The Inquiry

I am concerned at the manner in which the Council continues to deal with the Councillor Folkes affair. 

First the Leader denied that it was anything to do with the Council and continued with that line until he changed his mind and admitted that he had forced Councillor Folkes to resign.   

With the Chief Executive Officer insisting that Councillor Folkes should resign from an elected office it appeared that there was something seriously amiss.

As bits of the story have dripped out of the 4th floor Councillor Pollard has had to alter his response.  I thought he had agreed to my request for an independent inquiry so that we could all be assured that, despite the apparently bizarre chain of events, everyone, including Cllr Folkes, was being dealt with fairly. 

The latest twist is to set the terms of reference of an independent inquiry so tightly that no recent actions are investigated.  

His statement in the chamber today and again repeated to the media is to make sure that any inquiry only looks at what happened years ago. 

The actions of the Leader, senior councillors and senior officers at Cornwall Council must all be included in a full inquiry from the beginning right up to date.