A former council boss and senior army officer has been asked to shine the spotlight into how a town hall responded to the arrest of a paedophile councillor.
Hackney Council has appointed John Henderson to examine the decisions it made after the National Crime Agency notified it about its arrest of Cllr Tom Dewey over possession of indecent images of children.
The NCA contacted the council a week after Dewey was elected as a Labour councillor for De Beauvoir ward in May 2022. Officers told council safeguarding staff that Dewey had been arrested in April - before the election.
Dewey later resigned as councillor and Labour party member.
Earlier this summer he admitted five charges of possessing indecent images of children. A crown court judge gave the 36-year-old, who now lives in Hampshire, a 12-month suspended sentence.
Tom Dewey eelcted to De Beauvoir May 2022, pic Julia Gregory, free for use by partners of BBC news wire service
The Dewey scandal led to the resignation of Hackney’s mayor Philip Glanville. He quit over an “error of judgement” for attending a party with Dewey after the council’s chief executive had told him of the arrest.
Mr Henderson has been given a list of people he may like to interview about the council’s response. This includes the former chief executive Mark Carroll, who informed the mayor of the arrest and called Dewey into the town hall for an urgent meeting.
John Henderson, former chief executive of Staffordshire County Council. Pic Staffordshire County Council, free for use by partners of BBC news wire service
Mr Henderson served as chief executive of Staffordshire County Council for eight years and ended a 30-year army career as a Major General commanding the British forces in Germany.
He pledged “to deliver a thorough investigation, providing well-informed findings and recommendations to full council”.
The council said it could not disclose what it will pay for the review.
Hackney’s interim chief executive Dawn Carter McDonald said: “This assessment will provide a fair and unbiased review into the events surrounding the resignation of the former councillor.
“The focus of the review will be to ensure that the council met its safeguarding obligations and to examine the council’s processes and guidance and make recommendations for any improvements.”
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