Cardiff council leader Phil Bale rejects calls to resign

Phil Bale insists he has the confidence of colleagues

Cardiff council leader Phil Bale has rejected calls to resign, saying he is "absolutely committed" to doing the job of running the city.

He faces a vote of no confidence on Thursday after controversial budget cuts which threaten 600 jobs.

Business leader Nigel Roberts said Mr Bale was an "embarrassment" and an email from fellow Labour councillor Ralph Cook called for him to step down.

Mr Bale dismissed much of the criticism as being of a "deeply personal" nature.

'Focus on city'

He told BBC Radio Wales on Tuesday: "I have got the confidence of colleagues - I feel very comfortable in going into that meeting [on Thursday].

"I think we have to recognise with the general election coming up we will see some politics around this issue but the most important thing for me now is that we focus back on the city."

A leaked email from Mr Cook called for Mr Bale to step down to avoid putting the Labour Party "through any more trauma", claiming he and 12 rebels would disobey an order to vote against the motion of no confidence.

Mr Bale was elected leader by the ruling Labour group in May 2014 after Heather Joyce stepped down for family reasons.