Bent Council Officer

[not4me]

Not from Hartlepool but still an interesting read, especially of how the local investigation saw 'no wrongdoing' when the Ombudsman saw things very differently. From this I'm thinking that local government in the UK is as bent as any banana republic. This quote from the Ombudsman must surely have some local resonance:

"People's trust in public services is damaged when agreed codes of conduct are not followed. This trust is further eroded if allegations are not investigated in an open, transparent and effective manner."

http://tinyurl.com/puh2np4