MPs back 'fraudbusting' Hackney housing chief

An all-party committee of MPs yesterday came to the aid of Bernard Crofton, Hackney's housing director, saying he was "a fine public servant" who must not be sacked.

Mr Crofton - who has been branded as a liar and crook in a secret report into his "fraudbusting" operations in the north London borough - may find out today if he is to be dismissed when the report's findings is considered by a four-strong committee of councillors.

But Frank Field, the Labour chairman of the cross-party Commons Social Services Committee, said yesterday that it was "vital" that Mr Crofton remain in post. Taxpayers owed him an enormous debt for exposing the degree of fraud in housing and housing benefit, he added.

Mr Field said he was speaking with the authority of the full committee which yesterday strengthened its endorsement of Mr Crofton's actions as it approved a report on benefit fraud to be published later this month. It is expected to call for investigations of housing and other benefit fraud which it will say could be costing taxpayers pounds 2bn in lost housing benefit alone.

"If he goes down, no-one will dare to expose fraud in local government again," Mr Field said. The same tactics which led to Mr Crofton being accused of racism, suspended, then cleared and finally reinstated after he exposed organised fraud in the borough were being used against him again, Mr Field said.

"We have the selective leaking of a report that none of us have seen. I suspect the timing is not an accident." Benefit fraud included organised crime with huge sums of money at stake, Mr Field said.

"In many areas local government officials are frightened of speaking out against organised fraud, and that is why Mr Crofton's position is so crucial. If his career is destroyed it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get going the universal anti-fraud strategy which the committee wants to see in Britain."

A report by Ian Macdonald QC has concluded that Mr Crofton's claims of recruitment fraud among African employees at Hackney were without foundation. He is also accused of dishonestly obtaining re-employment at his pounds 70,000 salary by falsely quoting Andrew Arden QC, a housing law specialist, whom he claimed told him there was a conspiracy to dismiss him.