THE former managing director of Thurrock Council, reportedly sacked by the borough's ruling Conservatives but given a £347,000 payout, has walked into a new job with a Tory council.

David White, who has also accrued a pension fund of more than £500,000 in his various civil service posts, has been appointed chief executive of Norfolk County Council at an undisclosed salary between £175,000 and £195,000.

His employment package includes a performance related bonus, a relocation package of £15,000 and 33 days holiday a year.

The news surprised Thurrock Council leader Terry Hipsey and has left Conservatives open to ridicule from their political opponents.

The decision to remove Mr White from Thurrock was driven through by councillor Hipsey, who said he was determined to bring a "new broom" to the council and improve its levels of performance.

At the time, Mr Hipsey was relatively tight-lipped but it was generally accepted in local political circles that Mr White was sacked.

However, the leader took a diplomatic approach when questioned and refused to be drawn on the reasons for Mr White's departure and said: "David and the authority have agreed that now is the time for a change of direction and approach."

Left somewhat red-faced by the fact that nearby Tories have now recruited Mr White, and cited his performance record at Thurrock as the reason for employing him, councillor Hipsey said: "I can only wish Norfolk well with their decision to employ him. I was very surprised I was not consulted by them as the leader of the council at the time of David's departure.

"I am concerned with this authority and I believe in time we will see big improvements in the council's performance and justification for our decision-making."

Thurrock's Labour group leader councillor John Kent, who was consulted by Norfolk councillors on Mr White's performance, heaped coals on the Conservatives' embarrassment by saying: "I think David was a good MD and I didn't doubt that he would be snapped up by another authority, in this instance one of the biggest authorities in the country.

"I did not know at the time and still do not know, why David White was sacked and it annoys me, just after the Conservatives agreed to withdraw £400,000 from the council's reserves to pay for his sacking, that the people of this borough - where an average wage earner would have to work 15 years to get what he got in a lump sum - also don't know."

Thurrock Labour chairman councillor Carl Morris was another to criticise the Conservatives, saying: "It is embarrassing. We don't know why the Thurrock Conservatives did it in the first place and it appears neither do the Conservatives in Norfolk."

Shaun Murphy, Leader of Norfolk County Council, refused to comment on any political embarrassment he might have caused local Conservatives and said: "The recruitment process for the Chief Executive's position was very robust and thorough.

"We were well aware of the circumstances surrounding David's departure from Thurrock and sought and received references from two leaders from across the political divide who had recently worked with him, and indeed from a number of other key stakeholders.

"These combined with David's track record convinced us that he was the right man for the job."

Mr White's track record has been tainted with controversy. Under his tenure, Nottingham Social Services came under fire for its role in the ritual satanic child abuse affair, which became known as the Broxtowe Case. As director of social services he was personally criticised for his decision to suppress publication of parts of a report into the case.

His departure from Suffolk health authority in 2002 made headlines when it was revealed he was leaving the NHS with a massive "pension pot".

Because he was unable to find another suitable job within the NHS, he left it with an accrued pension fund of £553,000.

Mr White, who was 50 when his job disappeared, did not find another job within the health service - although jobs as chief executives of PCTs were available.

Instead, he chose to return to the world of local government.

During his time at Thurrock he suffered more notoriety. In October 2004 he was ridiculed in local authority magazine, the Municipal Journal, whose diary column reported an incident when he sneaked in the boot of a taxi.

It said: "After a suitably jolly dinner at last week's SOLAS conference in Brighton, Mr White and four other chiefs were faced with the eternal problem - how to get a cab when you're in a party of five?

"Thurrock's top officer had no problem coming up with a solution. Avoiding the gaze of the hapless taxi driver, he managed to sneak into the boot.

"Sadly for the merry band, the taxi driver spotted something was up during the trip and proceeded to order Mr White and his four accomplices out of the car. 'He screeched to a halt when he realised,' said one of the gang of five. 'He was really angry.

"We thought he was going to hit Dave.We all just skulked off'."

Mr White has denied reports he was drunk during the incident and he felt the taxi driver over-reacted.

At the time he told the Municipal Journal: "I didn't know it was only for four people when I got in."

Despite those incidents, Norfolk County councillors have welcomed the appointment of much travelled Mr White, who has previously held a succession of posts in local government in Coventry, Newcastle, Rotherham and Durham.

Councillor Murphy said: "From a strong shortlist, David was the unanimous choice of the panel, which included the leaders of all three main political parties and the council as a whole agreed to him becoming our new chief executive.

Irene MacDonald, leader of the Labour group in Norfolk said: "I was already aware of what had happened in Thurrock because I spoke to John Kent.

"He was extremely angry about the way Mr White was treated there. David comes to us with an excellent track record and the experience and achievements from his time in Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Thurrock."

Watching on high in political terms, but relatively close to both Conservative groups geographically is the Conservatives' shadow spokesman on local government, Brentwood MP Eric Pickles.

He said: "Obviously this is not an ideal situation politically and may cause some problems for Thurrock and the amount of money paid out raises an eyebrow but I would defend robustly the right for any party to pick who they believe is the right person for a job.

"I would be extremely angry to learn that there was a Conservative blackball list that denied anyone the right to get a job. David White may not have been the right person for Thurrock but Norfolk is a very different place and he may well be the right man for the job there."

In a statement issued by Norfolk County Council Mr White said: "Norfolk County Council enjoys a strong and positive reputation for the quality of its services, leadership and staff.

"However, rightly, it also holds strong ambitions to continue improving through a time of change and challenge for local government as a whole. That means there is much more to be achieved. These reasons and the obvious attractions of Norfolk make this post irresistible.

"I am delighted and honoured to have been offered the job and look forward to taking up my new position".

He will take up his new role on November 20.