News / Clark inquiry should be in public
A SHETLAND councillor is calling for an independent public inquiry into the departure of the council’s controversial former chief executive Dave Clark due to the strength of public feeling on the issue.
Shetland south councillor Allison Duncan has written two letters to council convener Sandy Cluness following the tax free £250,000 settlement that saw 44 year old Mr Clark leave Shetland Islands Council after eight months in post.
In the first letter, written three days after the private SIC meeting on 19 February which agreed the severance package, Mr Duncan called on the convener to suspend negotiations with Mr Clark’s legal team until the criminal investigation into allegations the chief executive threatened councillor Jonathan Wills was concluded.
In a follow up letter two days later, on the day the council and Mr Clark signed the documents that ended the chief executive’s employment, Mr Duncan wrote to the convener asking him to “commission an independent public inquiry”.
In both letters, written and delivered by his solicitor, Mr Duncan urged Mr Cluness to deal with an outstanding complaint made by six councillors against Mr Clark in December last year, and “which does not appear to have been addressed either formally or informally to date”.
Mr Duncan did not take part in the council meeting on 19 February after taking advice on a possible pecuniary conflict of interest in relation to his employment as a sheriff officer.
Responding in writing to Mr Duncan’s letters, Mr Cluness said that it was “inappropriate” for Mr Duncan to “seek to influence matters outwith the decision making process” after he had declared an interest and had left the meeting on 19 February.
Last week Audit Scotland said it would carry out an investigation into events surrounding the departure of the chief executive, with a report by the end of April for the Accounts Commission to consider in the middle of May.
Last night (Monday) Mr Duncan reiterated his view that a public inquiry would be the proper way to unravel the background of what he described as an “embarrassing situation”.
The councillor said: “I got it hot and heavy from my constituents after details of the settlement were made public in the media that weekend.
“I want a person to chair a public inquiry who is completely independent of Shetland and has the professional capabilities to handle the situation.
“Let’s get it all out into the public domain; the sooner the full picture is known, the better.”
Mr Duncan’s call was echoed last night by councillor Gussie Angus, one of the six councillors who signed the complaint which appears to have been ignored by the council leadership.
Mr Angus said: “It is my understanding that once Audit Scotland on behalf of the Accounts Commission had investigated the situation here, the commission might well hold a series of public meetings.
“Should that not be the case I would support a call for a public inquiry.
“What aggrieves me is that we have got to the stage that we will be subjected to what will be a very robust investigation by Audit Scotland. In my opinion, we should never have got to that situation.”
Last night Mr Cluness said he shared Mr Duncan’s concern, but suggested the Audit Scotland should satisfy his demands.
“As far as I am concerned the Audit Scotland investigation is an inquiry and its results will be made public. I am satisfied that the Audit Scotland inquiry will be sufficient.
“The public has the right to know what happened here and I am sure Audit Scotland will come up with the answers,” he said.
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