A top Labour Haringey councillor was last night unrepentant amid fresh calls from Liberal Democrats for his resignation for his role in the Alexandra Palace debacle.

Liberal Democrats highlighted the findings of the independent Walklate Review carried out for Haringey Council which suggests that Cllr Charles Adje pushed through granting a licence to Firoka for his own political reasons.

Cllr Robert Gorrie, Haringey Liberal Democrat leader, said at the meeting of the Full Council that the independent report found no evidence for why the decision was made to award a licence and that this decision had cost Haringey’s taxpayers £2 million. The only motivation was from Cllr Adje who was at the time vying for a position as Haringey Council resources spokesperson and wanted his management of Alexandra Palace to look favourable.

Cllr Gorrie went on to say at the meeting:

“There can be no doubt from the report that the process was driven and directed by Councillor Adje. There must be some substantial concerns about the quality of support and advice given which allowed Councillor Adje to make such a bad decision in such a bad way and for what appear to be have been at least in part political motives. But make it he did and responsible for it he is and given this history we must challenge the probity of having such an individual in charge of the Council’s Resources.Councillor Adje should step down as Cabinet Member for Resources.”

Cllr Robert Gorrie commented today:

“It is incomprehensible that Labour have ignored an independent investigation which puts blame firmly at the door of Cllr Adje. More perplexing is that he will continue to hold the purse strings of the Council after demonstrating such suspect judgement when he was Alexandra Palace Chair.

“Labour have a history of political disaster at the Palace and the current Chair, Cllr Matt Cooke, has continued along this damaging path. He failed to terminate the Licence when the Judicial Review confirmed the consultation failings and it was his disastrous management that may have left the Trust open to legal challenge by Firoka.

“We have called for Cllr Cooke to resign as Chair of the Trustees to make way for a suitable non-political Chair. Only then will residents stop being the losers who, time after time, have to pick up the tab financially for Labour’s mistakes.”