Further questions have been asked about the process which led to the appointment of Norfolk County Council’s chief executive, after it emerged senior officers had advised against him being given the role.
Dennis Bacon took up the £215,000-a-year chief executive post at County Hall at the start of this month, following the resignation and rapid departure of his predecessor Tom McCabe.
But it has now emerged that the authority's Reform leaders received £100 in hospitality at the B&B Mr Bacon ran - the day before applications for the post opened.
It has also been revealed that Mr Bacon's appointment was not endorsed by senior officers who interviewed him.
And documents they produced stated he was perceived as "arrogant" - although that was subsequently withdrawn from the record.
Mr Bacon, a past recipient of an Outstanding Leadership in Public Services Award from Norfolk County Council, was appointed in July, to succeed long-serving Mr McCabe.
Mr McCabe stepped down in June - a month after Reform took control of County Hall in May's elections.
But opposition councillors had questioned the process around his selection and new revelations have further fuelled their concerns.
It has emerged that County Hall leader David Bick and Kabeer Kher, cabinet member for business, skills and agriculture, each accepted £50 in hospitality at 38 St Giles, in Norwich, the luxury B&B Mr Bacon ran - the day before applications for the chief executive post opened.
The dinner is included in the council's hospitality register - a formal public record where elected councillors and officers declare gifts and meals offered by external organisations.
The hospitality accepted was described as "dinner at 38 St Giles Restaurant". It is not clear whether Mr Bacon was present at the meal.
Mr Bick, who previously said of Mr Bacon's appointment that he had "never been more pleased with an appointment in my whole professional career", said he could not recall whether Mr Bacon was at the dinner, although Mr Kher said he was "pretty sure" he was.
The county council said the Reform leaders had been invited to the event, which included "a number of business leaders from across different sectors".
But opposition councillors have questioned the timing, given Mr Bacon's subsequent appointment as chief executive at the council.
Mr Bick and Mr Kher attended the meal on July 1, the day after Mr Bacon resigned as director of his care company Apple Homecare and the day before the chief executive job - available following Mr McCabe’s resignation the previous week - was advertised.
It was officers who decided the final shortlist, with Mr Bacon one of four candidates, whittled down from 49 applicants.
But it can now be exclusively revealed that officers on the leadership stakeholder panel, who interviewed Mr Bacon did not recommend his appointment.
A group of five councillors, two from Reform, one Liberal Democrat, one Green and one Great Yarmouth First - known as the appointment panel - were provided with the feedback from the leadership stakeholder panel.
It is also understood Mr Bacon was described as "arrogant" in the report from officers, although that was subsequently removed at the appointment panel stage. There are differing accounts of why that happened.
Some sources suggest the officer wanted to retract it, while others suggest there was political pressure to remove that reference.
The appointment panel, despite the reservations of the officer stakeholder panel, did recommend that full council should give the job to Mr Bacon, albeit it was not a unanimous decision.
Mr Bacon's appointment was subsequently ratified at a full meeting of the council on August 14, with 45 votes in favour and 18 against.
Labour county councillor Ben Weston, one of those who voted against Mr Bacon’s appointment at full council, said: “Norfolk County Council’s own records show that David Bick and Kabeer Kher accepted £100 of hospitality from 38 St Giles the night before recruitment for the council’s new chief executive began.
“There may be an entirely innocent explanation, but there are obvious questions which now need answering: who arranged this dinner, who attended it, why was it provided and what was discussed?
“I raised concerns about this appointment in the council chamber before I knew anything about this hospitality.
“Mr Bick refused to answer, describing my scrutiny as ‘unworthy’.
“For an appointment of this importance, I think councillors and the public are entitled to complete transparency about the process.”
Mr Bick said there was "an entirely innocent explanation" for his presence at 38 St Giles - that business leaders who "felt they had been ignored by the county council" wanted to meet him.
He said: "One of the reasons they wanted to speak to us was to see if Reform would have a different attitude to business, which we most certainly do."
He said he did not recall if he had met Mr Bacon, whom he previously said he had no relationship with prior to the interview process, at the dinner.
Mr Kher said he had asked Mr Bick to join him at the meeting to meet local business people who had invited him to attend.
A council spokesman said: "Members of the new county council administration were invited so they could hear concerns about the current trading environment, and how they could support the local businesses.
"38 St Giles has hosted similar events over a number of years, involving business leaders and politicians from various parties."
Last year, he experienced television fame, when 38 St Giles featured on the popular reality show Four in a Bed.
The show follows a group of B&B owners as they tour one another's establishments and compete to be voted the best host, with Mr Bacon's winning.
He resigned as a director of the B&B on August 1, two days before the interviews for the chief executive role were held.
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