Starmer’s chief of bankrupt council fields calls from his ‘vacation in New York’

Sir Keir Starmer’s handpicked Labour chief of “bankrupt” Birmingham City Council has been slammed for “being on holiday in New York” as Europe’s greatest native authority goes into monetary meltdown.

John Cotton video-called in for a sequence of interviews on Tuesday when it’s claimed he was overseas, the day it was introduced a bit 114 discover had been filed by the council he leads, which means it’s successfully bankrupt.

All new spending will cease instantly aside from defending susceptible individuals and statutory providers.

The Labour-led council stated in June it faces an equal pay legal responsibility of between £650 million and £760 million, which is rising at between £5 million and £14 million a month and which is now estimated to be greater than £1 billion.

Sources advised the Mail Online Mr Cotton, who is claimed to have been handpicked by Sir Keir Starmer, was on vacation within the US when news broke of the monetary catastrophe.

Gary Sambrook, Conservative MP for Birmingham Northfield, advised the paper: “If anyone wants to see how Labour would behave in Government then look no further than Birmingham.

“Starmer’s man was picked with no vote and when issues get robust is nowhere to be seen. Labour have bankrupted Birmingham and so they’ll do the identical to the nation.”

The council additionally faces an in-year monetary hole in its funds which at the moment stands within the area of £87 million.

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, Mr Cotton stated the council would “proceed to ship on important providers like kids’s safeguarding and social care, social look after adults, schooling, waste assortment, highway upkeep and library providers”.

The BBC stated that Mr Cotton just isn’t within the metropolis as a consequence of “longstanding household commitments”, however that statutory providers would proceed for the town’s 1.1 million taxpayers.

Issues with equal pay settlements on the council have been ongoing for properly over a decade.

In 2012, the Supreme Court dominated in favour of 174 low-paid girls employees on the council to make sure they have been paid equally, which successfully prolonged the time employees must convey equal pay compensation claims from six months to 6 years.

That added to numerous earlier equal pay settlements courting again to 2006.