Worcester City Council’s managing director has been criticised for some of the actions he took while dealing with a potential scandal.

Duncan Sharkey has defended what he did during a difficult period as chief executive of West Lindsey District Council, Lincolnshire, and said while he knew his actions would not necessarily reflect well on him he carried them out because it was his duty.

The working relationship between Mr Sharkey and former leader and planning committee chairman Bernard Theobald rapdily deteriorated during the summer of 2009.

Issues surrounding the council’s planning department were at the heart of that and Mr Theobald stepped down from his duties at the end of that year amid allegations surrounding a particular application.

The ramifications of the fall-out between Mr Sharkey and Mr Theobald combined with some hasty changes to the council’s governance arrangements during a short period of time “created difficulties that has taken the best part of a year for the council to recover from”, said the Audit Commission in its December 2010 report.

The report also said it had issues with the way a legal services report on problems in West Lindsey’s planning service was prepared and dealt with which called into question the openess and transparency of senior officers and Mr Sharkey in particular.

In a statement Mr Sharkey said: “During 2009 I had serious concerns about an element of the authority’s function.

“In my role as chief executive it was my duty to make sure the authority operated its systems appropriately.

“Despite the personal impact on me I felt it necessary to request the Audit Commission carry out this review, launch an internal audit probe, submit a complaint to the Standards Board for England and contact the police.”

He said the report had noted there was no pattern of failure in the governance of West Lindsey or in the working relationships between councillors and officers and that both he and the former leader had actually improved other areas of the council’s operation during their time in charge.

Mr Sharkey said: “Through the action I initiated the authority has been able to move forward substantially and improve.

“Throughout the appointment process and my time at Worcester City Council I have been open and kept senior members informed of this issue.”