Elgan Hearn, local democracy reporter
A council leader has insisted that he did not see a letter from a whistleblower which explained there were problems with a waste services provider.
This letter in 2017 led to an investigation by Audit Wales and Gwent Police.
It culminated in the publication of a damning report by Audit Wales which probed the relationship between Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council and Silent Valley Waste Services Limited, a company owned and controlled by the authority.
At a volatile and often chaotic meeting of Blaenau Gwent Borough Council yesterday, a motion of no confidence in council leader Cllr Nigel Daniels, signed by all 17 opposition councillors from the Labour and Minority Independent group, was presented.
Those who signed the motion claimed Cllr Daniels withheld vital information from them regarding the investigation at a council meeting in March 2018.
It was then that councillors voted to approve changes in senior management structure – without knowing that allegations had been levelled against one of the officers.
Cllr Daniels said: “One question no one has ever asked me is: did I or have I ever actually had sight of the correspondence regarding the whistleblowing complaint?.
“The answer to which is no, I didn’t; and no, I haven’t.
“The fact that my name was included in a copy circulation list is certainly not proof that I was in receipt of that correspondence.
“The letter was dealt with properly under the appropriate procedure and...
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