Supporters Trust demands civil action against Northampton Borough Council officers and councillors over £13.5m football club loan "scandal"

Northampton Town Supporters Trust are calling for civil action against borough councillors and officers involved in the £13.5million loan to the football club.

Independent auditors KPMG issued a damning report last month into the council's handling of the failed loan to the club .

Northampton Borough Council is due to make a formal response to the report at its final full meeting on Monday before being scrapped and replaced by a new West Northamptonshire unitary authority on April 1.

More than £10m of the money has never been repaid and an ambitious development scheme for the club's Sixfields stadium barely got under way.

Files were sent to the Crown Prosecution Service last year following a five-year Northamptonshire Police investigation.

Opposition local government spokesman, Lord Kennedy, has raised the report into the council's conduct in Parliament and plans to quiz ministers further on March 3.

Now the Trust has written the Labour life peer asking for backing in their bid for the council to sue its former leader and officers.

Trust chair Andy Roberts said: "The “disappearance” of more than £10 million of public funds is a major scandal.

"To this day the East Stand, for which part of the loan was advanced, remains only partially constructed and there appears to be no prospect of any progress towards its completion at any time in the near future.

"The supporters of the club, as well as the local taxpayers, are the innocent victims.

"We understand a report has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service and its decision is pending on the matter of criminal prosecutions.

"However, the Trust’s directors do not consider that the decisions of the CPS should have a direct bearing on the need to hold all those responsible at NBC accountable in the civil courts."

Northampton Borough Council has already spent more than £2.5m in legal and consultancy fees in a bid to recover the money from former directors David and Anthony Cardoza and property developer Howard Grossman.

Lord Kennedy said: "There are a number of questions that need answering and this is an authority that is about to disappear in a couple of months and it's important the issue doesn't disappear with it.

"It's quite shocking how they could have lent so much council tax payers' money with no business plan and inadequate due diligence."

The KPMG report revealed: "The council continued to advance money to NTFC even when it became clear that something was already fundamentally wrong with this project."

It went on to add: Whilst we have concluded that there were failings by officers of the council in their duties, we have also concluded that, in light of the lack of objections raised, most of the then cabinet members failed to provide adequate governance."