Ashfield agrees pay-off over 'push up' taunts

Mr Christopher and Ashfield’s other deputy, Philip Marshall, were both interviewed by the full council for the interim chief executive post when incumbent Alan Mellor retired last March.

The post went to Mr Marshall, who became permanent chief executive in October.

Statements issued by the council’s standards committee show Mr Christopher complained about the conduct of three councillors during his interview.

All three cases have been sent to the Standards Board for England as they could not be handled locally. It is yet to rule on their merits.

The committee said Mr Christopher alleged that during the interview Robert Rankin (Con) asked him: “You’ve already had one heart attack and how do I know you wouldn’t have two because the job is more stressful than that which you’ve been used to?”

It added that Mr Christopher said Cllr Rankin phoned him to challenge him to a public press up competition to demonstrate their respective fitness levels.

The committee said it was alleged that Tony Brown (Ind) “asked the complainant in an overly aggressive tone ‘You said we should be doing fewer things better, you’ve been a senior manager here for some time so it’s your fault we’ve failed before is it’?”

Cllr Brown is also alleged to have asked Mr Christopher’s “personal opinion on the cabinet away-day expense, that you went on, all of you drinking wine”.

Labour councillor Malcolm Bulmer allegedly “tried to convince as many fellow members as would listen not to appoint the complainant as the interim chief executive on the grounds of the complainant’s heart trouble”, the committee said.

Opposition leader Jason Zadrozny (Lib Dem) said he was horrified that the council’s chief officers’ employment committee had the decision on Mr Christopher tabled at only 16 hours’ notice and before the Standards Board for England had completed its probe.

The council refused to comment.

Have your say

You must sign in to make a comment.