Intellectual property argument could prevent Reform’s ‘Doge’ unit from sharing its findings

West Northants Council’s senior officer team have put up legal arguments to prevent Reform UK making political capital from the pending Doge investigation

By Sarah Ward

Reform UK’s Doge head honcho Zia Yusuf with the WNC cabinet. Reform UK image.

Any likely attempt by Reform UK to use the ‘Doge’ units examination of West Northants Council’s data for political purposes could be headed off by an intellectual property legal argument.

Since Reform UK took control of West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) eight weeks ago there have been concerns about how the unelected and unaccountable team pulled together by the national party could use any data they access as part of their investigations.

Now in finance papers on an agenda for tomorrow’s cabinet meeting, the authority, which is led by chief executive Anna Earnshaw, has set out its stall about what information the Doge team can access and how it can be used.