No payoff for council executive

John Lindsay said he was proud of his contribution to the council

A council chief executive who helped devise his own £300,000 redundancy payoff has resigned.

East Lothian Council said John Lindsay, 60, will now retire from his position at the end of September without receiving any redundancy payments.

Spending watchdogs had earlier criticised the outgoing council for its decision to award Mr Lindsay the deal.

The new council has now scrapped the deal and Mr Lindsay will only receive his statutory retirement payments.

The move follows a controversy that began in February when the council agreed to award Mr Lindsay a one-off redundancy payment of £149,000 and retirement lump-sum of £155,000 on top of his pension of £55,000 a year.

'Acting fairly'

The deal was criticised in a report by the Accounts Commission spending watchdog, which said the process by which the council made its decision "fell a long way short of the standards expected of public bodies".

At the time of the deal the council was Labour-controlled, but since the May election it has been controlled by an SNP-Liberal Democrat coalition.

Council leader David Berry thanked Mr Lindsay for his service to the area, and added: "The new council has demonstrated that it is acting fairly and responsibly and in the best interests of East Lothian's residents."

Mr Lindsay said: "Over the 23 years that I have been working in the community, many people have told me about improvements that have taken place throughout the county, and I am proud of my contribution to that."