Yorkshire tourism boss leaves office after spending survey

The head of a tourism office resigned after an investigation revealed that he had "erred in judgment regarding his expenses".

Welcome to Yorkshire said the general manager, Sir Gary Verity, was leaving for "health reasons".

He added that his resignation was not directly related to the concerns "related to his behavior towards the staff and his expenses".

The organization thanked Mr. Verity for his 10 years of leadership.

In a statement, Welcome to Yorkshire said its board of directors had investigated the allegations and "concluded that Sir Gary had made errors in judgment about his expenses at a very difficult time for him and his family."

"Sir Gary has agreed to voluntarily repay Welcome to Yorkshire for the sums due."

Aged 54, he had been in this role since October 2008, but he gained notoriety when he presented the world's greatest cycling race, the Tour de France, in Yorkshire in 2014.

He was also the instigator of the annual Yorkshire Tour race, whose fifth edition will be held in May, and paved the way for the rights to host the World Road Cycling Championships. UCI will be held in Yorkshire in September.

Analysis

Dan Roan, sports editor of the BBC

This seems like a blow to British cycling.

Over the last decade, Sir Gary Verity, head of tourism, has become an increasingly important and influential sports figure, helping to make Yorkshire the unofficial sports capital of the United Kingdom.

After bringing the Grand Départ of the Tour de France to the region in 2014, he then created the Yorkshire Tour, which contributed to gender equality in cycling by doubling the length of the women's race in 2018.

His resignation shock is bad timing, just five weeks before the most prestigious edition of the event so far and with the controversial launch of Team Ineos after the takeover of Team Sky by the company petrochemical.

Only a few months pbaded before Yorkshire hosted the World Road Championships for the first time.

Highly regarded in Whitehall, Verity was also tied to vacant Executive Director of the Premier League and FA, but his health issues and the controversy of his departure mean that he will no longer be a candidate for any of these positions .

Verity said he tried to "set the highest standards of personal performance and leadership."

"Where this has been done, I am thankful and when, at times, I have fallen behind, I apologize," he said.

"My health is now my top priority, and I'm asking for time and space to heal."