Cash-strapped council shelled out £160,000 to keep chief executive who broke Covid laws

Exclusive: Sheffield City Council is cutting services to save money - but still forked out on process that allowed disgraced Kate Josephs to keep job

Kate Josephs, former head of Covid-19 Taskforce at Cabinet Office (@katejosephs / Twitter)

A cash-strapped council forked out more than £160,000 to keep hold of its chief executive after she broke coronavirus laws by throwing a party, it has emerged.

Sheffield City Council is currently facing the financial abyss after its £25m emergency reserves for the year ran out last month – meaning services will now be slashed.

But the precarious financial position did not stop the authority from coughing up huge amounts of cash on a process that effectively granted disgraced chief executive Kate Josephs six months off work fully paid before welcoming her back into her role in June.