SOUTHAMPTON’S council housing boss last night returned from a washed-out Caribbean holiday and admitted tenants should have been told the council was probing the unsafe removal of asbestos from their homes.

Tory Phil Williams pledged an internal inquiry into why a health and safety investigation into possible asbestos exposure was kept secret for at least seven months would get to the “full facts”.

Councillor Williams defended his refusal to answer questions before he jetted off to the West Indies saying it had been his priority to “reassure people rather than create panic”. He said he had set up a hotline and instructions for affected tenants to be told.

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He added that his week-long holiday to Antigua had been his first in two years – and it had rained while he was there.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Echo on his return to Southampton, Cllr Williams revealed he was only informed of the safety concerns because the council feared the newspaper was about to run a story.

However, he said it was “inappropriate” to blame officers before he knew the outcome of wide-ranging investigations, which he said should be made public.

Addressing union concerns over the oversight of a contract with the building firm who carried out the work, Cllr Williams said: “At the end of the day we have to take responsibility because we are the landlord.”

He added that if there were any contractual problems the council would take legal action if necessary.

An internal memo leaked to the Daily Echo revealed the council had uncovered “serious”

health and safety breaches by contractor Connaught who removed kitchen tiles and other materials containing asbestos during the refurbishment of council houses.

Tenants of more than 100 homes in Maybush at the centre of the concerns, first raised last summer, were only told last month after the Daily Echo revealed the scandal.

The council said its investigations into the “uncontrolled”

removal of floor tiles and cisterns uncovered no risks to the health of its tenants.

But Cllr Williams admitted: “I think tenants should know when the council is going in and checking up on people.”

The Health and Safety Executive, which was also not notified, launched its own investigation but said it appeared from the information it had received there was no requirement to report this incident as any asbestos exposure would not have been “sufficient to cause death, major injury or any other damage to health”.

Connaught said it had an excellent safety record and was carrying out its own investigations.