Welcome to Yorkshire to reveal inquiries into Sir Gary Verity scandals

Former Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Sir Gary Verity, pictured last year announcing details of the locations for this year's Tour de Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Post understands the terms of reference will be published if they are ratified at a key board meeting.

It is anticipated the separate investigations into a £40,000 expenses claim subsequently repaid by Sir Gary – and also his behaviour towards staff – will be completed within three months.

Board members are meeting for the second time since Sir Gary resigned as chief executive. As reported by this newspaper yesterday, chairman Ron McMillan is widely expected to stand down.

Sir Gary Verity, the then Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive, declared England football manager Gareth Southgate "an honorary Yorkshireman" before last year's White Rose Awards.

The latest developments come as Yorkshire grassroots tourism campaigner Susan Briggs renews her call for a change of emphasis away from cycling after meeting WTY officials.

“There are some good people working at WTY who must feel very frustrated by what’s happened,” she said. “There are others who I think are resisting change, preventing WTY from being as good as it can be. Communication is a key issue.

“There are a lot of businesses who would like to be/remain members of Welcome to Yorkshire but need to be reassured that change is coming, and to feel more nurtured and understood.”

Ms Briggs says she has gathered feedback from more than 150 firms. “One of the comments made over and over again is that there has been too much focus on cycling tourism – not necessarily that cycling tourism should stop, just to also focus on other sectors,” she added. “When I met with the WTY senior management team they said they wanted to demonstrate that WTY is ‘not just about cycling’.”