Former Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson supports the former Liverpool Council regeneration chief in his statements that he was forced to leave his job due to the “turned” actions of the current council, led by CEO Tony Reeves .
Nick Kavanagh was the town’s regeneration director, but was dramatically arrested in the Cunard Building by Merseyside Police as part of Operation Aloft Force in December 2019. He was later arrested. suspended from his job as chief of staff and was finally fired in March 2021 after a disciplinary hearing by the council.
Kavanagh is currently filing an unfair dismissal lawsuit against City Hall in Liverpool’s Civil and Family Court. He claims that the executive director of the council, Tony Reeves, did his best to build a case against him to remove him from his job. Reeves and other council witnesses have insisted that all proper procedures be followed.
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As part of his case, Kavanagh will call Mr. Anderson as a witness. The former mayor-elect of the city was also arrested as part of Operation Aloft, which is investigating real estate offers and development contracts in Liverpool in December 2020 and resigned shortly afterwards. Neither Kavanagh nor Anderson have been charged with any crime and both deny any wrongdoing.
The former mayor will present his oral evidence at the hearing tomorrow, but in a written presentation he offered strong support to Mr Kavanagh. He stated: “Throughout my time as mayor, Nick Kavanagh has been a conscientious and professional director of regeneration, he has achieved great things for the city of Liverpool. He has been accused of misconduct. foundation in my eyes “.
Mr Anderson said it was “no secret that he enjoyed a productive and trusting relationship” with Kavanagh and said he was surprised when he was arrested and later learned of allegations of harassment. Regeneration department. He went on to describe the school harassment allegations against Mr Kavanagh as “an aspirin looking for a headache”.
In his written presentation, the current executive director of the council, Reeves, explained that his concerns about Kavanagh’s conduct initially involved the highly controversial development of New Chinatown in central Liverpool. He said he was contacted in late 2018 by Jonathan Splulkner, the head of developer Urban Splash, and raised concerns about the site and how Mr Kavanagh had acted on the transfer of Urban Splash’s interests to a developer named PHD1. It was agreed that an independent review of the situation would be carried out and reported.
Reeves said: “The report stated that Nick Kavanagh had made a comment after the submissions that if Urban Splash transferred its interests to a developer named X1, the planning permission would not have been granted. was an important factor in lobbying Urban Splash.
Nick Kavanagh presents unfair dismissal case against former employer, Liverpool Council (Image: Liverpool Echo)
In his statement, Reeves said the content of the report was of “great concern” and it was clear that the recommendation to conduct an investigation into the conduct of any individual officer required consideration with respect to Nick Kavanagh and their conduct. He said it became apparent that Merseyside police were also conducting their own investigation into the conduct of the plaintiff (Mr Kavanagh) and other parties.
This police investigation would lead to the arrest of Mr Kavanagh on suspicion of conspiracy to swindle and misconduct in public office on December 18, 2019, allegations he denies. He was later suspended by the council when he began an internal disciplinary investigation, which led to his dismissal in March 2021. This investigation was carried out by Simon Goacher, a Weightmans lawyer.
Speaking at the time of his arrest, Mr Kavanagh wrote in his witness statement: “I was suspended from work on December 18 after police were invited to the town hall offices where I was arrested. had no idea that this had been arranged by CEO Tony Reeves.
“Before that, I was not given any indication that my performance was under scrutiny, even though Tony Reeves had contacted the police five months before my arrest. Tony Reeves had acted unfairly in failing to report. “I told Mayor Joe Anderson that it had nothing to do with the arrest, I told my disciplinary hearing that this was not true.”
His statement accused Mr Reeves of lying to the council’s disciplinary hearing, adding: During the disciplinary panel, I told the panel that this was false and provided legal documents from the police confirming that Mr. Reeves had made initial contact with them on August 19, 2019, after which they began Operation Aloft, which led to my arrest. “
Kavanagh also claimed that his union, Unite, had contacted then-Mayor Joe Anderson to claim that the council was “trying to get it dirty and get rid of it”. He said Mr. Anderson later wrote to Mr. Reeves to answer this approach. He added: “He (Mr Anderson) never received a reply, but he received a reply from the Merseyside Police Chief of Police, telling him to withdraw. Tony Reeves clearly conspired with the Chief of Police to shoot a warning shot to Joe Anderson. “
In his statement, Mr. Reeves said that during the investigation of Mr. Goacher informed the board that other issues were arising that were not included in the original terms of reference. These included allegations of a “school bullying culture” within Mr. Regeneration’s department. Kavanagh and irregularities in the decision-making process to dispose of small municipal land sites. He said the research was extended to investigate these areas.
Tony Reeves, Executive Director of Liverpool Board (Image: Advertising / Brochure)
The researcher, Mr. Goacher, presented the independent report to a hearing of the Board’s Appointments and Discipline Committee, which met for several days in March 2021. On March 24, Mr. Reeves emailed staff and board members to confirm that Kavanagh. he had been fired.
Today was Cllr Wendy Simon, who was acting mayor at the time of Mr Kavanagh’s dismissal and who presided over the disciplinary hearing which finally decided to remove him.
In response to questions from Mr. Kavanagh today, Cllr Simon said the panel considered a wide range of evidence for several days before reaching its consensus to dismiss. He said: “We reviewed every aspect and members had a chance to question and challenge the evidence. I don’t think we could have been fairer.”
It is this dismissal and how it came about that Mr. Kavanagh is challenging, concluding his witness statement, saying: “I don’t think there was any crime, all the rules were followed. I think my dismissal was unfair and was built in the most tortuous way. and I ask the court to consider my claim and recommend my reinstatement. “
The hearing continues tomorrow and Mr. Anderson is expected to be called to the witness room.
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