EXCLUSIVE: Former Hartlepool Council Chief Solicitor’s Company Faces HMRC Insolvency Petition

Peter Devlin

The former Chief Solicitor of Hartlepool Borough Council who now works as the Legal & Monitoring officer for Cleveland Fire Brigade resigned as the director of the failing company just weeks before a petition for insolvency was filled by its creditors...

10th June 2025

A Hartlepool-based company reportedly propped up with Taxpayer funds— & once headed by a former senior officer at Hartlepool Borough Council — is on the brink of being wound up, following a dramatic intervention by His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), HBC Exposed can reveal.

Cleveland Fire Brigade Risk Management Services CIC, a firm previously fronted by Peter Devlin, the former Chief Solicitor for Hartlepool Borough Council, is facing a compulsory insolvency petition brought by HMRC over what's reported to be significant unpaid tax liabilities. These include outstanding TAX, PAYE and national insurance contributions — amounts owed to the public purse.

The case will be heard at the High Court of Justice where the business could be 'wound up' thereafter to recover the debts owed to HMRC..

The petition, lodged at the High Court of Justice in London on 1st May 2025, is due to be heard on the 18th June 2025 at 10:30am at the Royal Courts of Justice, 7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane. Notices to appear in court must be filed by 4:00pm on 17th June.

In a curious twist of timing, its claimed Peter Devlin suddenly resigned from his directorship of the company just weeks before the petition was submitted. His sudden exit raises serious questions about what he may have known in advance regarding the financial condition of the business — and what role, if any, he played in the events leading up to its collapse.

The London Gazette lists the company’s current registered address as Hub 2 Office 313, The Innovation Centre, Queens Meadow Business Park, Hartlepool, with a previous address just next door at the Training and Administration Hub. The case reference is 2094827, with HMRC reportedly instructing its own in-house legal team in Stratford to pursue the matter.

This story adds another layer to the continuing concerns about the revolving door between local government and quasi-public companies operating in Hartlepool, often under the radar and with little or no accountability to the public. Many residents will be asking how a company tied so closely to the fire service — and directed until recently by a man who once oversaw legal matters at HBC — could fall into such serious tax arrears.

If the winding-up order is granted, it will likely raise questions not just about financial mismanagement, but about the broader governance culture surrounding Hartlepool’s public-private partnerships — especially those involving former council staff.