Wight chief poached for Newham's top job

摘要

Newham LBC has appointed the current Isle of Wight chief executive, Joe Duckworth, to its top job - after just two years in his current post. The ￡200,000 post has been dogged by controversy since the council hired from the private sector last year, only for that appointment to fall through. The search had to start again from scratch after the council failed to reach agreement with its chosen candidate, Roger Tucker. The job offer to Mr Tucker, of African Arabian Petroleum, was finally withdrawn after several months of negotiations (see The MJ, 31 October 2007). Mr Duckworth pledged to put the Olympic borough of Newham 'firmly on the London and national map'. He also promised to deliver excellent services for the community and 'make sure local people get the most out of the 2012 games'.