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The Town Hall was accused of “heavy-handedness” this week after summarily sacking an estate’s housing manager just hours after it formally employed him – and despite knowing he is suffering from cancer.

Alex Scorgie, general manager of Bemerton Villages Management Organisation (BVMO), was dismissed on Monday within hours of being informed he had become a council employee. The BVMO was dramatically wound up by Islington Council last week after its former chairman, Geoffrey Gex, was exposed as a paedophile.

Acting BVMO chairman John Bevin told the Tribune this week: “This was a hostile take-over. The council came in very heavy-handed.”

The tenant-led organisation receives around £1million from the council to provide day-to-day housing management services on the estate, just off the Cally near King’s Cross.

According to Mr Bevin, who said he had told the council on August 11 that Mr Scorgie was seriously ill, the manager was sacked for “failing to turn up to a meeting”.

The Town Hall declined to comment on an individual case, but it appears to hold Mr Scorgie responsible for launching a legal action against the council.

A last-ditch attempt by the BVMO to halt the council take-over in the High Court last Wednesday was adjourned – not denied, as stated by the council last week – but the organisation maintains the Town Hall failed to follow the “correct procedure for terminating the management agreement” and claims the take-over is “invalid”.

Last week, Town Hall chiefs said the BVMO “cannot be entrusted with its safeguarding responsibility” after discovering its board only told the council of Gex’s conviction after details were published online, despite having been aware of his arrest for several months.

During a meeting held on August 12, the council said, the BVMO board agreed the council would take over the management while a safeguarding investigation took place. But following the meeting Mr Scorgie, after consulting a single board member, reversed this position and instructed a solicitor with the aim of halting the take-over, leaving the Town Hall “with no option but to terminate the management agreement”.

Mr Bevin told the Tribune: “We always wanted to cooperate with the investigation. That has never changed. But this was a hostile take-over. The council came in very heavy-handed. Board members became worried and we decided to take legal advice.

“Members are not used to this sort of thing and felt vulnerable and threatened. We were not given any assurances about staff.”

Mr Scorgie, in his 50s and with 14 years as general manager, is understood to be taking legal advice over his sacking. He was said to be in hospital receiving treatment yesterday (Thursday) and could not be reached for comment.

The BVMO office on the estate remained closed this week, as legal action launched by the organisation means the council is unable reopen it.

A Town Hall spokeswoman said: “Our priority remains ensuring that children and young people are kept safe, and we have already begun an investigation.

“All former BVMO employees transferred to the council on termination of the management agreement.

“It’s a shame that some BVMO board members are intent on trying to put legal obstacles in the way of us making progress. This suggests that they have still failed to grasp the gravity of the safeguarding issue that triggered our action.”

Gex, 51, who owns an estate flat in Earlsferry Way, was jailed for eight years for child sex offences on August 10.

Mr Bevin said: “We were shocked and horrified when we heard what he [Gex] had done and he has cost us enormous grief. He always came across as normal and behaved in a reasonable way.

“He was never working in a capacity where he would be left alone with children. We never wanted any children to be vulnerable to any of this.”

Asked whether he now thought he should have told the council about Gex’s arrest earlier, Mr Bevin said: “At that time, I thought there was a need for confidentiality. Whether that subsequently turns out to be right or wrong, it remains to be seen.”

The Town Hall said no decisions had been taken on the long-term management of the estate.