Lib Dem housing boss resigns over £3
million fraud
|
 Lib Dem Keith Fitchett clung on for months after £3 million went missing |
Disgraced Lib Dem housing boss Cllr Keith Fitchett has been forced out over a massive fraud scandal. Fitchett was in charge when a fraudster stole £3 million from Lambeth Housing last July. When investigators blamed weak management under his leadership, Fitchett tried to let more junior staff take the blame. But after clinging on for seven months, mounting public anger has finally forced him out.
The scandal-hit Lib Dems and Tories have left Lambeth Housing in meltdown. Four of the five most senior managers are now on long-term leave, suspended or have resigned. After causing a financial crisis the Lib Dems have frozen repairs on all estates until April. And not a penny of the £3 million stolen last year has yet been recovered.
Cllr Fitchett launched a bitter attack on his own Lib Dem and Tory colleagues as he resigned. He claimed their arrangements for running Lambeth Housing were not working. The question being asked now is why the weak Lib Dem council leader allowed this man to hang on for so many months when it was clear he was not up to the job.
Council estate resident Christopher Wellbelove
said: “Council tenants across Lambeth are suffering because of Lib
Dem incompetence. £3 million has gone missing, repairs are left
undone, but instead of taking tough action the Lib Dems just stand there
like rabbits in the headlights. The Lib Dems couldn’t run a bath,
let alone a Council.”
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