THE leader of Wirral council has called for a police investigation after receiving a report into claims by whistle-blowers that hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money meant to help local businesses had been wasted.
The authority had called in external auditors Grant Thornton to examine the claims by former employees of Wirralbiz, a company involved in helping provide grants to help businesses and boost jobs in the borough.
The company has always insisted it has done nothing wrong and the council was responsible for approving the grants. They said they were ‘outraged’ by the allegations.
Concerns were first made public by a former accountant at Wirralbiz, Nigel Hobro.
Council leader Phil Davies said: "I have been very clear that whenever concerns are raised by whistle-blowers they must be investigated robustly. That is why I ordered an external investigation. I am pleased that I am now in a position to state clearly that the ISUS report which has now been concluded does not criticise Wirral council or its officers. I have referred the report to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the police to investigate other parties further."
