The former social services employee who blew the whistle on his bosses said there has been a "catastrophic failure" by the council.

Martin Morton's revelations in the Globe in 2008 triggered a chain of events that led to an independent consultant making a devastating assessment of his ex-employers.

The consequences of those revelations are beginning to rock the council to its foundations - and they are not yet fully played out as two further reports into the scandal are due to be published.

Mr Morton told the Globe: "I am astonished by this report - not because I disagree with content but because I am not used to such reports being so unambiguous and unequivocal and, of course, I've experienced 11 years of denial.

"I have been consistently told by councillors, and I quote, that there has been "no hidden wrongdoing" and that council officers dealt "honestly and competently" with my concerns.

"This indicates to me that certain councillors either didn't know what was going on ,were politically and/or personally compromised or were complicit with gross maladministration.

"Either way its been a catastrophic failure of Corporate Governance."

He continued: "For different reasons I am also astonished that (town hall watchdogs) Standards for England have decided not to investigate the role of councillors in this scandal.

"They did comment that following the completion of the Anna Klonowski review that Wirral Councils standards committee should consider its findings.

"Under the circumstances, I would expect the committee to do just that.

"Any failure to do so would be tantamount to suggesting that councillors are beyond accountability and scrutiny.

"I think Anna Klonowski has been very brave and very honest and she has worked hard to provide a framework that is intended to enable Wirral Council to become a ethical and humane organisation.

"I want to know as a Wirral resident that my council is conducting its business with honesty and integrity and treating the public and its employees with dignity and respect."