Mr Butters has consistently brushed off calls for his resignation

But Andrew Butters is expected to receive a massive golden handshake.

Mr Butters was head of the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust when patients were abused at Rowan Ward, based at Withington Hospital.

Despite two damning reports he refused to resign. Mr Butters, who earns up to �91,000, is negotiating a pay-off.

He is currently on secondment to another trust, and was due to return to his substantive post in June.

It is fantastic that he is going to go - it should have happened months ago Keith Doyle, whose relative was on Rowan Ward

But a letter from the chief executive of the Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority has promised relatives that Mr Butters' contract is to be "severed".

Dr Neil Goodwin wrote: "Regarding the substantive chief executive, who is currently on secondment out of Greater Manchester, let me be clear in saying he will not be returning to the trust.

"Discussions are currently ongoing about severing his employment with the trust, which I anticipate being concluded in the near future."

Despite the trust being �5m in debt and the fact that management were heavily criticised in two separate investigations into what went wrong on Rowan, a spokesman for the health authority says Mr Butters is currently negotiating a pay off.

No-one was ever successfully disciplined over the attacks on patients.

Last week the chair of the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care trust, Marilyn Taylor, resigned - taking responsibility for the scandal.

But on Monday the leader of Manchester City Council Richard Leese told BBC GMR that Andrew Butters should face up to his responsibilities and resign too.

Resignation refusal

When the scandal emerged, Mr Butters appeared on BBC North West Tonight, where he admitted there had been grave errors.

But he has always refused to offer his resignation, which many families of those abused have said would have been the decent thing to do.

"It is fantastic that he is going to go - it should have happened months ago," said Keith Doyle, whose mother Jane, 83, suffered third degree burns on Rowan Ward.

"But it's absolutely scandalous he should get a pay-off.