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Council chief calls police after regional daily leak

A council chief called the police after a leak from within the authority to a regional daily.

East Dorset District Council chief executive David McIntosh spoke to Dorset Police after a story appeared in the Bournemouth Echo about plans to turn civic offices into a riverside marina.

Mr McIntosh was told by the force that the issue was “not a police matter”, but he informed councillors in a private letter he is investigating the “breach of confidentiality”.

The Echo declined to reveal its sources for both the initial story and the existence of the investigation into the leak when asked by Mr McIntosh, pictured below.

David McIntosh

He told the newspaper: “I contacted the police to understand their perspective on this.

“They told me it is not a police matter. There is no investigation.”

The information emerged following a confidential briefing for councillors and officers about the planned marina in Christchurch.

Mr McIntosh defended the decision to include a reference to the police in his letter.

He said: “I put it in my letter to members to let them know I had done it rather than do something behind their backs. This is a very serious matter.”

One councillor told the Echo: “This is all nonsense. It is quite obvious this is not a police matter.

“Going to them on something like this makes us look a laughing stock.”

9 comments

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  • June 1, 2016 at 9:32 am
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    One was rather under the impression, based on the above only, that the alleged offence would be a civil matter, rather than a criminal one.

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  • June 1, 2016 at 10:03 am
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    Hilarious.

    I had a good exclusive on my old patch and the chief exec summoned my editor down there to demand to know where it came from, we didn’t reveal obviously, but he said ‘I can tell you one thing, it didn’t come from any one at the council!’

    But it had actually come from the council leader himself, who was a good contact of mine.

    Huzzah!

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  • June 1, 2016 at 10:06 am
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    Dear god.

    It’s a district council not the bloody Politburo.

    Who do they think stumps up the cash for their “civic offices” in the fist place?

    The tax payers, that’s who – and they have the absolute right to know what their hard-earned money is being spent on – or wasted on, more like.

    Which is why newspapers go digging around to find out what’s happening when decisions are taken behind closed doors.

    Call the police!

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  • June 1, 2016 at 10:12 am
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    Kevin: Unless somebody pinched the information to feed it to the paper in the form of a private document, or something. Even so, this is council self-importance at its daftest…

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  • June 1, 2016 at 11:20 am
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    A journo doing his/her job properly? Disgraceful! Shouldn’t be allowed! (say all those council cabinet members & petty bureaucrats trying to hide things the public really ought to know)

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  • June 1, 2016 at 12:19 pm
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    A regional newspaper doing what it should be doing. Great journalism. Hurrah, and a pox on the council!

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  • June 1, 2016 at 1:13 pm
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    I’ve just stubbed my toe. Is it a police matter?
    This bloke is on a fortune and you would think he would have the nous to know the bleeding obvious. Perhaps that’s below his pay grade.

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  • June 2, 2016 at 8:21 am
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    The overpaid CEO should be charged with wasting police time.

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