Council leader: ‘I will not stand down’

THE leader of North East Lincolnshire Council said he has no plans to quit – despite opposition calls for him to resign.

As reported, Labour leader Coun Chris Shaw called for a motion of no confidence in Coun Andrew De Freitas on Monday night, during a meeting to discuss the council’s £7-million investment in collapsed Icelandic banks.

Conservatives, led by Coun Keith Brookes, said if Coun De Freitas did not leave his role within 48 hours, they too would back the motion.

However, the embattled leader has dismissed the calls as political opportunism.

He said he believed the position of the Conservatives had changed since the Liberal Democrats took overall control of the authority following the break-up of their coalition.

“Up until six weeks ago the leader of the opposition, Coun Brookes, was deputy leader of the council,” he said.

“When the first news came about the potential loss of money in the Icelandic banks, the chief executive made it quite clear he felt it was his responsibility to deal with.

“Both myself and Coun Brookes agreed.”

Coun De Freitas said this meant the chief executive, rather than the councillors, was taking responsibility on behalf of the council.

“It’s a little bit dishonest to see the Conservatives cuddling up to the Labour group, saying it is my responsibility and I should resign.

“If Coun Brookes agreed all along it was a matter for the chief executive to handle, why has he changed his view in the last six weeks?

“The only difference is the Conservatives are no longer in the Cabinet.

“I think that’s the problem with politics today, we have a lot of opportunists – and as a result, people lose faith in us.

“The local Labour Party really need to make their minds up – would they rather see a Conservative administration?”

He added neither he, or any of his colleagues, had signed an approval to invest in Icelandic banks, but had approved rules which officers in North East Lincolnshire Council had to follow.

Asked if he would resign over the row, he said: “At the moment, no.

“The reason I say ‘at the moment’ is because I have spent many, many years of my life working for the community in which I have lived most of my life, going back to 1963.

“If I was seen to be a quitter I would let an awful lot of people down, and I am conscious of that fact.

“I am not a quitter, and never have been.”

Mr Hunter was unavailable for comment.