APPOINTING a temporary chief executive would cost the council around a £1,000-a-day, it was claimed during the debate.Tory councillor Guy McGregor dismissed calls for a stand-in until the future of the authority was clear, saying he fully supported the appointment of Andrea Hill.

APPOINTING a temporary chief executive would cost the council around a £1,000-a-day, it was claimed during the debate.

Tory councillor Guy McGregor dismissed calls for a stand-in until the future of the authority was clear, saying he fully supported the appointment of Andrea Hill.

“It would cost at least £1,000 a day to get someone to run it on a temporary basis,” he said.

He added that any temporary appointee would have no lasting connection with Suffolk while current service directors at the council were “not in a position to act up” to the role.

Meanwhile, it was claimed current chief executive Mike More's move to Westminster council was not motivated by money.

Mr More announced back in December that he would be leaving Suffolk County Council for the post of chief executive at the London borough on a salary believed to be up to £200,000.

Speaking during the debate Jane Storey, deputy leader of the council and a member of the selection panel, said any belief that Mr More could have been persuaded to stay on with a pay rise was unfounded.

She said: “Mike More was not motivated by money but by what he could achieve.

“We could have offered him more money and it would not have made a difference.”