THE bosses of the former Asons Solicitors and Coops Law should 'do their job properly', according to the leader of Bolton Council.

Cllr Cliff Morris criticised the firms' directors and said he did not care about them at tonight's full council meeting at Bolton town hall.

Last year, the council controversially awarded Asons a £300,00 grant to help refurbish the company's base in Churchgate - money that was paid back when the firm ceased trading in March.

Coops Law, the firm which took over Asons, was shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority last week and Cllr Morris said tonight that he sympathised with 100-plus people who had lost their jobs.

He told the meeting: "I don’t care about the directors and senior solicitors in this firm, they should do their jobs properly.

"But I do care about the other workers, many of whom we know are Bolton residents, who relied on this company for their wages to support their families and are now out of work.

"That is why we supported Asons in the first place, to try to stop this happening."

Cllr Morris was responding to a question from Tory leader Cllr David Greenhalgh, who asked him to commit to bringing forward a schedule of payments and invoices relating to the grant.

The council leader claimed that Cllr Greenhalgh could have viewed the documents at any time since the issue was first raised in February, adding: "At no time since the last meeting has Cllr Greenhalgh asked about the invoices. 

"He could have come to me at any time in the last four months and asked for this, or for me to arrange this for you. Officers have not been approached."