Cllr Caiach hits out at Council Press Dept

Cllr Sian Caiach of Carmarthenshire County Council has issued a statement to the Council’s own Press Dept after their Press Releases (click here to read).  She has also asked the Chief Constable for a full investigation:

“Dear Press Office,

Your press release yesterday beginning “Councillors and officials…say they are bitterly disappointed and frustrated at misinformation being circulated..” etc which goes on to imply that the Councillors are all supportive of your view that the Wales Audit Office are possibly misinformed, incompetent and completely wrong about the illegal payments judged to have been made to our Chief Executive.

Yes, we are instructed to discuss the reports within 28 days but you insist on representing this meeting as merely an opportunity to show that the Wales Audit Office are mistaken about these matters by persuading the majority of 74 councillors that our officers are right and the Government’s auditors are wrong.

Our officers have already had the opportunity to make their case against the draft report, and the Wales Audit Office has confirmed their initial opinion.

I presume you are instructed by the Council leader, Kevin Madge, and in future I ask that councillors are not mentioned in general, but by name.

I read the reports and the supplemental documents circulated to all Councillors. My conclusion was different to the council leader.

The issues are not just related to the payments but also to the fact that the majority of councillors were either not informed at all as in the case of the pension payments, or misinformed as in the libel indemnity case.

This case is also critical and important as it appears to be an attempt by our council to bypass the law of defamation by using an officer as a proxy to issue a libel counterclaim, something a council cannot do. If this were legal any council with a compliant officer could sue any member of the public in this way, using public funds. Clearly, in my view, an affront to democracy.

I have decided, taking into account the prevailing view of my constituents and using my own knowledge and judgement, to request the Chief Constable to initiate an investigation based on the Wales Audit Office findings, into whether or not there has been Misconduct in Public Office. The elected councillors are ultimately responsible for the proper conduct of the Authority.

As an elected councillor I believe the proper course of action is for an investigation into how and why these situations occurred.

I am, therefore, not “bitterly disappointed and frustrated at the misinformation being circulated around the recent Public Interest Report issued by the Wales Audit Office”.

I believe the Wales Audit Office have issued this report after a careful examination of the facts and, I am not likely to be disappointed by “misinformation” you have not shared with me.

Any Councillors and Officers endorsing press releases should be named.

Please do not make reference to “Councillors” in generality again without contacting us.

Cllr Sian Caiach