Labour councillors staged a shock walkout at a full meeting of Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council in protest at a proposal to offer the chief executive a payment to leave the authority early.

Led by Danny Moore, Labour group leader for the authority, they left the council chamber at the Guildhall last night ahead of an exempt item to discuss a leaked report compiled by council leader Peter Nutting.

The confidential report, headed Management of Succession, suggested chief executive Robin Hooper could receive about two years’ salary to leave after Christmas.

Despite reports suggesting Councillor Moore had helped draw up the package, he told the meeting he had nothing to do with either its compilation or content.

He told the meeting the Labour members walked out because they did not support the suggestions within the report, which he claimed would have a “detrimental effect” on the council.

He said: “We are very keen that if any such changes (to the management) are supported by those people in the chamber we wish to distance ourselves from that.

“We reflect that we should not support any such changes that would be detrimental to this authority.”

Councillor Moore said the Labour group wanted Mr Hooper to remain in position until the creation of a unitary authority for Shropsh-ire, expected in April 2009.

He told the meeting he also wanted Mr Hooper to remain in place during the judicial review process.

After the meeting, he said he did not believe an early departure by Mr Hooper, to be replaced by a reshuffle of council managers, would be in the best interests of the authority.

He said the group did not accept the argument that there were savings to be made from changes and would say that any amount of savings was simply not justified.

Mr Hooper had earlier told members the “net was closing down” on the person who had leaked the confidential report.

He said the council was taking the matter extremely seriously and was investigating a possible breach of the authority’s standing orders and also the Data Protection Act.

He said: “The net is closing down on the individual concerned. We are hopeful, that unless the person comes forward of their own volition, that we can identify the person and the proper action will then be taken.”