A council is suing its former chief executive for more than £754,000 claiming that she misled them in saying she was fit for the job.

Cheltenham Borough Council is bringing High Court proceedings against Christine Laird alleging that she misrepresented her abilities in securing the £85,000-a-year position which she left in 2005.

It is thought to be the first case of its kind.

Her time at the council, which began in 2002, was marked by a series of bitter disputes with the authority and its Liberal Democrat leader Andrew McKinlay.

Mrs Laird accused Mr McKinlay of bullying and filed 25 official complaints against him to the Standards Board for England, of which only one was upheld.

She also sought a restraining order banning him from entering the first floor of the council headquarters, where she had an office, but this was later withdrawn.

Mrs Laird then pursued a separate legal claim against Mr McKinlay but lost and had to pay £96,100 in costs.

Out of the three years of service to the council, Mrs Laird was on sick leave due to stress for 18 months.

She was suspended on full pay in June 2004 for undisclosed reasons and left the following year.

Cheltenham Borough Council initially launched proceedings against both Mrs Laird and her former employer, the Welsh local authority Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT), claiming that her fitness for the role had been misrepresented in an application questionnaire she provided and in a reference from the council.

The claim against Rhondda Cynon Taff was dropped after Cheltenham decided to solely pursue Mrs Laird.

A council spokesman said the claim was for costs and damages of £754,392.
He said: "Cheltenham Borough Council has discontinued its action against RCT Council for negligent mis-statement in supplying an employment reference for Mrs Laird.

"At the start of these proceedings it was properly considered to be in the interests of the overall success of the case to include an action against RCT as well as Mrs Laird.

"It has been decided, with the support and advice of counsel, that the public interest would be best served, both economically and in terms of enhancing the prospects of success, for the council to concentrate its efforts in pursuing the claim against Mrs Laird alone."

It is believed the new case, which is expected to last 38 days when it starts on January 26, will be the first of its kind in the UK under new legislation within the 1999 Local Government Act.