MINEHEAD mayor Cllr Andrew Kingston-James (pictured) this week hit back at fellow town councillors who had demanded his resignation over payments claimed to total £34,000, for “help and advice” during the council’s three-year employment dispute with a former town clerk.

As reported last week, two councillors - former mayor Paul Bolton and Emily Jones - resigned over the issue after telling the mayor: “It’s time to go”.

Cllr Kingston-James, who is currently on sick leave, now replies in a statement to the Free Press: “Referring to the news articles dated the September 23 and October 7, the proposed payments were not ‘asked for’ by the mayor as quoted by Cllr Burke.

“The previous council administration was asked to consider making a commitment to agree in principle to pay an honorarium to myself in recognition of services above and beyond my role as a councillor at a meeting on February 22, where both Cllr M Kingston-James and I left the meeting prior to the discussion taking place.

“Prior to the full council meeting of July 26, where the payments were discussed in a closed session, Cllr Burke - along with all other councillors - was provided with a detailed report providing a brief history of the case and my role in it. Three appendices were also provided containing a breakdown of costs, including all expenditure incurred by myself for attending the tribunal, including the amount I would pay back, along with all out-of-pocket expenses and the number of hours worked over the last three years.

“Neither Cllr Burke, Paul Bolton nor Emily Jones attended the confidential meeting on July 26, where full council would discuss if any form of payment was going to be made.

“Prior to the discussion taking place, both Cllr M Kingston-James and I left the meeting for transparency. I was then awarded a payment which was approved by a democratic majority vote at that meeting.

“At the start of the case we engaged an employment law specialist who advised on the numerous claims submitted by the ex-employee. The time spent on this was approximately 30 hours’ work and we were charged £8,400. Had we continued to use them to assist us going forward this would have cost in excess of £170,000.

“In relation to the £4,000 advance, it should be noted as laid down in the council’s financial regulations in force at the time, an email was sent to the committee chairs, deputy mayor and clerk seeking approval. Paul Bolton received this as chair of the Amenities and Environment Committee. It was stated that any residual money would be refunded.

“Paul Bolton’s comment, published on October 7, in relation to room service expenses, is totally inaccurate; I was given a £90 day subsistence allowance. The hotel booking had to be flexible to accommodate the potential length of the tribunal.

“As the tribunal finished earlier than anticipated, I was able to reclaim nearly £700 of hotel costs which would not have been recoverable had a non-refundable booking been in place, along with the hotel room costs, an additional £976 was paid back to the Council.

“A spreadsheet was provided to all councillors showing hotel room charge, daily subsistence allowance and mileage claimed by myself, including the balance of £1,676 to be repaid by me to Minehead town council.

“As reported by the town council, all the expenses reimbursed to me relate solely to the work carried out in relation to this case. It should also be noted that all expenditure including the honorarium, was discussed and approved by both internal and external auditors as providing value for money.

“With regard to the comment by MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, suggesting that the town council was using the confidentiality clause for a protracted period - whilst it is now in the public domain that the council was subject to an employment tribunal, at the time we were advised not to discuss or place any information relating to what was an ongoing legal dispute.

“Confidential information had been provided anonymously to the individual under investigation, which compromised the panel hearing which meant we had to engage the services of individuals from outside the council to sit on the original panel hearing as well as the appeal panel.

“All councillors agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement and it was agreed that I would be the focal point for this and information relating to the ongoing case.”