THE leader of a Somerset council faces a vote of no confidence in the aftermath of a scandal surrounding one of its senior officers.

Clare Pestell served as director of commercial and income generation for South Somerset District Council, and at one point was in line to become the new interim chief executive.

She left the council in October 2021 following an independent investigation into her conduct, denying a string of allegations made against her.

Chard & Ilminster News: Clare Pestell Has Stepped Back For Personal Reasons. CREDIT: South Somerset District Council. Free to use for all BBC wire partners.

Council leader Val Keitch now faces a formal challenge to her leadership, with opposition members claiming the council had been “misled” and “misinformed” about Ms Pestell’s conduct.

A formal motion of no confidence has been lodged by Councillor Martin Wale, leader of the opposition Conservative group and one of two ward members for Blackdown and Tatworth, which comprises numerous villages around Chard.

The full text of the motion reads: “This council has no confidence in the leadership of Councillor Val Keitch, due to the facts that this council was misled, misinformed and criminal allegations were delayed from being reported to the police with proper diligence before, during and after the appointment of Clare Pestell as chief executive of this council.”

Mr Wale alleged that Ms Keitch and the then-chief executive Alex Parmley “misled” the council by telling the appointments committee and full council that Ms Pestell was the “best and only candidate” for chief executive, while knowing that “serious professional and criminal allegations had been made against her and other senior members of that candidates directorate.”

Chard & Ilminster News: Councillor Martin Wale (Conservative, Blackdown And Tatworth). CREDIT: South Somerset District Council. Free to use for all BBC wire partners.

He added: “It has been stated by Ms Keitch that it wouldn’t have been fair to not go ahead with the selection process in relation to the candidate because at the time the complaints were unsubstantiated.

“The fact that all councillors were misled and misinformed to hurry this flawed selection process through is more than unfair and displays abuse of the proper process required to be taken by a leader of this council.”

The independent investigation into Ms Pestell, carried out by Richard Penn, was delivered to the council in September.

However, Mr Wale alleged that a separate investigation had been served on Ms Keitch on June 26, 2021 – nearly three months earlier – which upheld all the allegations subsequently detailed in Mr Penn’s report.

Mr Wale further claimed that the council did not pass on this report to Avon and Somerset Constabulary until he made a public statement about the Pestell affair at a full council meeting in December 2021.

He said: “These serious criminal allegations were not reported to police until Thursday, December 16, a period of six months. This report was only made because I was to make a statement to the full council on that evening.

“To not support this motion is to condone misleading and misinforming [this] council, and for six months covering up and not reporting criminal allegations of corruption, fraud and bullying and not taking proper action by, at least, delaying the selection process for chief executive.”

The motion of no confidence will be debated by the full council at the end of its budget setting meeting in Yeovil on February 28. The meeting will be live-streamed over the council’s official YouTube channel from 6.30pm.