West Midlands fire chief Oliver Lee suspended

The interim CEO of the fire service has been suspended pending an investigation.

West Midlands Fire Service's governing body has this afternoon suspended Oliver Lee, its interim chief executive. In a message to staff today, the fire authority leaders wrote that they had taken the decision to suspend Mr Lee, a former Royal Marine colonel, without spelling out why.

In a statement today Cllr Greg Brackenridge said: "This is not something I had wanted to occur and is not a decision taken lightly by the Fire Authority. The Fire Authority sought external, independent advice before taking this decision and, in line with the Constitution, the suspension is subject to ratification by the full Fire Authority on Monday October 14th."

He added: "If this is upheld, a process to appoint an independent person to investigate will be taken."

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The statement continued: “In what has been a very difficult year for West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), it is hugely deflating for all involved that we have reached this point, and we realise this will cause further public concern. The day-to-day running of the service continues under the Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Simon Barry, supported by the rest of the leadership team. They remain fully focused on ensuring our people can continue to deliver a vital and outstanding emergency service to the communities of the West Midlands.

“The issues that Mr Lee raised publicly concerning the governance of the Fire and Rescue Service will continue to be investigated independently, and reported to the Fire Authority for consideration. They will also share such findings with our external auditors, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, and other such key stakeholders as necessary.”

An internal statement also reminded staff that they are prohibited from canvassing Fire Authority members over personnel matters. That's likely to try to fend off any potential barrage of communications to councillors who sit on the authority. We understand support has been offered to Mr Lee during this period.

Earlier today, West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority revealed it was issuing a legal report against Mr Lee. The authority’s monitoring officer and solicitor, Satinder Sahota, took the unusual step of issuing a Section 5 report alleging behaviour that was potentially unlawful or amounted to maladministration, linked to Mr Lee's actions in suspending a senior finance officer. The full details will be heard by the Fire Authority next Monday.

His own suspension comes as inspectors prepare to descend on the troubled service to judge how well it is doing. Inspectors from the HMICFRS will walk into an authority in internal chaos.

The fire service, the second biggest in the country, has around 1,900 staff, including over 1,300 firefighters, across 38 stations. The authority that oversees it is made up of 15 local councillors, mostly Labour, representing the councils inside the West Midlands region, and regional police and crime commissioner Simon Foster.

Mr Lee, speaking to BirminghamLive this weekend, had raised the ante in an ongoing war of words with the fire authority by declaring he would never again work with Cllr Brackenridge or Mr Sahota. He said their relationship has 'completely broken down'. Appointed in March as a one year interim, Mr Lee claims to have the support of many of the 1,900 fire service staff, based on feedback he has received during fire station visits.