A PUBLIC probe is to take place over disgraced former county council leader Dr George Lord – as new details emerged about his conduct at the helm of the authority.

The Malvern Gazette can reveal fresh details over his “inadvisable and inappropriate behaviour”

towards staff which led to him being spoken to twice by chief executive Trish Haines.

On one occasion he pursued a female member of staff by asking her out for lunch, an offer which was spurned.

In a second incident, there was evidence of him sending an inappropriate e-mail to a female worker.

And on two separate occasions, he made “non-sexual physical contact”

with other woman at County Hall.

The four incidents all came before he sexually assaulted a 19-year-old staff member.

None of the four resulted in formal complaints, but it led to him being spoken to by Mrs Haines twice. The four are the same group who withdrew from the complaints process without taking it any further, as previously reported.

A County Hall source, who did not wish to be named, said: “Taken on their own each incident seems fairly mild, but when you look at them in a cluster it shows a picture of a man spiralling out of control.”

The Dr Lord saga will now be probed by a watchdog-style committee at County Hall on Tuesday, May 8.

The overview and performance scrutiny board (OPSB) will be grilling leader Councillor Adrian Hardman and Trish Haines over what lessons can be learnt.

Dr Lord, 79, was jailed for four years last month for indecent assaults on an underage girl in the 1970s and the much-publicised sexual assault on the teen at County Hall in 2010.

During the meeting, which starts at 1pm, the public will also be allowed to have their say at the start. Councillor Tom Wells, chairman of the OPSB, said: “We are determined this won’t be a whitewash. This is all about making sure the sad events which took place are never repeated.

“The meeting will look at the independent report and make sure the chief executive and senior politicians understand every word.”

After Dr Lord was jailed an independent investigation by Colin Williams, director of employee services at West Midlands Councils, found the authority responded well to the 19-year-old’s complaints but could have done more to support her after it took place.

Councillor Bob Banks, an OPSB member, said: “Our meetings are usually not very well attended but I suspect this one will be.”