MP James Morris has called for Councillor Steve Eling to resign as leader of Sandwell Council following allegations of corruption, fraud and misconduct in the scandal-hit authority.

The Halesowen and Rowley Regis Conservative MP made the plea in Parliament yesterday evening (Thursday, January 25) during an adjournment debate in the House of Commons.

Re-watch the debate by clicking here.

As well as calling for the leader to step down, Mr Morris also urged the Government to send commissioners into the council, in what he hopes will “restore public trust and confidence” in the Labour-led authority.

However, Cllr Eling has brandished Mr Morris a 'coward' for not responding to an email he sent on January 19 enquiring about the debate.

During the debate, some of the corruption allegations against the council detailed in the Wragge report – including dodgy land deals, conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in a public office – were read out by Mr Morris to emphasis the “seriousness and nature” of the complaints.

He said: “The reason I decided to call this debate was primarily because I feel that it is within the public interest to do so, for the public to know the answers to these questions of abuse of power, and to ensure that the local authority can start to do what it is supposed to, and provide essential services to the people of Sandwell.”

Cllr Eling told the News that he has no plans on resigning from his role, before slamming the MP, adding: “If he wants a battle he can have one.”

The council leader said: “All I can say is that he is an extremely ignorant man, who hasn’t even got the courtesy to respond to the leader of the local authority.

“For him to use his parliamentary privilege to libel anybody is an utter disgrace, which I will be bringing up with the speaker.

“Is this the kind of man the people of Halesowen and Rowley Regis want representing them in Parliament?”

A spokesman for Mr Morris - who has reiterated his calls for Cllr Eling's resignation following the publication of the damning Ofsted report into the council's children's services - said the email from the leader did not go into any great detail about the debate, only containing a Twitter screenshot.

He added: “The email was not responded to because it did not contain any serious attempt to discuss the very important issues facing the council.”