LOCAL authority leaders have come under fire after proposing to co-opt an MP’s press officer to a council committee.

Independent North Yorkshire County Councillors John Blackie and Stuart Parsons said they were “enraged” by the proposal to co-opt Malcolm Warne, press officer to Rishi Sunak MP, to be a member of the recently restructured area constituency committees.

The North Yorkshire Independents voted as a group in May to oppose the change in area committee arrangements, because they felt it was an overtly political restructuring designed to serve the Conservative party.

The new committees replaced the seven area committees based on district or borough council boundaries which had been in place at NYCC since 2001.

However, leader of NYCC Cllr Carl Les said that several other area committees had members of staff from other MP offices, and it was so easy communication could be made between the committee and the MP.

He added: “It is a fact that six out of six MPs in North Yorkshire are Conservative.

“We are not making it party political, it is just a good way of letting MPs’ offices know what is happening.”

Cllr Blackie said: “I remain opposed to the new arrangements, which in the case of the Richmond (Yorks) committee, can hardly be described as a local area committee as it serves an area stretching from Keld to Great Ayton, some 67 miles across.

"I will only attend when there is business directly relevant or of importance to the Upper Dales, and despite local MP Rishi Sunak being present, I do not see any business that meets this objective, so I have written to ask the committee administrator to make my views known.”

He added “The co-option of Malcolm Warne to the area committee is as blatant a political move as you can get.”

Cllr Parsons has made an official complaint on the issue to Richard Flinton, chief executive of the council.

Mr Warne, who edited the Darlington and Stockton Times for 23 years before taking up his role with Mr Sunak, said: “This is not about politics.

"It is simply about effective communication between the MP’s office and the council and is in the interest of good governance.

“Should I be co-opted to the committee, it will be as a non-voting member and my primary purpose in attending will be to appraise Mr Sunak of the local issues affecting his constituency as discussed by county council members.

"I understand similar arrangements are being put in place on the other committees.”