New LACS head

Mystery surrounds the appointment of the League Against Cruel Sports? new chief executive, Joe Duckworth, reports Will Finch. Mr Duckworth, an experienced civil servant who suddenly left his job as chief executive of Newham Council last July, will take over from the retiring Douglas Batchelor in the summer.

However, the League seems curiously reluctant to publicise this exciting news. A source has told Shooting Times that a statement about Mr Duckworth?s appointment was not made until six days after his appointment was finalised and, even then, it was only because the Independent on Sunday was about to break the story. The statement concluded with a definite No further
comment will be made until later in the year.

The Independent on Sunday article suggested money could be at the heart of the matter. Mr Duckworth hit the headlines in a survey of local authority bosses last year, when it was revealed that his annual salary of £241,483 was the second-highest in the country for a public sector worker. When asked by the newspaper about Mr Duckworth?s salary at the League, a spokesman said that ?whatever he gets, it will be a significant pay cut and anyway, he cares passionately about the charity?.

The rest of this article appears in 23rd March issue of Shooting Times.

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