MIDDLESBROUGH Mayor Dave Budd “never heard” his predecessor Ray Mallon discussing financial deals with a business associate, despite claims to the contrary, he told an employment tribunal yesterday.

The elected Mayor was called to give evidence at former Middlesbrough Council monitoring officer Karen Whitmore’s tribunal in Teesside.

Miss Whitmore, who is claiming unfair dismissal and sexual discrimination against the council, has made a number of allegations that publicly-owned properties worth millions were sold off for much lower amounts to an associate of Mayor Mallon.

She says she was made redundant after raising concerns over the deals, and that she was bulled and threatened.

She also claimed that current Mayor Budd “seemed to recall being in the room when former Mayor Mallon was on the phone to a property developer, and had undertaken to ensure a reduction on the purchase price of Acklam Hall.

She added, in her statement to the tribunal: “When I indicated how serious this was, and asked for further details, he said he may have been muddled and couldn’t recall what it was all about.

“He said he often heard Mayor Mallon on the phone to Nasser Din, Mr Mallon’s former election agent, talking ‘deals’ with him.”

However when questioned yesterday, Mr Budd said conversations had taken place but said: “I didn’t hear him conduct any financial deals or anything like that.”

He said he was aware of some controversy in sales of assets by Middlesbrough Council but added: “The fact that some people keep saying the same things doesn’t make it true.”

He also denied saying that Mr Mallon had had a telephone call to say the price of the Hall would be reduced, and said he was “certainly not” constantly discussing deals with his former election agent.

He said he remembered discussing Acklam Hall with Ms Whitmore, who had been asked to look into the sale at the reduced price of £1.2m, and said it seemed to be that things had been done correctly, but there wasn’t necessarily the evidence to prove that.

However, Ms Whitmore said that officers agreed the reduction in price, not councillors, and that the now interim chief executive of the council was concerned about this getting out.

She alleged he told her to “find a way to hide it” after saying that another officer had “completely screwed up”.

The hearing continues.