Corruption inquiry

A council has suspended 14 employees as part of an investigation into allegations of corruption involving "substantial amounts of money". Coventry City Council said six councillors had also become embroiled in the affair after being named as an "incidental part of these allegations".

The fraud claims centre on the contract services department, which is reported to have recently gone pounds 3.5m over budget. Arthur Waugh, the acting council leader, said: "We have been made aware of serious allegations which involve substantial amounts of money. My colleagues and I are determined to get to the bottom of it. We will leave no stone unturned. We will purge this council if we find any corruption."