'Labour must come clean and tell local residents exactly what has happened here and why'

SHADOW MINISTER CALLS FOR ANSWERS AS INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED INTO 'ALARMING' CLAIMS OVER 'DELETED' EMAIL TO COUNCILLORS

- By DECLAN CAREY

SALFORD council has announced an investigation into how a misconduct complaint against Deputy Mayor Jack Youd was removed from the email inboxes of councillors without their knowledge.

On October 10, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) and M.E.N. revealed that an anonymous email was sent to several councillors in January making a complaint against the deputy mayor.

But some councillors said that the email complaint had been 'deleted' from their inboxes within hours of it arriving - and without any warning.

A message from a senior official at the council, seen by the LDRS and M.E.N., explained that the sender's anonymous email address and the wording of the email 'raised immediate concerns' over IT security when it arrived, with the term 'anonymous' being associated with an 'active hacking group.

The official's message said the emails were removed from councillors' inboxes in light of the security fears.

But the removal of the complaint sparked claims of a 'cover up' at the town hall to protect the deputy mayor from scrutiny.

Salford Lib Dems said last month: "It's deeply concerning that the Labour-run Salford council appears to have removed complaint emails from councillors' inboxes and failed to carry out any investigation despite a clear complaint being made.

"It looks like Labour are covering up for one of their own instead of acting in the public interest. It gives the impression to the public of something being quietly swept under the carpet rather than dealt with openly and fairly."

Another councillor, who did not want to be named, said it had created a 'culture of fear' at Salford council where elected members felt unable to report potential wrongdoing because they felt it would not be taken seriously.

Salford council is led by Labour, under the leadership of City Mayor Paul Dennett.