The ex leader of the Northumberland County Council Bill Brooks delayed the investigation into work at his home , Mr Walker "It did"

Jun 20 2007
By Adrian Pearson, The Journal
A highways foreman who was dismissed for moonlighting told an employment tribunal yesterday he has no memory of the day he was caught delivering sand to a council leader's home.
Nigel Riley was sacked by Northumberland County Council in April last year after being photographed using his council lorry to deliver sand to a house in Newsham, Blyth, in 2005.
Mr Riley and co-worker Joe Fletcher did not know that the house in Chillingham Close was home to then county council leader Bill Brooks.
Coun Brooks has always denied being anything other than an innocent party in the embarrassing incident but the tribunal was told internal auditors were "hindered" in their investigation initially by orders not to interview the leader.
Coun Brooks' wife had hired Fletcher to do the work - not knowing he worked for the council and neither of the highways employees had met the councillor before.
Mr Riley, 47, of Cramlington, yesterday denied any involvement in the private construction business run by Fletcher, who was fired after admitting using council property for secondary employment.
The council, represented by Paul Cape, claim Mr Riley lied during an interview in February 2006 when asked if he had ever done any work "on the side". Mr Riley claimed he was never told of the specific allegations and assumed he was being investigated for stealing sand.
When he was handed pictures that appeared to show him shovelling sand off a lorry on June 24, he said they were too blurred for him to recognise himself.
He said: "Any delivery of sand to Coun Brooks' home on that day was without my consent. I had allowed a co-worker to use the lorry but my memory is blurred in relation to these events."
Mr Riley, who has worked for the council for more than 20 years, said that although he would drive the lorry to and from his home, he would let Fletcher use it to pick up deliveries during the day.
A receipt showed the material was picked up at 2.07pm by Fletcher when Mr Riley claimed he was working on a roundabout in Ashington. The receipt came to light after council officials allowed internal investigators to interview Coun Brooks.

Robert Gibson, representing Mr Riley, asked internal auditor Gary Walker: "Why did you not ascertain Mr Brooks' involvement?" Mr Walker said he had asked the director of finance on September 29 whether he should contact Coun Brooks but was told "he should not bother to do so." It was January, 2006, before Mr Walker spoke to Coun Brooks and received documents identifying Joe Fletcher as the contractor hired to build a driveway.

By that time the council leader had already spoken to Northumberland County Council chief executive Mark Henderson about the matter.
When asked if this delay hindered the investigation, Mr Walker replied: "It did. But I should say at this point we were trying to find out more general information."
The tribunal continues.