Police find no evidence of criminal offence in pensions deals for chief execs

Carmarthenshire County Council chief executive Mark James has returned to work after standing aside during a police investigation.

He stood down after the Wales Audit Office said in January that a deal to compensate senior staff who left the local government pension scheme was unlawful.

The WAO referred the matter to the police but the local Dyfed Powys force felt it was too close to the councils and so called in detectives from Gloucestershire to handle the case.

They have now decided to take no action over the payments to James or those made to neighbouring Pembrokeshire County Council‘s chief executive Bryn Parry Jones under a similar scheme also held to be unlawful by the auditors.

Parry Jones chose to remain in office during the investigation, but the council has voted to seek recovery of the payments from him and an unnamed colleague.

A police statement said: “Gloucestershire Constabulary have now completed their enquiries and have confirmed that following an objective and independent analysis of the evidence, they did not find any evidence to suggest that any criminal offences had taken place.

“On the basis of this, Dyfed Powys Police will be taking no further action in relation to these matters. Both local authorities have been advised of this decision.”

The auditors said that Carmarthenshire’s decision to issue an indemnity to James to sue a blogger for defamation was also unlawful but police will take no action over that matter either.

Carmarthenshire leader Kevin Madge said: “I am pleased that the police have concluded that there is no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. I was always 100% sure that this would be the case, but it is in everyone’s interest that this has been looked at independently and that the public have now been given the reassurance that they need and deserve.”

Jamie Adams, leader of Pembrokeshire, said he had always maintained that even though the pension decision may have been procedurally flawed, no individual had used their influence improperly.

“I am pleased that the police have reached a similar conclusion and have decided that there is no basis to investigate this matter,” he said.