County Hall's top officer could have her big-money departure to another
authority scuppered, after councillors in Suffolk said they would try to block her appointment.

Last week Andrea Hill, chief executive at Bedfordshire County Council, announced she was to take up the equivalent position at Suffolk County Council, on a reported salary of £220,000. But that would be £70,000 more than the yearly wage of that council's current chief, and opposition members will challenge the deal.

Kevan Lim, deputy leader of the Labour group, said: "We will certainly be opposing any recommendation for a base salary of £220,000.

"There is already a salary structure in place and I am not aware the job has changed. The appropriate salary is the one already agreed for the post."

He added: "I have got a lot of county council employees living in my division. How can I possibly say to them we are going to give them a two or three per cent rise while paying up to £220,000 for a chief executive?"

Suffolk County Council has 74 councillors, comprising 43 Conservatives, 20 Labour, eight Liberal Democrats and three independents.

The appointment of Andrea Hill will be put to a vote at a meeting on March 27.

Her departure from Bedfordshire meanwhile has been criticised by two of the county's MPs, with one accusing her of "sheer blatant hypocrisy".

In her online blog, Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, wrote: "Weeks ago she stood outside County Hall in Bedford
waving placards stating how much she loved Bedfordshire. The words rat and sinking ship spring to mind."

She added: "The salary Suffolk County Council is about to pay Andrea Hill would pay for four MPs, and, as someone commented this morning, at least MPs do something useful."

Alistair Burt, Conservative MP for North-East Beds, offered a more measured, but still critical, response.

"I rarely make criticisms of public servants, but I must say I was very disappointed at the timescale of the chief executive's departure," he said.

"I do not think anyone believed that the role was anything other than a
temporary step in her career.However, her timings suggest that while she was campaigning for a unitary Bedfordshire, privately she did not think much of its case. I think the county's executive is entitled to be very annoyed and feel let down."