Tameside Council appoints interim boss after resignation

Sandra Stewart (above, left) will take on the top role for 12 months

Tameside Council has appointed an interim chief executive after its former boss resigned over a tweet.

Steven Pleasant stood down on Tuesday after a report found a Twitter post had breached legislation.

Mr Pleasant had used his work account to express surprise a Conservative voter "had compassion and empathy".

Sandra Stewart, the council's monitoring officer and head of governance and pensions, will take on the top role for 12 months.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said a report presented to an extraordinary meeting found Mr Pleasant, who had been the head of paid service for 13 years, had breached government acts and the statutory code for local authority publicity.

Responding to a clip from BBC Question Time, which showed an audience member who voted for the Conservative Party telling a minister the government was a "disappointment", Mr Pleasant had tweeted: "Tory voter with compassion and empathy for others. Who knew!!"

He later deleted the tweet and apologised a few days later, saying the post was "not considered" and he "should have worded any sentiments very differently".

A report authored by his replacement Ms Stewart stated that "no further action" was required following his breaches, but added that a "politically restricted officer... must not express themselves publicly in a way that appears to have the intention of affecting public support for a political party".

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