A FORMER Cornwall Council cabinet member has hit out at the current leader, accusing him of ‘total b******s’ over his response to a question about another absence at the top.

An extraordinary full council meeting was held at Lys Kernow (County Hall) in Truro on Tuesday (November 3) following recent upheaval among its senior leadership. Kate Kennally, who has been the local authority’s chief executive for ten years, resigned in October following a month’s leave of absence.

Her departure came days after the resignation of her wife, Rachael Rothero, the council’s service director for people commissioning. The following week saw the resignation of the council’s chief financial officer (CFO), Annabel Scholes, who had been in the role for just six months. Three CFOs have now left the council since 2024.

The meeting rubberstamped the appointments of Andy Keeling as interim CEO and Lisa Kitto as interim chief financial officer. Mr Keeling has been the interim deputy CEO since Ms Kennally’s period of absence started in September.

As well as the loss of vital senior officers at the council, it has also come to light that the chief executive of Corserv is also absent from his position. Neil Edmond oversees Cornwall Council’s group of companies, which deliver highways, transport, aviation and care services.

Independent councillor Andrew Mitchell said at Tuesday’s meeting: “I now understand that the chief executive of Corserv is also off on long-term sick or has left. Can that be confirmed please?”

Liberal Democrat council leader Cllr Leigh Frost responded: “The Corserv board appoints its own chief executive and those matters are with Corserv, so if you want to know the gossip going on at Corserv I’d give them an email and find out.”

That led a to a terse response from Cllr Mitchell, who said: “Can I just say that was very helpful, thank you very much. I understand you’re under a lot of pressure, but I don’t see why you need to take it out on any member of this chamber.”

The leader said he wasn’t doing such a thing and a resultant to and fro between Mitchell and Frost was then interrupted by chair Cllr Rob Nolan, who said he wanted the meeting to be conducted in a “sensible grown-up sort of way without shouting across the chamber”.

Cllr Frost’s reply has now led to an angry statement from David Harris, who was the previous Conservative administration’s deputy leader. He told us: “What total b******s came from the mouth of Frost in what was a meaningless meeting.

“Councillors were not allowed to question any of the issues that concern taxpayers. Andrew Mitchell, who isn’t normally top of my hit parade, got slammed down when he tried to raise sensible questions, but the most disgraceful bit was the leader’s response to question on the Corserv CEO.

“Ignoring the stupidity of talking about ‘gossip’, for him to say that the Corserv CEO is a matter for the Corserv board is factually incorrect and shows either a level of ineptitude that is beyond belief or a total disregard of his duty as a councillor let alone as leader of the council. Cornwall Council owns Corserv and jolly well should be interested in what goes on there.”

Mr Harris added: “Corserv’s Articles of Association are clear on where power lies: Article 4 provides that the shareholder may direct the company to take or not take any action, Article 17 is clear that appointments of directors are ultimately a shareholder matter, and the appointment of CEO is specifically referred to as a shareholder reserved power, (Schedule 1, Para 8).”

Cllr Frost has now hit back at Mr Harris’ verbal attack: “David has completely missed the point. Of course, Cornwall Council has powers as Corserv’s shareholder. We know that because we are now sorting out the longstanding problems that David and the Conservatives failed to tackle when they controlled the council.

“However, having shareholder powers does not mean the leader should indulge in public speculation about an individual employee. These matters must be dealt with properly, lawfully and through the established governance process. The day-to-day management of the CEO of Corserv is for the Corserv board.

“Perhaps David has also forgotten that, while he was part of the previous Tory administration overseeing the council’s finances, council debt dramatically increased by around 42% and spent two thirds of the council’s reserves in four years. I am not inclined to accept lectures on competence or financial responsibility from someone that has that record.”

A spokesperson for Corserv said: “Unfortunately we are not able to comment on the circumstances of Neil’s absence at this time.”

Elsewhere during the extraordinary meeting, Cllr Frost said work was ongoing with the new interim chief financial officer to ensure that Cornwall Council does not have to declare Section 114 bankruptcy. The council has a debt of over £1.5-billion.

The leader also responded to a public question asking about the details of Kate Kennally’s ‘disappearance’ from September 4 until her official resignation was received/announced on October 12. He said: “I understand the public interest in the public circumstances surrounding her departure.

“However, like any employer, the council has a responsibility to respect the confidentiality of individual employment matters. This means there are limits to information we can make public. We continue to be as open and transparent as possible about the council’s leadership arrangements while respecting those responsibilities.”

The meeting also heard concerns about paying a recruitment agency to employ senior officers rather than promoting staff within the council.