Suspended Caerphilly chief executive and interim arrested

Caerphilly CBC chief executive Anthony O’Sullivan, who was suspended on full pay in March, have been arrested by Avon & Somerset Police on suspicion of fraud and misconduct in public office.

His deputy Nigel Barnett, who has been acting chief executive since Mr O’Sullivan’s suspension took effect, was also arrested. Both men were on arrested on 3 July after questioning.

The police investigation followed a Wales Audit Office investigation into the award of large salary rises to Mr O’Sullivan and a number of other senior managers.
Assistant auditor general of Wales Anthony Barrett investigated allegations about the pay awards, and in a report in March he found the decisions taken were unlawful.

Among the reasons were that the meeting that awarded the pay increase was not properly advertised, potential beneficiaries attended and Mr O’Sullivan gave advice on a question where he had a financial interest.

Acting deputy chief executive Sandra Aspinall said, “We have been informed by Avon & Somerset Police that two members of staff have been released on police bail.  “I will assume responsibility for leading the organisation until further discussions take place.

“I want to send a clear message to the community that it is very much ‘business as usual’ at Caerphilly County Borough Council. We will continue to concentrate our efforts on delivering quality services to residents and these recent events will not affect our commitment to this goal.”