Caerphilly council hands sacked boss Anthony O'Sullivan £97k

Anthony O'Sullivan had been in a long-running dispute after being suspended in 2013

A council chief who was sacked in a pay row that cost taxpayers more than £4m, has won a £97,500 payout.

Anthony O'Sullivan was suspended by Caerphilly council in 2013 amid allegations relating to pay rises given to him and two senior officers.

Mr O'Sullivan was dismissed in 2019 and had demanded a £160,000 payment, which was rejected last year.

Caerphilly County Borough Council has now confirmed it will pay him £97,500.

Mr O'Sullivan had remained on paid leave for six years between the allegations being made and his dismissal in October 2019.

The council has also agreed to pay out £11,000 plus VAT towards legal costs.

'Significant cost saving'

In a statement it said the agreement would avoid "further legal proceedings and expensive litigation".

The settlement represented a "significant cost saving compared with the potential sums involved in continuing to defend protracted legal proceedings", it said in a statement.

"It also draws this matter to a conclusion," the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"Mr O'Sullivan is similarly grateful that this lengthy dispute is now resolved so that he and his family can move on," it told the LDRS.

"This draws to a close a most difficult period for all parties."

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Mr O'Sullivan was suspended in March 2013 following the claims over wage increases.

He and his two fellow senior officers were arrested and charged with misconduct in public office.

However, criminal charges were dropped in 2015, and the two other men agreed payouts worth £300,000 between them.

Mr O'Sullivan has previously told the BBC he has "nothing to apologise to anybody for".