BOLTON’s Conservative party has vowed to continue to fight to find out whether the council’s former chief executive Paul Najsarek was given a pay-off after leaving his job earlier this month.

Paul Najsarek walked away from the £160,000 job, citing family reasons as the cause of his departure.

In a statement, Mr Najsarek said he needed to “prioritise” his family life and this meant leaving Bolton.

Since then, sources have indicated to The Bolton News that Mr Najsarek could have received some form of severance payment after leaving the role and moving back to London, where he previously served as Harrow Council’s top officer.

But Bolton Council has so far refused to answer any questions regarding a potential pay-off and The Bolton News is waiting for the results of a Freedom of Information Request on the issue.

Conservative group leader David Greenhalgh has said that his party will continue to put pressure on the council to explain more about the circumstances of Mr Najsarek’s exit and to clarify if any additional payments were made.

He said: “Having spoke with my group, we all agree that this is a thoroughly unsatisfactory situation and there are many questions that need to be answered.

“If it is the case that a pay-off was made to Mr Najsarek, that is something we would strongly oppose but if it is the case, the taxpayers of Bolton should know how their money is being spent.”

He added: “If something has been given, then someone at the council needs to step-up and defend that decision and not hide behind the excuse that this is personal information.”

Cllr Greenhalgh said he believes one route of uncovering the truth could come in the form of the authority’s annual financial results, which will be released at the end of the tax year.

He said: “That is something we will certainly scrutinize and should be able to tell what payments were made to the top pay grade at the council, but we would hope to receive information before then.”

Council leader Cliff Morris has maintained that the decision to leave was entirely Mr Najsarek’s and labelled suggestions that the relationship between the two had become strained as “ridiculous.”