The Government has revealed it is ‘monitoring the situation’ at Tower Hamlets LBC following the sudden departure of its chief executive.
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy chief executive, Rob Whiteman, previously tweeted his organisation had ‘concerns Tower Hamlets is going wrong again and will need intervention’ after the council announced chief executive Will Tuckley was to stand down after seven years.
The council said it did not want to comment on the Government’s move nor on Mr Whiteman’s concerns, which have grown since controversial Lutfur Rahman won the Tower Hamlets mayoralty in May 2022 - six years after an electoral commissioner removed him from office.
Mayor Rahman has dismissed Mr Whiteman’s concerns as ‘completely unfounded’.
Employment, ethics and governance adviser Mark Greenburgh has also spoken out about the culture at Tower Hamlets, which he said resembled the time when Mayor Rahman was previously in office.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: ‘We continue to monitor the situation at Tower Hamlets and will not hesitate to take action if evidence shows we need to do so.’
Steve Halsey took over as interim chief executive days after it was announced that Mr Tuckley was leaving.
Mr Halsey previously took the helm in stormy waters as Tower Hamlets’ interim head of paid service in July 2012 amid the crisis sparked by Mayor Rahman refusing to fill the vacant chief executive post for two years.
He later returned to his old role as director of communities, localities and culture before taking voluntary redundancy from the council in June 2016 after a review of Tower Hamlets’ senior management structure.
The Local Government Association’s (LGA) head of improvement Dennis Skinner and principal adviser Kate Herbert have already met Mr Halsey.
An LGA spokesperson said: ‘It was good to have a discussion with the new interim chief executive and Mayor about the work of the council supporting its residents and businesses, and the challenges it faces.’
A council spokesperson said plans were ‘currently being finalised to recruit permanently’ to the chief executive role.
