Row over 'behind closed door' decision-making over new £5.8m fisheries patrol vessel

East Riding Council's Tory Cabinet approved plans for a replacement for North East Guardian III, which has been patrolling the North Sea between Tyneside and Lincolnshire since 2007.

The vessel, which operates out of Whitby, undertakes fisheries enforcement work, including inspection of catches, fishing boats and gear from the River Tyne to Humberston, in North East Lincolnshire. Other duties include monitoring of fish stocks and sensitive marine habitats.

But Lib Dem group leader Denis Healy said councillors outside the Cabinet – and the public – didn’t know anything about the decision, which appeared in the minutes of a meeting on June 20.

He said Cabinet members had signed it off “with little discussion and questioning after live streaming had been switched off and following the exclusion of the press and public".

He said: “My first thought was why are we into shipbuilding now?

"My second was how many members actually knew we were – because I must admit I didn’t.” Coun Healy questioned why the council was shouldering responsibility for half the cost when 10 other councils are members. They include Stockton-on-Tees and Durham County Council and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

Half the money will come from North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority, which will operate the vessel, with £2.9m borrowed by East Riding Council from the Public Works Loan Board, which will be repaid over 20 years. East Riding Council is historically the lead authority.

Coun Healy said he wasn’t suggesting “anything irregular or improper” had happened, but it raised the question over whether the council’s decision-making process could be more transparent.

Cabinet member Leo Hammond said Coun Healy was right there’d been little question and debate “because it was the sensible and right” decision, adding: “We support our fishing industry and our environment”.

And fellow Cabinet member Paul West said he was “quite happy to invest in new equipment if it keeps men and women going out to sea safe”. But Lib Dem David Nolan said it showed that of 67 councillors “only 10 make the big decisions”, and they could attend Cabinet meetings, but weren’t allowed to speak. “That’s an abdication of democracy of the worst kind,” he said.

Cabinet member Nigel Wilkinson, who is responsible for finance, said he was “appalled” at the way the issue had been “misrepresented”. “All the money will come back to us and more,” he said.

Chairman Coun John Whittle called for a “bit of order” during a sometimes heated debate.

When Coun Hammond stood up to identify who had stuck their fingers up at him, Coun Whittle suggested: “I think we’ll let that one rest”.

Councillors voted 42 to 21 to accept the minute.