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Gloucestershire Business News

Council chief accused of abusing position as row over county fire service escalates

A whistleblower has accused a county council's chief executive of abusing his position and declaring a politically motivated 'air war' against the local police and crime commissioner.

According to a leaked email, Peter Bungard has been running a campaign to prevent Gloucestershire police commissioner Martin Surl from taking over the county's fire and rescue service.

Mr Surl, a retired police superintendent who stood as an Independent for election to the commissioner post, says if the allegations against Mr Bungard are true it is 'truly shocking.'

"It is totally unacceptable," he said. "This is not an 'air war' - it is far more sinister, deceitful and divisive."

The row has erupted because Mr Surl is investigating whether the Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service should come under his governance.

It is currently run by Gloucestershire County Council, for whom Mr Bungard is the £130,000 per year chief executive.

The county council has strongly stated its opposition to governance being transferred to the Commissioner and says it would increase the cost of running it and make it less publicly accountable.

The whistleblower claims Mr Bungard has led a 'culture of bullying, coercion and underhand behaviour' towards the fire service.

The leaked email from Mr Bungard to senior county councillors and former fire chief Andy Hermiston suggests ways to back the council's claim that it is the best organisation to run the fire service.

His email suggests ways of 'achieving positive publicity' for the way the fire service is currently governed.

One section of the email is headed "Air War! A campaign approach with an aim to defeat PCC (Police and Crime Commissioner) arguments. "

The email continues "To counter the PCC presentation of firefighters will still hold hoses and police will still hold handcuffs! Prove his vision is out of touch."

The whistleblower says "The Chief Executive of the County Council has intentionally and illegally colluded with a number of councillors to wage war against the Police Crime Commissioner."

Earlier this month the county council sent details of its 'comprehensive case' to the Home Secretary, highlighting what it says are the damaging effects a takeover by the police commissioner would have.

In the leaked email Mr Bungard says the aim is to "shift the message away from the PCC takeover to promoting the positive benefits of the GFRS being part of the County Council."

He talks of "getting the public on side" by highlighting how fire service is "groundbreaking in their sector."

He suggests the campaign group should look at "negative trends in policing such as "crime up, rural crime up, fear of crime up" in an attempt to put Mr Surl in a bad light.

He also declares an "Air War" on Martin Surl indicating that if the material for the campaign is deemed as "suitable for training and recruitment, it would make the expenditure even more justified."

The whistleblower says that many of the activities listed to be completed by the council campaign group have been directed at 'subverting and sabotaging any meaningful collaboration between the PCC's proposal for a change in governance which is in direct contravention of the legislative and statutory requirement or local codes of conduct. '

A county council spokesperson issued a statement denying Mr Bungard has behaved improperly.

"We have been open about our opposition to the PCC's proposal to take over governance of the fire and rescue service - it increases costs, reduces public safety and the ability for public scrutiny," the spokesman said.

"In 2018, officers were given a cross party mandate by Full Council to oppose the PCC's position. Therefore, it is completely acceptable for council officers to have then worked to highlight this position, focussing on the benefits of GFRS being integrated within the council, rather than undermining others.

"It is for politicians, not officers, to lobby MPs and that is what happened. Any suggestion of inappropriate behaviour is simply not true.

"In our submission to the Home Secretary, we have set out a comprehensive rebuttle of the PCC's business case, to protect a service valued by communities across the county."

Mr Surl issued a statement saying "If the leaked e-mail is authentic and the allegations made by the whistle blower are true, much of the content is deeply disturbing.

"That a chief executive might be co-ordinating an attack on myself and my office and apparently using a political group to attempt to undermine the police by raising the fear of crime and calling it 'Air war' is truly shocking.

"This all relates to a business case that was commissioned by the Government and I will take legal advice before saying anything more."

However, Mark Hawthorne, Conservative leader of the county council, said "This is a plan, a media strategy campaign, to put forward very positive views and reasons for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service to stay with the county council and not be taken over by Martin Surl. I do not think there is anything wrong with this."

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