'The residents we represent deserve clarity'

A FRESH inquiry into the running of Newcastle City Council is set to start before the end of the year.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Councillors promised to commission an independent investigation into the authority's governance in December 2024, following repeated concerns about the behind-the-scenes culture at the Civic Centre and the resignation of former leader Nick Kemp in the wake of a bullying complaint from a senior director.

But the probe was delayed until the conclusion of a separate investigation into the allegations against Coun Kemp by Michelle Percy, which has since cleared the Byker councillor of breaching the Labour-run council's code of conduct.

Council officials have confirmed that the wider governance inquiry should now begin by the end of 2025, despite some calls for it to be pushed back, while "grave concerns" have also been aired about whether local authority staff feel able to speak up about problems.

Coun Marion Williams, who leads the East End and Associates Independents political group of which Coun Kemp is also a member, has claimed that there are "substantial issues of independence, effectiveness, and democratic legitimacy" surrounding the inquiry.