Flintshire loses auditor appeal

Andy Sutton has welcomed the judgement

A north Wales council has lost an appeal against an employment tribunal's decision which ruled a former internal auditor was prevented from carrying out his work.

Last year, a tribunal found "whistleblower" Andy Sutton had been forced to quit his job with Flintshire Council after being stopped from accessing documents linked to alleged fraud at the council.

Mr Sutton resigned his post in April 2001 after he was taken ill with stress and anxiety.

On Tuesday Mr Sutton, who is from Wrexham, said he was delighted with the decision but would not make any further comment for the time being.

Full details of the tribunal appeal will not be made public until next week.

Remedy hearing

A spokesman for the Flintshire authority, Barry Davies, said they would consider the judgement carefully.

"The decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal to refuse the council's appeal against the employment tribunal will now need to be considered in detail by council officers," he said.

"The next step in the process is for the original employment tribunal to arrange a remedies hearing."

The hearing will, in effect, decide how much compensation Mr Sutton should receive.