Council fraud inquiry decision due

Flintshire Council have co-operated fully

Workers at a north Wales council where allegations of fraud have been investigated are waiting to hear whether anyone will be prosecuted.

The Crown Prosecution Service(CPS), the agency responsible for taking action against anyone charged with a criminal offence, has been looking into the case against Flintshire County Council.

Prosecutors have spent the last few months trawling through papers produced by detectives to see if there is a case to be answered.

A decision has been made, however, it is not yet known what that advice is or whether any action will be taken by North Wales Police.

The force has previously confirmed the inquiry was focused on a limited number of aspects of business.

The case follows a series of allegations by former internal auditor turned "whistleblower" Andy Sutton - last year a tribunal found he had been forced to quit his job after being stopped from accessing documents linked to alleged fraud at the council.

The local authority has pledged total co-operation with the investigation which started in January.

Mr Sutton from Wrexham, and district auditor Keri Stradling have previously alleged they discovered irregularities during the course of their internal audit into Flintshire Council.

Andy Sutton alleged irregularities

In a statement the CPS said they had: "fully reviewed all material submitted and sent advice to the police."

"This file was submitted to Crown Prosecution Service North Wales, with a request for formal advise in early September."

Philip McGreevy, Flintshire's chief executive has been kept well informed of North Wales Police's intentions.

Access to all documents and material have been made readily available to assist the investigation.

Last year, the council suffered a series of allegations from its former internal auditor Mr Sutton.

At an industrial tribunal in Shrewsbury, it was ruled Mr Sutton had been blocked in his attempts to uncover the truth about scandals within the Flintshire authority.

The tribunal criticised the authority's chief executive Phillip McGreevy, the county secretary Andrew Loveridge and another senior officer Kerry Parry.