Tuesday 5 January 2010

HUSH MONEY

gagging order, hush moneyLast week’s Denbighshire Free Press carried a front page exclusive headlined ‘Gagging Order’; no reporter’s name was attached. The story revolved around the sudden departure (at various times since 2004) of four senior Denbighshire County Council employees for unexplained reasons.

Three of the employees were connected with Education and the other was Chief Executive Ian Miller. All four left without the usual period of notice and are believed to have received pay-offs on the condition that they must not speak publicly about their exit. In other words, they were gagged.

You may take the view that Denbighshire's activities need to be investigated, but by whom? I remember years ago the 'inquiry' into a so-called legacy of debt left behind by Rhuddlan Borough Council, an authority which had been swept out of existence by changes in the Local Government Act of 1994.

Chris Ruane MP brought some fellow MPs to Rhyl Town Hall and they spent a day questioning people including the RBC Chief Executive Mr. Edwin Lake about the alleged ‘missing money’. The MPs went away saying they needed more information. That was the last we heard of the matter.

--