Land sales hearing delayed as ex-Sandwell Council deputy leader wins High Court appeal

Councillor Mahboob Hussain had been due to face a two-day standards committee hearing next month over allegations regarding land deals and parking tickets.

But the proceedings have now been postponed after Oldbury councillor Mr Hussain was victorious in a High Court appeal. Council bosses said they are considering appealing the decision.

The court's ruling means the standards committee will not be able to call Mr Hussain until the conclusion of a a fresh hearing concerning the council's decision to publish the Wragge report, which is expected later this year.

He has accused the authority of jumping the gun by releasing the report, which accused Mr Hussain of a number of breaches of the authority's members' code of conduct.

Mr Hussain told the Express & Star today that he was 'very happy' with the court's decision, but added: "I have made it clear from the start that the council should not have released the report when it did.

"They are now in a position where they must wait for the outcome of the full hearing before they can take any further action.

"As I have said all along, there is a political witch hunt against me. It is proving very costly to the taxpayer in Sandwell. There is no way the council should be wasting resources on legal fees at a time when it is facing a difficult time financially."

Jan Britton, chief executive of Sandwell Council, said: "We are disappointed that this will delay the council's standards process and we will be examining the written ruling as soon as it is available with a view to making an appeal."

Mr Hussain initially made a failed attempt to block the publication of the Wragge report 48 hours before it was released last May.

The report centred on Mr Hussain's involvement in the sales of a number of sites formerly owned by the council, and also claimed he had failed to declare interests and quashed parking fines for family members.

Mr Hussain has continually denied any wrongdoing. Last month a judge granted him permission to appeal its publication.

Last month, following an internal investigation, he was the subject of new allegations involving fraud and misconduct relating to a compulsory purchase order scheme and council house allocations.