Wolverhampton council racism row probe is a 'waste of money' claims former mayor

Councillor Ian Brookfield, who was Wolverhampton Mayor in 2015-16, and Councillor Steve Evans, the authority's cabinet member for environment, are set to appear in front of the standards committee over an alleged breach of the council's members' code of conduct.

The two Labour Fallings Park councillors are alleged to have racially abused members of the public at the council's election count at Aldersley Leisure Village in May last year.

They have both denied the claims. A police investigation found neither councillor had a case to answer. But the authority's council's top legal officer Kevin O'Keefe launched an internal probe, hiring a private investigator to look into the allegations.

A furious Mr Brookfield told the Express & Star: "The police had already conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations. They closed the book on it.

"This pointless investigation has ended up costing the taxpayer a five figure sum. It has been a complete waste of time and money. It is weak management on the part of the officers."

The authority refused to confirm the cost of the investigation, which lasted for more than three months and saw 19 potential witnesses interviewed.

Mr O'Keefe said: "In July 2016, I received a written complaint making an allegation about the conduct of two councillors.

"As the council's monitoring officer, I am duty-bound to investigate any allegation.

"In line with agreed procedure set out in the council's constitution, the investigator's report will now go before the council's standards committee."

The standards committee meeting was due to take place behind-closed-doors on March 28 but was cancelled. It is set to be rescheduled for next month.

Mr Brookfield, who is a member of the committee, will stand down from his position on the six-strong panel for the duration of the hearing.

Mr Evans was unavailable for comment.