A damning district auditor report has concluded a ‘range of failings' at Walsall MBC led to a huge compensation payout. Peter Francis received more than £600,000 after an employment tribunal found he had been unfairly dismissed and suffered disability discrimination after whistleblowing over failings in the way Neighbourhood Renewal Funding was used by the council. His claims were backed by an internal audit. ‘The council's usual arrangements for managing its staff and complying with legal requirements clearly did not work in this case,' said district auditor, John Gregory. ‘This was in the main, not because these arrangements were poor, but because they were not followed.' Annie Sheppard, Walsall MBC's former chief executive, welcomed the report. ‘I particularly welcome the district auditor's recognition that there were no widespread failures in the council's governance procedures which, in fact, continued throughout this period, despite the many challenging issues we faced. ‘Nevertheless, it was right that as chief executive, I took responsibility for the errors which I made, and I acknowledge them again now. ‘My decisions in Mr Francis's case were made in the light of the best advice that was available to me at the time.'