A weekly newspaper has been “stonewalled” by a council in a bid to get details about the mysterious departure of the authority’s chief executive.

The Derbyshire Times submitted a Freedom of Information request to Derbyshire County Council about why Nick Hodgson left his £152,000 role in June and details of any payout to him when he left.

But the authority failed to answer the newspaper’s questions, saying Mr Hodgson had entered into an agreement which meant the terms of his departure would “remain confidential”.

The refusal to answer the title’s FoI request has now been criticised by campaign group the Taxpayers’ Alliance which said residents were entitled to know the size of any payoff.

Jonathan Isaby, political director of the campaign group, told the paper: “Derbyshire residents have every right to know about the circumstances of Mr Hodgson’s departure from the council, especially if he has left the authority with a large chunk of their cash.

“Far too often in the public sector we are seeing people being given taxpayer-funded golden goodbyes, even if they have departed under a cloud or in mysterious circumstances.

“Derbyshire residents should not only be entitled to know the value of any payoff given to Mr Hodgson, but also whether he was subject to a compromise agreement.

“These gagging orders effectively buy the silence of former employees and completely go against the principle of openness and transparency which should be paramount for any public body that is spending taxpayers’ money.”

The authority told the weekly that the “the full amount he is receiving” would be revealed in the council’s accounts but these would not be available to view until June next year.

A spokesman for the county council was unable to confirm if Mr Hodgson was subject to a compromise agreement.

He said: “As explained in our response to your Freedom of Information request, we’re legally prevented from revealing details but we can confirm that it was agreed that Nick Hodgson leave the county council at the beginning of June and terms of the agreement remain confidential.

“The details of any payment made to him will be included in the council’s accounts which will be available in June 2014.”

In responding to the paper’s FoI request, the council acknowledged there was a public interest in why Mr Hodgson had left but said the agreement meant it would “not be fair” to disclose further information.

Derbyshire Times editor James Mitchinson has declined to comment further on the story.