Cambridgeshire mayoral staff bought protection alarms

Mayor Nik Johnson has been in post since 2021

Staff at a mayoral authority were bought "personal protection" alarms at taxpayers' expense.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority also spent £13,000 on mediation for Mayor Nik Johnson and a senior colleague.

A board member obtained the details - including £1m costs which she said related to the "conduct of the mayor and his office".

Mr Johnson apologised "unreservedly" after a hearing this week.

Details of the investigation were not published but the authority confirmed the breaches were linked to "civility" and "disrepute".

Anna Bailey, a Conservative council leader, called for Mayor Nik Johnson to resign

Anna Bailey, the Conservative leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council, said the combined authority had "failed" victims.

"My thoughts are with the victims in this case, for that is what they are, those who have suffered terribly, whose stories remain unknown.

"I apologise to all those staff that have suffered at the hands of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority; the authority has failed you.

"Mayor Nik Johnson should resign," she added.

Payouts

In an email seen by the BBC, Mrs Bailey, who sits on the combined authority's board, asked the chief executive for a breakdown of costs, which she claimed are linked to the mayor's conduct.

According to the figures provided to Mrs Bailey, the costs included:

• £320,005 in payouts to four staff allegedly "to avoid employment claims"

• £43,092 in legal costs linked to the four staff who left

• £651,733 to pay interim senior staff - "over and above" the normal salaries for those roles

• £34,080 auditing spending in the mayor's office

• £31,112 investigating the code of conduct complaints about Mayor Johnson

• £13,180 for mediation involving the mayor

• £461 on personal protection alarms for staff

Nik Johnson was found to have breached his authority's code of conduct in relation to "civility" and "disrepute"

Mr Johnson was elected Cambridgeshire and Peterborough's first Labour mayor in May 2021. He is the second person to hold the position.

His campaign included a promise adopt the "three Cs" into his leadership, which stand for "compassion, co-operation and building a community".

A whistleblowing investigation, first made public in May 2022, alleged the mayor's then chief of staff, Nigel Pauley, had caused "stress and strain" to colleagues in the authority. Mr Johnson was accused of failing to take appropriate action over that behaviour.

Mr Pauley "refuted" any wrongdoing and left the authority in February 2022.

A separate inquiry concluded Mr Johnson had breached the authority's code of conduct in relation to "civility" and "disrepute".

A panel "invited" Mayor Johnson to provide a written apology for breaching the combined authority's code of conduct

A panel asked the mayor to issue a written apology and to undertake training in "[human resources] practice when in a senior member role".

Sanctions

Mrs Bailey said the sanctions imposed by the panel this week "fall woefully short of recognising the seriousness of the events that have taken place over the last two years".

In a statement, she added: "The decision of the panel not to release the independent investigator's report is, in my view, something that the panel, the mayor and the authority, all of whom have pledged transparency, scrutiny and accountability, will come to regret.

"There is not one single member of senior staff, or any staff that had regular exposure to the mayor or the office of the mayor, that was in post two years ago left working in the organisation."

Mrs Bailey also said the authority has "been through six chief executives" in less than two years.

Authority has 'never sought to interfere' with investigation

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority said "details of payments to individuals above a certain threshold are made public in the annual statement of accounts".

They added that the panel assessing the complaints about Mr Johnson "unanimously agreed not to publish the investigator's report" and would instead "publish background information within a decision notice" within five working days.

The spokesperson continued: "The combined authority has never sought to interfere with the ongoing investigation or the panel hearing process.

"The cross-party panel hearing was chaired by an independent chair and we respect the unanimous decision they reached. As a result, we will not be commenting further at this stage.

"It would be inappropriate to make any comment on allegations about what is contained within the confidential report from the independent investigator.

"Commenting, or making speculative claims, and or statements, at this stage is inappropriate and risks identifying individuals involved throughout the independent process."

Mayor Johnson has been approached for comment.