A COUNCIL chief executive embroiled in a six-year long pay row which has cost taxpayers more than £4 million has been sacked.

Caerphilly council chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan was suspended amid claims relating to pay rises given to two senior officers, and himself, six-and-a-half-years ago.

While Mr O’Sullivan had remained on special paid leave, his deputy Nigel Barnett, and head of legal services Daniel Perkins, agreed to pay-outs worth nearly £300,000 between them after criminal charges relating to the matter were dropped in 2015.

The decision to sack Mr O’Sullivan was taken at a special council meeting on Thursday, where councillors discussed a report put together by the council’s Investigating and Disciplinary Committee.

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Cllr Barbara Jones, interim leader of Caerphilly county borough council said: "A special meeting of council was held this evening to determine the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against the chief executive.

"Councillors have carefully considered the findings of the investigation - and the subsequent appeal - and a decision has been made to dismiss Mr O’Sullivan with immediate effect.

"We regret the amount of time and money that has been spent on this matter, but we had no choice other than to follow the agreed statutory process.

"It should also be noted that during this time we had to allow criminal investigations to proceed, which added almost two and a half years to the overall timeframe.

"This decision concludes a very difficult chapter for the council and we must now move forward. Our focus remains on delivering high quality services to our residents and meeting the needs and aspirations of our communities in future.”

The decision comes after, on Wednesday, the Welsh Government refused calls from Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the council’s Plaid group, to place the council into special measures in order to “restore public confidence” in the authority.

Before the meeting, the council’s refuse workers held a protest outside the council offices as part of an ongoing dispute with the County Borough Council over their treatment.

Jess Turner, UNISON Cymru Wales regional organiser, said: “This sorry saga should have been resolved years ago when UNISON brought the matter to light. Staff are absolutely sick of it and the council needs to move on.

“Since 2010, severe spending cuts driven from Westminster have cost the jobs of 746 Caerphilly council workers, yet as much as £6 million pounds has been ploughed into a single issue.

“Think about how the money spent could have been invested instead for the public good, in Caerphilly leisure centres, youth clubs, adult social care and libraries.

“UNISON has long said that complex and bureaucratic hurdles in dealing with a statutory officer dispute frustrated a swift resolution and these must be reviewed.”