Lax financial controls and incompetence together with a lack of transparency epitomised the approach to finances at the London Borough of Croydon, which was run by a Labour majority, and is facing millions of pounds of debt due to poor investments and overspending.

The Penn review into the financial failures has investigated the financial failings and flagged a litany of financial incompetence and lack of oversight. It flagged instances where officers told council members what they wanted to hear with reports rewritten to flag the positives, rather than the reality of the situation.