occurred in November 2018, and the second time in April 2019, when she physically witnessed her son, (whose name she insists we withhold despite having published it in the past )covered in blood. On that occasion she believed he would die, but he miraculously survived. He was apparently stabbed for knowing a gang member whose rivals were looking for him.
After the first stabbing, she sent numerous emails to council officials pleading to be moved because she could sense a fatal stabbing eventually happening to her son. On one occasion she found two teenage boys hiding in her shed after jumping off a wall from the outside in an attempt to run away from police.
”I couldn’t sleep well at all when I was in Croydon, I was always so scared for my son’s life. That chapter is now over, but getting justice is another problem I am struggling with.
But then I think how James Brokenshire lived his life doing his best for other people right to his last moments.
And when I see that he and his wife were there for each other till his very last breath, it makes me feel so emotional. I don’t know how they handle the grief. Sorrow is not an easy thing to deal with at all. I just pray for his family to have perfect peace and would like to see a lot done to raise awareness of lung cancer in his memory”.