COUNCILLORS have again voted in favour of calling for a public inquiry into how Thurrock Council amassed a £1.5billion debt.

A full council meeting on Thursday (26 September) saw all but one of the councillors present support a call for an independent public inquiry into the failings which left the council effectively bankrupt.

AN earlier unanimous call to the then Conservative government went unheeded but now a Labour Minister will get to answer the question.

With no sign of an inquiry currently in the pipeline and those involved yet to be called to account, Gary Byrne, Independent councillor for Stanford-le-Hope West, claimed that upset residents "want to see a public hanging" over the saga.

He said: "The public don't want just a public inquiry, they want to see a public hanging. We must see the guilty charged or the innocent freed from all suspicion. Until then we are not moving on."

Cllr Byrne withdrew his comment after being asked to do so by Thurrock mayor Kairen Raper, who said the language was inappropriate.

However, fellow independent Cllr Neil Speight, who brought the motion, said emotions were running high over the issue.

Cllr Speight called for "an inquiry that allocates responsibility for what happened" and one that "should it be required, takes appropriate action against those proven to be at fault and also if the responsible local Labour government minister rejects it, the council cabinet consider funding an independent inquiry."

The proposal was seconded by a third independent councillor, Roy Jones - who had played a part in compiling a petition that led to the original call to the government.

Council leader Cllr John Kent said he had always supported demands for an inquiry and that had not changed.

He said: "Residents of Thurrock will be dealing for decades to come with the impact of the financial collapse of this council. They will be paying with poorer services and higher council taxes.

"We are labouring under a debt of £1billion. Last year we paid more in debt interest payments than the rest of the budget combined and that is untenable and somebody needs to be held to account for it."

However, he added: "I don't think the council is in any position to fund the kind of inquiry we would like to see but there are alternatives. Parliament's public accounts committee could be asked to carry out an inquiry into what's happened here. I'm surprised that the select committee for local government hasn't instigated some sort of inquiry into what's happened."

Conservative Barry Johnson was the only councillor not to support the motion, instead abtaining because he felt it would be imprudent for residents to suffer more hardship if the council had to bear the significant cost of an inquiry. He said he supported the principle of an inquiry but he said: "The cost of such a public inquiry could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds and to place further financial burden on the tax payers of Thurrock for something that, whatever the outcome or whatever they find, won't see any income generated back to the council and that would be difficult for me to agree to."