Conservative Chief Whip forced to come clean on Phone Call

Following Liberal Democrat Freedom of Information requests, leading Conservative Councillor, Phillip Bicknell, was forced to admit that he was the man on the other end of the Phone Call that led to the resignation of Conservative Group Officer Andre Walker.

Confronted with phone records obtained under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, Cllr Bicknell admitted on Wednesday that he was the councillor talking to former political adviser Andre Walker.

Mr Walker resigned last month after being recorded talking on the phone on a train apparently planning to oust the borough's Conservative deputy leader Cllr Alison Knight.

Lib Dem leader Simon Werner, called on Cllr Bicknell to resign from the cabinet where he is the lead member for public protection, however according to the Royal Borough Observer, Cllr Bicknell has shrugged off calls for him to quit. The paper reported Cllr Bicknell as saying: "I am not prepared to discuss any part of a private conversation. I am the chief whip and I listen to lots of conversations, it is part of my job, which I do very well."

Cllr Werner said: "Cllr Bicknell should resign his position from the cabinet. If he does not [council leader] David Burbage needs to sack him.

"We cannot have the Royal Borough run by a group of people at war with itself. The borough is facing tough times over the next few years, we need a united party in charge."

The Observer reported that Cllr Burbage was not available to comment despite numerous attempts to contact him.