BROMLEY Council has dropped all charges against a union boss who was suspended for campaigning against a sheltered housing scheme he considered unsafe.

Unison branch secretary Glen Kelly said he would now be seeking compensation from the council at an employment tribunal in August after chief executive David Bartlett ruled the reasons for his suspension were unfounded.

Mr Kelly had been relieved of his duties from July to September last year on full pay after discussing his fears with elderly residents of Norton Court, Beckenham, where a pilot scheme was taking place.

He argued plans to replace 24-hour care cover in the borough's five homes with a “rapid response unit” would put elderly tenants' lives at risk. But, after a bitter campaign by residents and Unison members, a compromise was hammered out in January, with cover reduced from two care workers to one plus a mobile response unit.

Mr Kelly said: “The council told me my meeting with tenants was not legal and I had misrepresented them to scare the tenants.

“But chief executive David Bartlett eventually ruled both charges were unfounded.”

He added: “It shows the trade union and local people will not be silenced when it comes to defending public services and I shall be seeking compensation from the council.”

Mr Bartlett refused to comment on what he described as a “confidential matter”.