NEW JOB (AND A RISE) FOR BOSS WHO QUIT AFTER ELECTION FARCE

Ex-chief executive lands £135k-a-year post

A FORMER council chief executive who quit following an election fiasco has secured a new job – and a pay rise.

John Sellgren left his £114,000-a-year job at Newcastle Borough Council ‘by mutual consent’ in August, 10 months after being suspended on full pay.

Mr Sellgren, pictured, had been subject to internal disciplinary proceedings in connection to the 2017 parliamentary election in Newcastle, which he had presided over as returning officer.

An independent report found that 1,500 people had been wrongly denied a vote in the election due to a catalogue of errors.

But four months later Mr Sellgren has now been appointed the £135,000-a-year director of place at the new Dorset Council.

The council, a new unitary authority which will officially come into being next April, says Mr Sellgren will not be responsible for elections in his role and that there had been a ‘rigorous’ recruitment exercise.

A spokesman for Dorset Council said: “Mr Sellgren was suspended by the then leader of Newcastle Borough Council following a report into the council’s management of the 2017 General Election. The new Dorset Council has looked at this issue and concluded it has no impact on Mr Sellgren’s ability to do the job he has applied for, and been properly appointed to, following a rigorous national recruitment exercise.

“We are satisfied with the due diligence we carried out for this role. We took references including one from Newcastle Borough Council. Our retained recruitment advisers, Penna also undertook due diligence checks normal for any high-level appointment – public or private sector.” The problems which affected Newcastle’s shambolic election included postal ballots not being sent out and registers not being updated, meaning some voters were turned away from polling stations. Labour MP Paul Farrelly won the election by just 30 votes.

Elections in Dorset will be overseen by chief executive Matt Prosser, who has run several elections in the county before.

As director of place Mr Sellgren will be responsible for services such as housing, leisure, waste and highways. He is due to start his new job early in the New Year.

The spokesman added: “We chose Mr Sellgren for his wide range of experience which includes county, district and national policy roles.”

Mr Sellgren had served as chief executive at the borough council for seven years.

Coincidentally, the new chief executive will be Martin Hamilton, who is the current strategic director at the Dorset Councils Partnership. He is due to start work in Newcastle in February.