THE recruitment of a permanent chief executive to run Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been postponed because of the ongoing police inquiry into alleged corruption.

The authority had been expected to name its new £195,000-a-year chief officer within weeks following a high-profile nationwide recruitment drive.

But the council was last night told by lawyers to defer the process in the wake of elected mayor Mark Meredith's arrest last week on suspicion of misconduct in public office and complicity in corruption in public office.

Mr Meredith, had been a member of the appointments committee set up to recruit the new chief executive, along with councillor Roger Ibbs, who was also arrested on suspicion of corruption in public office a week earlier.

Both politicians have been bailed until June and have since stood down from the appointments panel while they contest the allegations.

The committee met yesterday afternoon and agreed to suspend the recruitment process until after a new council leader has been elected on June 5.

That means that the current interim council manager, Chris Harman, will remain in place until his successor is named.

Mr Harman is understood to be among the applicants for the chief executive's post.

The decision to postpone recruitment followed independent legal advice from lawyer Mark Greenburgh, a partner at Birmingham-based legal firm Wragge and Co, which has been advising the council.

He is the same lawyer who recommended police intervention after he reviewed the council's internal inquiry into the handling of attempts to shut the splash pool at Dimensions Leisure Centre.

Mr Greenburgh said: "I gave legal advice to the committee that in these unprecedented circumstances it would be best to defer consideration of the issue until June."

A council spokesman said that no further details about the legal advice could be disclosed because of the sensitivity of the ongoing police investigation.

He added that the postponement will not incur any extra recruitment costs for the council.

Council group leaders were told of the decision at a meeting yesterday evening.

Potteries Alliance leader, councillor Peter Kent-Baguley, said he felt the postponement was the right move under the circumstances.

He said: "I think it was a sensible decision because to go ahead in the current situation would have been difficult.

"I always thought the appointment should have been made after the council leader is elected, and this decision means that the interim council manager will be able to provide a bit of continuity until then."

Liberal Democrat deputy leader, councillor Paul Billington, said: "I'm pleased there will be no extra cost to the council, but it is frustrating that, at a time when we needed to move forward quickly, and had almost put all of the pieces together, we have had to put everything on hold."