AN INDEPENDENT inquiry will be held into possible broken contract laws at Merseytravel.

The Post previously revealed the authority may not have tendered properly for consultants that cost millions of pounds – in breach of European law.

District Auditor Julian Farmer has said Merseytravel could struggle to prove it spent the money properly.

Now new chairman Cllr Liam Robinson has instructed officials to appoint independent auditors.

The contract scandal was exposed in a critical dossier by Labour councillors about governance at the organisation under the leadership of former chairman Cllr Mark Dowd and departed chief executive Neil Scales.

Cllr Dowd’s failure to take the report seriously led to his forced resignation in June.

In his first interview with The Post, Cllr Robinson said he wanted the organisation to get to the bottom of all the allegations, some of which remain unpublished for legal reasons.

He added: “There were some concerns that did come out in the report that was produced. I have asked for the directors to get an independent auditor to go through the issues thoroughly.

“I want us to be able to move on in a more productive and true situation so we can continue to complete the governance changes.

“I have asked for someone truly independent. We will use what comes out of that and work closely with the district leaders to deal with the recommendations that come out of that.”

Cllr Robinson, 30, is the youngest Labour politician in charge of a Merseyside authority.

He was just 10 when the previous chairman started his 20-year reign at the helm of the transport authority.

“I see it like the old football adage, if you are good enough you are old enough. I have got a transport background, so there is an element of having a unique qualification to do the role.

“I first got into the transport industry when I left university on the National Express graduate scheme.”