The former night watchman dismissed from the Greystone Wharf site six weeks before the devastating fire of 13 February has provided Metropolitan Constabulary investigators with detailed testimony naming a senior Ashcroft Property Group employee as the person who ordered him to cease his nightly patrols, The Bobington Times has learned.

Thomas Breck, 54, who served as the sole security presence at the Mercer & Holt warehouse for three years until his dismissal in early January, sat for more than four hours of questioning on Monday at Constabulary headquarters. According to two sources with knowledge of the proceedings, Breck identified the individual who gave the order as someone within Ashcroft’s operational management — though the specific name has not been made public.

“He was told, in plain language, to stop walking the building at night,” one source said. “He was told it was a cost-saving measure. Six weeks later, he was let go entirely.”

Breck’s dismissal, which Ashcroft Property Group previously characterised as a routine reduction in staffing at a vacant property, has taken on new significance in light of the Fire Marshal’s finding that the warehouse blaze was deliberately set using an accelerant.

Seized Documents

Separately, The Bobington Times has learned that the documents and files seized during Monday’s search of Ashcroft’s offices on Harker Street have already yielded what investigators are describing privately as “material of significant interest.”

Among the items recovered are internal memoranda relating to the Fairweather & Chalk insurance policy on the Greystone Wharf property — the same policy that valued the derelict warehouse at 3.8 million florins, well above the city’s own assessment, and which had been renewed and increased just four months before the fire.

Sources indicate that the memoranda suggest the insurance valuation may have been inflated with the knowledge of at least one Ashcroft director, though the precise chain of responsibility remains under investigation.

“The picture that is emerging from the paperwork is not a flattering one for the company,” a source close to the investigation said.

Ashcroft Denies

Edmond Crayle, the solicitor retained by Ashcroft managing director Gerald Ashcroft from the firm Crayle, Whitford & Associates, issued a statement on Tuesday morning calling the investigation “an exercise in innuendo built on the testimony of a disgruntled former employee.”

“Mr. Breck was dismissed for cause following repeated failures to comply with site management protocols,” Crayle’s statement read. “His testimony should be weighed accordingly. As for the insurance arrangements, they were entirely proper and were conducted through a reputable firm with full documentation. My client cooperates fully and voluntarily with the Constabulary and has nothing to hide.”

Gerald Ashcroft himself has not spoken publicly since the fire. He was not present when officers executed the search warrant at Harker Street on Monday.

Pryce Presses Ahead

The investigation continues to carry political implications. Councilwoman Ida Pryce, whose Docklands district includes the Greystone Wharf site, renewed her call on Tuesday for a comprehensive safety audit of all vacant properties in the Docklands area.

“We now have a former employee on record saying he was told to stop guarding the building,” Pryce told this newspaper. “We have insurance figures that don’t add up. And we have fourteen other vacant Ashcroft properties in the Docklands alone. The question isn’t whether we do an audit — it’s why we haven’t done one already.”

Pryce confirmed she intends to raise the matter at Wednesday’s emergency council session, though the session’s formal agenda concerns the copper market and tramway budget. Council Speaker Desmond Falk has not indicated whether the Greystone matter will be admitted for discussion.

The Warehouse

The Mercer & Holt warehouse, built in 1882 and once one of the busiest storage facilities on the Docklands waterfront, had stood vacant since approximately 2024. Ashcroft Property Group acquired the property as part of a larger portfolio of Docklands holdings. The firm has been locked in a dispute with the city over a 2.4-million-florin vacant building levy.

The three-alarm fire on the evening of 13 February destroyed the structure. Four firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation at St. Dunstan’s Hospital. No civilian casualties were reported, though Louisa Marchbank of the Bobington Historical Preservation Society called the loss of the 144-year-old building “an irreplaceable wound to the city’s maritime heritage.”

The Constabulary has not indicated whether formal charges are imminent. Inspector Helena Greaves, who is overseeing the parade security operation this week, has delegated day-to-day management of the Greystone investigation to Senior Inspector Callum Frye, who declined to comment.

Thomas Breck could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. His solicitor, Miriam Oakes, said her client was “cooperating fully and truthfully with the investigation” and would have no further statement at this time.