News / Avon Fire and Rescue
Avon’s suspended chief fire officer slams report as ‘a complete sham’
Avon’s suspended chief fire officer has blasted a damning report on the governance of the organisation as a “complete sham”.
Kevin Pearson was heavily criticised following an independent investigation which revealed a culture of bullying, defensiveness and backdoor pay-outs in the service and called for the resignation of senior bosses.
Pearson, along with his deputy Lorraine Houghton, have been suspended in the wake of the allegations against them, but the chief fire officer has hit back this week.
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“This inspection has been no more than a cynical ploy to discredit the governance, leadership and management of a fire authority, in pursuit of a political agenda,” he said in a statement.
Pearson argued the inspection itself was significantly flawed and claimed that in the midst of the four-month long probe into the service, he – as chief fire officer – was only interviewed once.
The senior officer came under fire in the report which found he had two pensions and made an ‘illusory sacrifice’ in the face of austerity measures, before going on to have his salary vastly inflated.
Concerns were raised that significant pay increases for other high-ranking officers were sanctioned with the express purposes of boosting their final salary benefits.
A scathing report into Avon Fire and Rescue Service called for the resignation of top bosses
Pearson said: “It is grossly unfair that I have been told that I am personally responsible and accountable for decisions that were not mine to make.
“The decisions that have been criticised were made by elected members, on a cross party basis, who had the legitimate power and democratic authority to do so.
“No one has died as a consequence of my alleged action or inaction,” Pearson continued.
“I believe that ministers, civil servants and inspectors would be better serving the public if they were to focus on the serious fire safety issues currently facing our communities, rather than pursing a political agenda regarding the governance of the service.”
He claimed that both he and Houghton face “trumped up charges based on a fundamentally flawed inspect report” and added: “Perhaps the elected members involved in the witch hunt that began long before any investigations or inspections were even dreamed of, should be congratulated for the achievement of their end goal”.
A spokesman for Avon Fire Authority confirmed they had also received the statement issued independently by Pearson, adding: “As he is currently suspended and absent on sick leave it would be inappropriate for the authority to make any comment.”
Read more: Avon’s chief fire officer suspended in wake of damning report
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