'I won't quit' - Embattled Sandwell Council leader Steve Eling hits back at James Morris' explosive Commons address
Sandwell Council leader Steve Eling has promised to 'wipe the floor' with MP James Morris for his public shaming of the authority in the House of Commons.
The Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP called for Councillor Eling to resign over allegations of abuse of power, fraud and corruption at the authority, and urged the government to send in commissioners.
Mr Eling called his remarks 'disgraceful', adding he had no intention of quitting his role.
He said an independent peer review on the Labour-run council's performance, to be published imminently, would prove Mr Morris wrong.
And he revealed he would be complaining to the Speaker about an alleged breach of parliamentary procedure.
The Conservative MP, who made his comments in an adjournment debate on Thursday, quoted from the Wragge report of 2016 concerning claims of dodgy land sales and bullying that centred around Councillor Mahboob Hussain.
He also highlighted allegations from January 2017 over land sales involving Councillor Babu Bawa and Councillor Hussain, as well as issues concerning Councillor Derek Rowley and Councillor Mohammad Rouf.
Some of these had not been investigated properly and, where wrongdoing had been proven, had not resulted in any prosecution, Mr Morris told MPs.
But Mr Eling insisted that delays in processing the complaints could not be blamed on the council.
"It's no good complaining that the standards process takes forever when it is filibustering in Parliament and taking things through the courts that has really caused the delays. It's in the government's gift to change it, " he said.
"The Wragge Report came out in May 2016 and it was originally down to be heard by Sandwell Council in July but because of filibustering and the courts, it didn't get to the standards committee until January 2018. That's crazy. We're not taking the blame for the law."
He said the Peer Review, conducted by the Local Government Association, congratulated the council on its handling of the issue and praised its 'robust governance process', including its 'strong financial' management.
Councillor Eling, who took over the leader's role in May 2016, said: "We've had some issues around land sales involving councillors and officers. But they involved a very small number of people and since then we've made some management changes at the top. What happened then could not happen now. We dealt with these problems two years ago and we're just mopping up the leftovers now."
He added: "It was disgusting to use the platform of Parliament to make these comments without backing it up with evidence or seeking a response from me. The Peer Review, when it is published, will diminish him as an MP and leave him crawling in the gutter."
He added: "I certainly won't be resigning because he asked for it."
West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson also came under fire in Mr Morris' speech for 'remaining quiet' over the issues.
Hitting back, Mr Watson said: "Mr Morris is perfectly aware that a number of allegations have been made against councillors in Sandwell and that they have been investigated by the ethical standards committee and they will now be dealt with by Labour's disciplinary procedures in line with party rules.
"If he has specific allegations about criminality he must hand them over to the police.
"Mr Morris has also made specific claims about the former leader of Sandwell Council.
"Darren Cooper is not alive to defend himself. I urge him to present any evidence he may have so it can be assessed properly and a judgement can be made about where the truth lies."
