Caerphilly chief at centre of police probe suspended

4:10pm Friday 8th March 2013 in News

SUSPENDED: Anthony O’Sullivan SUSPENDED: Anthony O’Sullivan

THE EMBATTLED chief executive of Caerphilly council, Anthony O’Sullivan, is to be suspended while a police investigation into the pay row at the council takes place.

The Wales Audit Office said Caerphilly council had acted unlawfully over the way pay rises of up to 20 per cent were made for senior officers, including to O’Sullivan.

Gwent Police yesterday said the matter should be investigated to ensure transparency and independence, and referred the controversy to Avon and Somerset Police, who say they are reviewing the issue.

The council released a statement this afternoon saying: "In the circumstances the Chief Executive has recognised the difficulty that this creates in terms of him fulfilling his responsibilities as Head of Paid Service, and that his continued attendance at work during this period would not be appropriate.

He has agreed, following discussions with the Leader, to be suspended from his duties pending the outcome of these investigations."

Plaid Cymru Group Leader Colin Mann said: "The damning nature of the Audit Office's report and the public outrage that has followed it, make this news unsurprising. The possibility of a police investigation has also led to a level of inevitability. From the outset, Plaid Cymru has argued that the chief executive's position is untenable and finally the council has responded.

"But people are asking where the political leadership has been throughout this whole saga. The council leader and his cabinet will face tough questions at next week's full council meeting as I and my group continue to fight in the interests of local residents."

 

Comments(21)

pds says...
4:27pm Fri 8 Mar 13

"He has agreed to be suspended"

How does that work? "He has agreed to duck the hassle and will take a break on full pay" might be a more appropriate description.

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tazeez says...
4:37pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Not before time! Glad to see that he has apparently been treated no differently to ordinary workers would have been. Now we want some councillors who were on the pay committee suspended as well.

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gingertom says...
5:04pm Fri 8 Mar 13

What about the others that sat in on their own pay rises? They need to be suspended aswell.

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The Mexican says...
5:42pm Fri 8 Mar 13

The first casualty in a massive game of Corporate Ker-plunk? There are others that made the same "human error" and would have benefitted if this cover up hadn't been disclosed. These "others" had many years of experience and knew better than not to declare an interest but chose to keep quiet and carry on regardless. Not one of them said "hold on a minute, surely you can't take part in this?" None of this fiasco was recorded adequately by these same experienced people. If I did the same in my job I'd be sacked and possibly prosected, quite rightly, for embezzlement and fraud.
Heads of Service at CCBC HQ have been seen running around like headless chickens this afternoon following this overdue announcement as their misguided loyalties have been found wanting.
Sack all those involved rather than suspend yhem on full pay and lets put this behind us and rebuild what was once a good Local Authority.

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Aquarius says...
6:14pm Fri 8 Mar 13

gingertom wrote:
What about the others that sat in on their own pay rises? They need to be suspended aswell.
Absolutely.

Knowing what we now know about the way this lot operate, they'll probably appoint one of them to run the 'investigation'!

They must ALL - the officers AND the councillors involved - be suspended.

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Aquarius says...
6:21pm Fri 8 Mar 13

pds wrote:
"He has agreed to be suspended"

How does that work? "He has agreed to duck the hassle and will take a break on full pay" might be a more appropriate description.
You really don't know whether to laugh or shudder, do you?

This reminds me of the mealy mouthed response yesterday from Carl Sergeant at the Welsh Assembly, where he said he would be "writing" to the council leader and "requesting" a meeting....

Eh?

You're the Minister for Local Government you idiot. You RING the council leader up and tell him to get his a*** down to Cardiff Bay pronto!

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ExNewport says...
7:22pm Fri 8 Mar 13

If he had voted himself a smaller amount it, say £5000, it may have gone unnoticed but 30 grand? that is just pure greed. Especially when the rest of the workforce are on a pay freeze, totally bonkers.

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Davi says...
7:57pm Fri 8 Mar 13

All 19 Officers who were given a Salary Increase should be named, they are sat back and laughing at the rest of CCBC staff who have a pay freeze for 3 years.

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Robindabank says...
7:59pm Fri 8 Mar 13

Don't he look a smug un!

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reenie83 says...
9:54pm Fri 8 Mar 13

So this greedy idiot can take a break from his duties at the cost of nearly £10k a month because he "agreed" to be suspended, whilst the council now has to find another person to complete his job description and pay them also.!!
Caerphilly Council are a joke, too many over paid and underworked Chiefs and not enough "pay freeze for 3 years" and overworked Indians...

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sharon1717 says...
1:31am Sat 9 Mar 13

It's a farce, he's "agreed" to be suspended on full pay, whilst his post will be filled by his deputy, who also benefitted from this unlawfully obtained pay rise. Presumably the deputy will get more money for filling that post. So the pigs continue to eat at the trough. FARCE

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pass the stilsons luv says...
6:58am Sat 9 Mar 13

The names of the other 19 people must be named in this, and suspended, O Sulivan did not act alone in this corrupt shambles, where is the head of legal ? the head of Personel ? and the "deputy" chief executive ? Perkins, Hardacre, and Barnet ? Also shouldn't the head of finance take a share of responsibility.
19 ARE STILL HAVING THE PAY RISE !!
Frankly i believe it is impossible to suspend all those who are guilty in this mess as there are too many of them, so O Sulivan is being offered up to appease public outcry. The others should not be allowed to walk away blame free.
I feel sorry for the honest hard working staff who were penalised in the job evaluation, and now having their names tarnished by this.
A rotten disgrace !!!!

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scraptheWAG says...
10:40am Sat 9 Mar 13

suspended on full pay of life in the public sector aint it grand

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Aquarius says...
10:56am Sat 9 Mar 13

The thing is, not *all* these officers were involved in the cosy little meetings which were attended by a few, including the Chief Executive and the Head of Legal.

Granted, it is annoying that taxpayers are expected to fork out for payrises which are regarded as excessive when the rest of us - and the rest of Caerphilly Council employees - are tightening their belts. But that is a separate issue to the one where a few people got together *unlawfully* to try and pick taxpayers pockets for their own gain.

It is *these* people who must in the first instance be targeted.

The council will claim that in order to recruit and retain people of the highest ability, they must offer the best salaries. In a sense, that is understandable.

So we have a Chief Exec and a Head of Legal (and others) who supposedly are of the highest ability (why else give the Chief even a £5,000 rise, let alone £28,000?). Bearing that in mind, they then make unlawful decisions which SURELY - if they are as good as they say they are - they should have KNOWN were unlawful.

Therefore we would have to assume they knowingly did this - either thinking everyone else wouldn't notice or know it was unlawful, or through being so arrogant they thought they could get away with it. And in that case, there have to be consequences for their actions.

If on the other hand, none of these supposely capable people realised what they were doing was unlawful, then clearly they aren't of the sort of high ability that the Council claim and weren't worthy of an increase in the first place. And in fact should not have been employed at all.

Let's also not forget the councillors who were involved in these cosy little meetings. Have they been suspended? Has their conduct been reported?

All these rotten individuals should have been suspended at the same time and anyone else even remotely connected with them isolated from any subsequent inquiry.

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Cwmderi says...
1:02pm Sat 9 Mar 13

There are some remarkably well inormed postings related to this disgraceful fiasco by senior offficers and councillors who should face this police investigation.
There can be no doubt that the most senior politicians at Caerphilly council are quite prepared to hang Mr O'Sullivan out to dry and try to distance themselves from the ultra bad press and media coverage. However, there is no doubt that the Big 3 at the council have played their full part in this digraceful fiasco and should be suspened from their duties as Leader and Deputy Leaders of the council while the police investigations are taking place
So come on Cllrs; Harry Andrews, Keith Reynolds and Gerald Jones. Step aside and wait for your interviews with the police the same as the CEO

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davidcp says...
6:15pm Sat 9 Mar 13

Sentence, then verdict, then trial and then investigation by mob.

Is this Lewis Carroll-land?

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davidcp says...
6:18pm Sat 9 Mar 13

BTW - 'unlawful' does not necessarily mean 'criminal'.

There's a BIG legal difference, so why not wait and see IF the police DO investigate (as opposed to 'consulting the CPS', which is NOT an investigation.

BTW (again) I'm not saying nothing happened, but I'd like to wait until AFTE the investigations has finished.

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Aquarius says...
6:41pm Sat 9 Mar 13

davidcp wrote:
BTW - 'unlawful' does not necessarily mean 'criminal'.

There's a BIG legal difference, so why not wait and see IF the police DO investigate (as opposed to 'consulting the CPS', which is NOT an investigation.

BTW (again) I'm not saying nothing happened, but I'd like to wait until AFTE the investigations has finished.
Yes indeed.

Apparently the Chief Exec has been lecturing his staff in the difference between 'criminal/illegal' and 'unlawful' and its a great pity his legal knowledge didn't extend to not acting the way he did in the first place.

But at least one plank of his defence is known already, it would seem.

Of course, if people try and avoid paying their council tax, or claim benefits they're not entitled to, this would be deemed straightaway as 'illegal' and stealing from law-abiding taxpayers.It's curious that when the boot is on the other foot, a different law seems to apply entirely.

As it happens, I too doubt that any of these people will be found to have committed acts that are actually 'criminal'. But that doesn't excuse an act that was either breaktakingly calculated OR breathtakingly stupid.

Either way - from what is already KNOWN - none of these people are going to come out of this looking very good, are they?

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Mr Holder says...
9:45am Sun 10 Mar 13

common purpose

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
10:08am Sun 10 Mar 13

I'm sure they'll tread very Caerphilly.

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Trefor says...
9:03am Mon 11 Mar 13

The `CRIMINAL OFFENCE` Maybe "Misfeance in Public Office", perhaps this is what the police will be investigating?. And that is an illegal.offence.

More important under that circumstance to assume innocence before guilt on the part of Councillors involved and some Officers.

Perhaps the press, i.e. the Argus could establish which Illegal activity the police are investigating in Caerphilly council Offices?.

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