THE former chief officer of a Gwent public body damned by a scathing audit report yesterday told an Assembly hearing the report was "superficial and unbalanced".

But Dean Jackson-Johns, former clerk and chief engineer of the Caldicot and Wentlooge Levels Internal Drainage Board, came in for criticism from AMs with one saying his actions in one case were “bizarre”.

The Wales Audit Office last year said the drainage board occasionally acted unlawfully, over-paid Mr Jackson-Johns who was allowed to propose his own pay and paid thousands for trips abroad for its members.

Three members of the board who were taking the body to court also took part in meetings where the body decided how to respond to the legal action, despite having a conflict of interest.

Mr Jackson-Johns told the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the board that “the report is superficial, unbalanced, inaccurate and not objective both in its content and conclusions.”

Mr Jackson-Johns said he had a three and a half hour interview with the auditors but said his responses were not considered in the report.

“It's one of the best run drainage boards in England and Wales,” he said. “The issues we're getting into is was the 'T' crossed, was there a dot over the 'I'?”

However he accepted there were failings, but Mr Jackson-John told AMs that his “pay review by the board was no different to every other salaried staff within the internal drainage board.”

“That doesn't mean it's right,” said committee member Jocelyn Davies.

He claimed he had no interest in the court case that had claimants as board members, but under questioning from Aled Roberts he said he advised them as board clerk.

Jenny Randerson AM told the former clerk: “You allowed these three people to remain on the board while they were suing the board.”

He said he was uneasy about the case. Chairman Darren Miller said the conflict of interest was “just obvious” and found it “bizarre, frankly,” that he didn't escalate his concerns.

He said as soon as issues came to light at the drainage board he had written “heart-felt” letters and emails requesting meetings with Welsh Government officials.

“Never once was one email acknowledged,” he said, adding he didn't know where the items would be on file now.

Mr Jackson-Johns added that visits abroad were cleared by the “Audit Commission”.

Earlier in the hearing Richard Penn, the current clerk and general manager who took over from Mr Jackson-Johns after he resigned, told the committee that he felt the board should be smaller with it having members than Merthyr Tydfil council.

Gareth Jones, director general of sustainable futures at Welsh Government, told the committee that Welsh Government officials had relied on issues being raised by local authorities, procedures in place and the annual audit, or a whistleblower.

Until the whistle was blown in 2011, “none of those triggers were pulled” he said.

The Wales Audit Office and the Audit Commission are set to give evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on June 11.