A FORMER high-ranking Royal Navy officer was paid more than £20,000 by Hull City Council as part of their failed bid to bring HMS Illustrious to the city.
Rear Admiral Robert Cooling was an assistant chief of the naval staff and a former commanding officer of the warship.
After the ship’s decommissioning in August 2014, Hull was one of a number of cities to bid to host the vessel, but failed to make the Ministry of Defence’s final shortlist in October despite spending £540,000 on the project.