Council claimant may be councillor

Olwen Jones, wife of Sandwell Council's education chief Councillor Ian Jones, cost the authority £350,000 following a six-year legal battle but is to represent the ruling Labour party in Wednesbury South in the seat left vacant by Councillor George Turton.

She was selected following an interview last night and if she gets elected on October 1 she will be entitled to claim £10,000 a year in allowances plus any special responsibility bonuses she will get for chairing committees.

Mrs Jones, aged 57, pursued a compensation claim for almost 10 years because of the stress she suffered while working for the local authority. In 2002 she was awarded a payout of £157,000. The council had fought against the decision for six years and took the case to the High Court in London which upheld the original decision and ordered the council to pay compensation.

The court ruled Mrs Jones, who worked for the council's Trainwell department until 1995, was put under "undue stress" in her job as an administration assistant.

It ruled the council had bullied and harassed Mrs Jones, forcing her to suffer a mental breakdown. As a result the authority ordered a major shake-up of stress management. Grandmother Mrs Jones, who recently set up a residents' group in Wednesbury, said: "I had been doing three people's jobs and was working in the middle of the night.

"It took me years to win my claim. I wasn't in the Labour party at the time. I'm not afraid of Sandwell Council and I think, if anything, this shows I will stand up for other people."

Mrs Jones attended Labour party interviews with four other potential candidates last night.

The previous councillor in Wednesbury South, George Turton, resigned last week after being told to step aside by party chiefs who were concerned that he had moved to Wales and no longer attended many meetings.

The Conservatives have not yet chosen their candidate.