A Liverpool man who was jailed for a vicious knife attack was appointed the managing director of a leading health and safety company.
Martin Grant crept up behind a man and slashed him across the face leaving him with a deep scar that ran from his ear to his mouth. Police described the victim's injuries as 'life changing.'
Grant, from Old Swan, later pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon and was jailed for 10 years in 2015. Grant was appointed managing director of Liverpool company Safety Support Consultants (SSC) on his release from prison.
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Grant, now 33, is facing a long prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply Class A drugs and Class B drugs between September 2019 and April 2021. There is no suggestion that these crimes were in any way linked to his role at SSC.
Grant was made managing director of SSC in September 2019 and resigned on January 7, 2020. The ECHO understands Grant was released from prison on licence in 2019. We first approached SSC about Grant's past in January 2020.
At the time a spokesperson for the company said to the ECHO: "SSC is committed to diversity, inclusion and social responsibility as part of our core values and mission. Our recruitment policy falls in line with the Equal Opportunities Act 2010 and does not discriminate against anyone.
"As encouraged by the Ministry of Justice, SSC believes in giving ex-offenders a second chance. Like other socially responsible employers, SSC does not judge people on what they have done in the past, preferring instead to focus on what they can do in the future."
The spokesperson also confirmed that Grant left SSC on January 7, 2020. On January 13 a photograph of Grant had been removed from the company's website.
Managing directors traditionally oversee the day-to-day running of a business, take the lead on strategy and are also ambassadors for the brand. In November 2019, Grant signed off the company's accounts.
SSC, who worked with well known names in engineering had been involved in a number of major projects over recent years, including the demolition of the Churchill Flyover. The company provided health and safety support to the contractors on the site during the landmark city centre demolition project.
Last year, a government inspector criticised SSC's involvement in the scheme. The company later entered into administration. David Anderson, then chairman of SSC, was one of five men arrested as part of Merseyside Police's Operation Aloft corruption probe in December 2020 . He strongly denies any wrongdoing.
In 2015 Liverpool Crown Court heard how Grant crept up behind his victim in the Broadgreen area of the city and attacked him with a Stanley knife. A resident saw the victim staggering down Thomas Lane after the attack covered in blood.
The victim needed 30 stitches in his face and 60 stitches to his hand. Police described the victim's injuries as "life changing." The court heard that Grant told his victim : “That’s what you get.”
Grant's victim later left the Liverpool area.
Judge David Turner jailed Grant for 10 years. The Old Swan man had previous convictions for offences including blackmail in September 2008, for which he received an 18-month prison sentence.
Speaking after the case in 2015 , Detective Inspector Steve Reardon, from St Anne Street CID, said: “This was a cowardly and unprovoked attack. The victim had no chance of protecting himself or responding to the assault and has been left with life changing injuries.
“Martin Grant has never offered any reason as to why he committed such a vicious attack.
“Merseyside Police take all incidents of serious violent crime, especially when they involve knives and will pursue and prosecute those individuals involved in such incidents.”
Martin Grant and his co-defendant Liam Grant, of Holland Street Fairfield, will both be sentenced for drug offences at Liverpool Crown Court next month. The ECHO approached David Anderson for comment.
