9:14am Tuesday 16th March 2010
By Gavin Aitchison
A SENIOR civil servant in York has been suspended from his Government post.
Michael Watkins, the £100,000-a-year director of estates at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), has not been seen at his York office since being suspended in December.
A national newspaper has linked the move to Defra’s contract with a maintenance company called Interserve, but Defra disputed the link.
A spokesman said: “Defra takes any allegations extremely seriously. When an anonymous allegation was made, not connected with the Interserve contract, an internal investigation was immediately launched.
“Because of the individual’s position, a second independent investigation was also launched.
“The investigation into the allegations is ongoing; however so far no evidence of any wrongdoing has been found in relation to the contract between Defra and Interserve.
“A further internal audit in the coming weeks will ensure nothing has been missed,” he said.
Mr Watkins co-ordinated the relocation of 110 Defra posts from London to York in 2005, saying then that the city’s quality of life and working conditions made it a “natural choice”.
In 2008, there was controversy at the department over the cost of making two offices at King’s Pool, Peasholme Green, more environmentally friendly.
Trade unions were unhappy when the cost spiralled to £28.3 million, but Mr Watkins said then the work was pioneering and would minimise waste.
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