David Bowles

David Bowles is a public official who has been Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council and chairman of United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He came to particular attention for giving evidence against the leader of Lincolnshire County Council, who was subsequently jailed. He is a member of the whistleblowing charity, the Council of Public Concern at Work. Background Bowles was born in Cambridgeshire and has lived in Lincolnshire, England since 1999. He graduated with a science degree. He has worked in the public sector since the 1980s. Lincolnshire Councils Bowles was Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council from 1998. He subsequently revealed that the Conservative council leader, Jim Speechley, had been using his position to manipulate the route of a new by-pass to increase the value of his land. His evidence led to Speechley being jailed for 18 months. Bowles then had a "strained" relationship with the new Conservative leader, Ian Croft. On 3 September 2004 Bowles was heckled at a council meeting, as he defended his actions and described the past period as "characterised by smear innuendo and lies" with "bullying and a climate of fear". With his tenure at the county council due to come to an end shortly, Bowles then accepted a position as chief executive of West Lindsey District Council, in north Lincolnshire, to start in September 2004.