A TOWN HALL boss has defended his decision to allow a member of his staff to accept free tickets to a Premiership football match, claiming the trip was "beneficial" to the council.

Peter Wilson, Bolton Council's director of Central Services, told a Manchester employment tribunal that the "hospitality trip" was necessary to help build a working relationship.

Bernard Summers, Bolton Council's 51-year-old former head of agency and development in the Corporate property Services department, is claiming that he was victimised after accusing his boss Stuart Knight of breaching the council's code of conduct by accepting the match tickets. Summers subsequently resigned.

Mr Summers complained after Mr Knight accepted tickets for the game between Chelsea and Bolton Wanderers in London from Warner Estates, a firm of developers connected to controversial plans to redevelop Bolton's Market Hall.

On Wednesday, Mr Wilson told the tribunal that trips were necessary to allow employees of Warner Estates and Bolton Council to "get to know each other better in terms of a working relationship." He told the tribunal: "It is beneficial for the employees who will be working together to get to know each other and develop a sympathetic understanding of one another."

He said that a social relationship, as well as a working relationship, was important between clients and council employees, and that the invitation was not inappropriate as there had been no scope for competition on the Market Hall contract.

Mr Summers, who is claiming constructive dismissal, claims that the problems arose after he initially complained over the matter of the football match to Mr Wilson.

He said that he was singled out by Mr Knight over budgeting requirements, dress code, regrading of salaries, holiday leave and overtime pay, and accused Mr Wilson of breaching his privacy by accessing his computer files.

Council chiefs also raised concerns at Mr Summers' failure to declare the purchase of a private property from a development firm he had been dealing with at work.

An investigation was launched into Mr Summers' conduct but no disciplinary action was taken against him.

Mr Wilson said that he had initially permitted a self-authorised claim of travel expenses for the trip from Mr Knight, which was also attended by a fellow employee and had not seen the activity as any form of misconduct.

But he told the tribunal that after a meeting with the council's Chief Executive Bernard Knight, he was forced to "reconsider the thought processes involved," and decided that Mr Knight should not have submitted the claim without a counter signature from a senior officer."

Jason Searle, representing Mr Summers, suggested that Mr Wilson had not dealt with the allegations against Mr Knight seriously enough, after it was decided by the District Auditor that he had been wrong to claim back travel expenses.

He also suggested that the launch of an investigation into Mr Summers' conduct at the same time as the whistle-blowing exercise "should have rung alarm bells" with Mr Wilson and could not simply be coincidental.

The chairman of the tribunal put it to Mr Wilson that, as it was he who gave permission to the staff to accept the offer of tickets, Mr Summers' complaint could be seen as a question of his own judgement, to which Wilson agreed.

Mr Wilson was then asked whether, in light of this, he felt he was the correct person to deal with the whistleblowing complaint, to which he replied: "probably not."

Trade Union representative at the time Gerrard Gaffey told the tribunal that there had been a change in atmosphere after the allegations were aired, and felt himself that he was "being watched" after speaking out on behalf of Mr Summers.

On behalf of Bolton Council, Geoff Middleton said that Mr Summers himself had previously accepted tickets to a football game.

He also said that Mr Wilson's concerns over budgets and dress code were aimed at the whole department.