A secrecy row has erupted over the pay off and “mysterious disappearance” of a top council director in Cumbria.

Dominic Donnini, the £125,000-a-year boss for economy and infrastructure, left Cumbria County Council suddenly in October after nine years.

The authorityhas rejected a Freedom of Information request concerning any pay off made to Mr Donnini because the figure contained “personal data” .

At the first full meeting of the council in 2019 on Thursday, questions were raised by councillor James Airey, who leads the opposition Conservatives.

He asked if Mr Donnini was “pushed” and called his departure a “mysterious disappearance”.

Asking questions of the council’s Labour leadership, Coun Airey said: “When will the people of Cumbria actually be told the payout?

“Why have you refused an FOI when you know full well the amount has to be legally published in the year-end accounts.

“Surely if the director has just moved on, the costs would be minimal? Why not publish them, or was he pushed and then the financial implications would be an entirely different matter.

“Surely it’s time for councillors and residents to be given some answers.”

Coun Stewart Young, who leads the Lab-Lib authority, said it would be “inappropriate” to comment on financial matters relating to council staff.

Coun Young pledged that any sum paid to Mr Donnini would be included in the county council’s accounts, published in the summer.

Coun Young, the Labour councillor for Upperby, Carlisle, told the chamber in Kendal he was not personally aware of the FOI request.

“It might surprise you to know that neither myself, as leader of the council, or any other councillors deal with FOIs,” he said.

“They come in and they are dealt with by our officers in accordance with the legislation. All the information being asked for will be available in due course, so you will just have to be patient and wait until the accounts are prepared.”

Coun Airey replied that “huge sums” of were being spent on highly-paid officers that residents could only “dream of” and the council had a duty to come clean.

“You’re supposed to be the party of the people and because these people are in that high-earning bracket of £100,000, you’re not prepared to tell us the figures,” said Coun Airey, who represents the Furness peninsula.

Coun Young said FOI legislation had created a “monster” for council staff, and were frequently used as a “fishing expeditions” by journalists looking for stories on hard-pushed newspaper titles.

Five years ago, it emerged that former county council chief executive Jill Stannard walked away with a £411,000 payout, with the council refusing to give up the sum before the accounts were published.

That pay off included an £87,000 lump sum, her salary for the part of the year she worked and a one-off £297,000 top-up to her pension pot.

Following his departure, Mr Donnini, who was thanked for his time with the authority, said he was looking for a “new challenge”.