THE Prime Minister has dodged a call for a public inquiry into financial collapse of Thurrock Council and the "con man" who is being accused of leading the authority into a catastrophic financial situation.

At Prime Minister's Questions today (Wednesday, 16 October) Thurrock's Labour MP Jen Craft called for Sir Keir Starmer to back an independent inquiry into the failings, which left the council effectively bankrupt and facing a £1.3 billion debt.

Speaking in the Commons the MP said: "Two years ago Thurrock Council was led into effective bankruptcy by the then Conservative administration, in no small part due to an investment of hundreds of millions of pounds into a solar farm scheme run by a con man.

"Given the Prime Minister's commitment to integrity in public life will he support mine and my constituents calls for a public inquiry so those responsible can finally be held to account?"

Rising to his feet to respond, the Prime Minister thanked Mrs Craft for her question but said: "Because years of underfunding have left councils facing huge budget pressures. What's happened in Thurrock is shocking.

"We are committed to resetting the relationship and helping those under intervention to recover and reform. 14 years is a long time to destroy local services and it's clear it will take time to fix them.

"We will get councils back on their feet by providing multi-year settlements but ultimately we have to grow our economy."

In the wake of the financial collapse and intervention by the government, the Conservative administration initially rejected calls for a public inquiry.

However, pressure from residents, which included two well-supported petitions, forced a change of heart when a motion was brought before full council in February this year.

At the same meeting Corringham resident Kabul Sandu presented a petition and said: "The bankruptcy of Thurrock is different from that of other councils in the scale of its £1.5bn squander and the manner in which it was incurred."

On the back of a unanimous vote, which Labour group leader Cllr John Kent called a 'humiliating U-turn', the council wrote to the then Conservative local government minister calling for an independent probe.

Cllr Kent said thanked residents behind the petition and said the people of Thurrock deserved a "comprehensive investigation into the financial collapse" of the council.

However, the plea was rejected.

Labour took control of the council in May this year and recently the spokesperson for the council's eight-strong group of independent councillors, Cllr Neil Speight, proposed another motion, this time calling on the new Labour government to back an independent inquiry.

It was supported by all but one Tory councillor, who abstained and the council was mandated to write to the government for a second time.

That call for an inquiry prompted today's question from Mrs Craft.

The response of Sir Keir disappointed Cllr Speight who said he believed the Labour leadership was letting down its members and supporters in Thurrock.

He said: "As usual, a leading politician ignores a question in favour of rhetoric and self-interest. Sir Keir Starmer's response today was shameful.

"And he is letting down his own supporters.

"Labour councillors in Thurrock, on behalf of their residents, have twice unanimously called for a public inquiry.

"Residents, in their thousands, have called for it.

"Even Conservative councillors, embarrassed by what happened, have called for it.

"Labour councillors mocked and catcalled the Conservatives when they rejected an inquiry.

"If Labour's parliamentary mandarins formally reject the outcome of my recent motion when it arrives on the minister's desk, I will expect each and every one of Thurrock's Labour councillors to apologise personally to their residents and to condemn their own party.

"To do anything else will be hypocritical and a travesty of democracy.

"Many of them were elected in May on a platform of openness, honesty and transparency. 

"Their leader in Parliament seems minded to kick that can down the road - and kick the people of Thurrock in the teeth to boot!"