West Midlands fire chief 'terminated' hours after withdrawing resignation

It's over. Oliver Lee will likely go down in the history books of the West Midlands Fire Service as its shortest lived but most outspoken chief - but his job at the helm is now officially terminated

Controversial fire chief Oliver Lee has been told his services have been 'terminated', ending a dramatic month of to-and-fro, claim and counterclaim inside the West Midlands service. Lee, brought in as the service's interim chief executive in March, learned this afternoon in an email that his employment was over.

The decision to end links with him came during a behind closed doors section of a meeting of the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority today. Lee had tendered his resignation last week after learning he was both being suspended and was subject to a separate Section 5 legal notice alleging he had acted unlawfully.

The members of the Authority were meeting to decide their next steps when he submitted a letter asking to withdraw his resignation. That came after his nemesis, the authority's chairman Greg Brackenridge, resigned himself in a row over his military service.

READ MORE: Crunch West Midlands fire meeting live after two dramatic resignations

It amounted to a firestorm of confusion - but this afternoon the authority and Lee have confirmed they have parted ways for good.

Lee, a decorated Royal Marine colonel, took to Linked In to announce he was being 'terminated' as CEO. He used his favoured social media channel to make the announcement.

He wrote: "Well, that’s been a few hard months of trying so hard to do the right thing in the face of the contrary. I felt over the weekend that the situation might have changed in the face of the chair’s resignation. (Fire authority chairman Greg Brackenridge stepped down on Saturday night, as reported here.)

"So, for 1,900 people, I made my first ever u turn, and withdrew my resignation. To help. Sadly, I have just received this from the army of lawyers employed by West Midlands Fire Service : ‘Your employment with WMFRA has terminated.’"

He went on to describe this as "an extraordinary lack of duty of care, just as I inherited and have tried so hard to change for the better. I did everything I could to help this special organisation. I am sorry that this was not good enough, which is on me."

In a statement, vice chair of the Authority, Cllr Catherine Miks, confirmed that Mr Lee's initial offer to resign had been accepted.

She said: "Following Oliver’s (Lee) resignation last week it was necessary for the Fire Authority to accept or decline his resignation. Based upon independent legal and employment advice the Fire Authority has made a decision to accept Oliver’s resignation with immediate effect.

"I realise these have been difficult and disruptive times, but the Authority is entirely committed to ensuring we support our staff to provide an outstanding service to the communities of the West Midlands."

The service now faces an immediate inspection of its governance by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services and is also about to undergo a full, pre-planned inspection of its performance.

Today marks another extraordinary moment in an unprecedented state of affairs inside the second biggest fire service in the country. The Home Office, under Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, is now closely scrutinising affairs.

The catalyst for what is now going on was the untimely death of Wayne Brown, then chief fire officer, in January, and its aftermath. Lee was brought in as a steadying influence. One of the youngest ever colonels in the Marines, Mr Lee has pulled no punches about standards he expected around him, and won over many of the rank and file firefighters who felt he was 'on their side'.

The fire service confirmed it is now continuing its search for a new chief officer. Deputy chief fire officer Simon Barry remains in charge in the interim period. The Fire Authority is also without a chair, after Cllr Brackenridge's resignation at the weekend amid a flurry of stories linked to his military service.