Council 'mole' escapes inquiry

Alex Gore • Published 22 Jan 2012 08:00 3 Comments

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THE MOLE who leaked information which forced Reading's ruling Labour group to prematurely reveal plans to axe the borough's chief executive will not be hunted down by town hall bosses.

Reading Borough Council leader Jo Lovelock ruled out action despite admitting the embarrassed administration was forced to go public earlier than planned with the move to get rid of Michael Coughlin.

The proposed senior management shake-up was revealed last month - just days after an anonymous blogger on the Civic Minded In Reading website claimed to have overheard a Labour councillor talking in a supermarket. The blog, which has since been taken down, also revealed that Cllr Jon Hartley was being replaced on the cabinet.

Cllr Lovelock told The Chronicle this week there will be no inquiry to identify the author or establish the truth of the supermarket allegation. She added: "We feel there are far more important things to be getting on with."

Last week she told the personnel committee Labour had been planning to give an advance briefing after Christmas to the then Tory group leader Andrew Cumpsty, and Lib Dem counterpart Daisy Benson.

Cllr Lovelock said: "We as an administration had been talking about this for a while. At some point, somebody decided it was a good idea to start talking publicly about it and once people start doing that it is not fair if the press, or anybody else, phone up and say 'is this true?', to say we are not thinking about this.

"Rather than pretending it was not happening, we decided we would not be disingenuous, given someone had decided to talk outside when they should not have done. I accept it is not good. I can only condemn anybody who thinks it is either amusing or clever to do that sort of thing."

The personnel committee was deciding whether to continue with proposals to abolish the posts of chief executive and director of resources, held by David Peasley, and combine the two into a new role, being performed by Mr Peasley on an interim basis.

The recommendation, aimed at helping Labour save nearly £1m in senior management costs, was passed without Tory and Lib Dem support and is expected to go before the full council later this year.

This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 19 Jan 12

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Weird Science
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Jan 22, 13:05
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No surprise really, they always look after their own. On the grounds they didn't even sack Diane Abbott over her vile racist comments they aren't going to reprimand some lower-down-the-food-chain public sector worker now are they? Same excretia, different wrapper...

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Jan 22, 16:03
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Jan 22, 16:09
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NotJohn
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Jan 23, 12:04
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Cllr Lovelock is right - there are better things to be getting on with.

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Grim Jim
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Jan 23, 21:23
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I think Barb summed it up best although I forget her exact quip. Something along the lines of them all being a bunch of self-serving w*****s. Personally I think the self-serving bit was a tad strong...

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Jan 29, 18:25
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