Calls have been made for an independent investigation into the behaviour of Norfolk County Council leader Derrick Murphy and his cabinet during the process which led to them agreeing to award a contract to run an incinerator at King's Lynn.

The opposition Liberal Democrat group has put forward a motion to be discussed at Monday's meeting of the county council, focusing on the way the Conservative cabinet has behaved during the controversy over the proposed Saddlebow incinerator.

The cabinet agreed in March last year to award a contract to Cory Wheelabrator, but, with, as was claimed at the High Court during a bid to secure a judicial review into the process, that meeting had been proceeded by a Conservative group meeting, at which the party showed its 'in principle support' for incineration.

And the High Court application also heard claims that a subsequent cabinet scrutiny meeting, where a wider group of councillors chose not to refer the issue back to cabinet or to full council, had been subjected to whipping.

While High Court judge Mr Justice Nicol found that there was no evidence that the councillors had 'fettered their discretion' ahead of the cabinet meeting or that there was evidence that whipping had influenced cabinet decisions, Lib Dem leader Paul Morse still wants the council to agree to its own probe into what occurred.

Mr Morse will ask the council to agree that the chief executive should initiate a 'full, public and independent investigation by an appropriately qualified independent body into the behaviour of the council leader and the cabinet in this entire process.'

He said, if that investigation should establish that councillors or the public were misled, or that the cabinet members did not act in accord with the constitution, then they should resign.

Last September, a similar motion led to a walk-out by opposition councillors when the Conservative group, on the advice of lawyers, prevented it being discussed until after the judicial review.

Mr Morse said: 'We have had the judicial review, but that judgement was based on statute, not on whether the county council acted in accordance with its constitution.

'I don't know if there was predetermination or if cabinet scrutiny members were whipped, but I think we should have an independent inquiry to find out.'

A second Lib Dem motion, proposed by the group's environment and waste spokesman Tim East, calls for the council to agree a debate on the incinerator issue - to take place at the full council meeting in March.

But Mr Murphy, who has a 63-strong Conservative group at County Hall which can easily defeat the motions, gave the Lib Dems short shrift.

He said: 'I would invite people to look at the county council's constitution and to look at the report from Mr Justice Nicols following the judicial review.'

dan.grimmer@archant.co.uk