Cllr Ian Lewis, who demanded to be told who saw the report, said: “The director of law’s email raises further questions over the secretive manner in which this whole fiasco has been conducted.
“The councillors in the areas affected by the cuts should have been given the same access to the report for ‘fact checking’, rather than just the most senior officers and some of the ruling cabinet.
“It is now two months since these people had access to the report, while the rest of Wirral has been left twiddling thumbs.”
But Cllr Foulkes last night said he was under a binding legal agreement not to disclose the contents of the draft report to anyone beyond the select group chosen by Mr Evans.
He added: “I can promise the contents of the report were not the reason for the change of heart.
“It was the fact the length of time this was taking was not making it possible for us to bring neighbourhood centres on line, so we have gone back to square one.”
