Opposition politicians were left “incensed” after being blocked from asking Newcastle’s Labour leader about the stripping of a council contract from a firm he is linked to.
Liberal Democrat Nick Cott has issued a call for “clarity and transparency”, after the Chronicle revealed this week that Orca LGS Solutions had lost a building contract with Newcastle City Council. The company, which is behind an unfinished modular housing development in Gosforth, has ties to council leader Nick Kemp, who has previously lobbied the local authority on its behalf.
A furious Coun Cott demanded at a council meeting on Wednesday night that the Labour chief make a statement about his involvement with Orca, but civic centre officials refused to put his question on the agenda on the grounds that it “did not relate to a strategic or policy issue”. The opposition group leader called the blocking of his request “very concerning”, while the authority insists that all of its protocols have been followed correctly.
