Council inquiry widens

Feb 18 2008 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Daily Post

THE scope of the investi- gation into one of Merseyside’s most senior council officers is widening, the Daily Post can reveal.

Investigators scrutinising Sefton Council’s deputy chief executive, Alan Moore, are now assessing his conduct as director of regeneration.

Fresh allegations – separate from the original focus of the inquiry – were made to the council’s chief executive, Graham Haywood, last month.

Mr Haywood then instructed the independent body scrutinising Alan Moore to include the more recent information into its remit.

In addition to probing allegations involving Mr Moore and Manor ward councillor Debi Jones, landowners in the Klondyke area of Bootle are now also being quizzed about their experiences with the official.

Their land is the subject of a compulsory purchase order that was challenged in the High Court and is currently the subject of a written application for an appeal.

A witness who recently gave evidence to the investigation said they thought the probe was being taken “very seriously”.

The north west branch of the Local Government Employers’ Association was expected to deliver a report on Mr Moore last month.

He was suspended at the same time as Cllr Jones was reported to the Standards Board in December, 2007, following allegations that a meeting between the two had breached council protocol.

It was claimed Cllr Jones, a former Tory Parliamentary candidate for Sefton Central, was seeking to curry favour with Mr Moore for a PR company she worked for on a freelance basis.

Both Cllr Jones and Mr Moore deny any wrongdoing.

The investigation was expected to last six weeks but is now in its ninth.

Council leader Tony Robertson told the Daily Post: “If any of the allegations are founded, there are going to be serious decisions.

“When you have got somebody who is a senior manager with a local authority, any allegations made need to be investigated.

“I don’t want Alan Moore to be found guilty if he’s done nothing.

“The more senior the officer, the bigger the issue is when allegations are made and we will have to look at them in the cold light of day when we have the report.”

The north west LGEA’s chief executive, Vic Hewitt, is leading the investigation.

He is expected to produce a report before the end of the month. That will then be examined by Sefton’s employment procedures committee, which will decide what further action to take.

The witness who gave oral evidence to Mr Hewitt told the Daily Post: “I would wager that this guy is taking this very seriously.

“If I’m any judge of character, he seemed to be a man who was going to do an honest job.

“I want his report sent to the Ombudsman.”

The witness said Mr Hewitt carried a file “an inch thick” full of documents relating to the investigation.

Some of those documents are written statements from businesses who own land along Hawthorne Road, Bootle.

They include Nextdom and Wincham Investments.

Representatives for both companies have been involved in prolonged negotiations with Mr Moore over the value of their land should it be purchased under a Compulsory Purchase Order.

Neither Mr Hewitt nor Mr Moore were available for comment.

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