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Bully councillor loses appeal bid

by Helen Clifton
10/ 9/2008

DISGRACED Old Glossop councillor Ivan Bell has lost an appeal against his three-month suspension from the council for bullying.

An order banning him from all High Peak borough council meetings and training sessions will now be upheld — but Councillor Bell  hit back at the decision, accusing the council of employing bullying tactics against him.

He said: "To put it mildly, I am disgusted. I believe that political correctness is being used to gag outspoken councillors. My offer to do unpaid community work was not considered as an option at all. I am sure the suspension is just being handed out as a gagging tool. 

"I could take the decision to the High Court, but I can’t afford it and the suspension period would be up before it even gets there.  Because I am still a councillor, I can’t even attend the meetings as a member of the public. It is absolutely crazy."

On 6 June, the council’s standard committee suspended Mr Bell for three months for failing to treat an officer with respect and for bullying her.

The committee branded Mr Bell's behaviour, "unreasonable and demeaning" and added that he, "belittled and systematically humiliated the officer", before giving him 21 days leave to launch an appeal. The suspension began on 1 September.

A complaint was made against Councillor Bell because of his behaviour at a meeting on 12 June, 2007, a training session on July 25, 2007, and in an email sent to a local resident on July 10, 2007.

The Standards Board for England also investigated the allegations and were represented at the hearing.

On Monday, Councillor Bell’s appeal failed at an adjudication panel. He offered to do unpaid community work in return for a reduction in the suspension and said he had found the whole situation "very stressful".

He also apologised directly to the officer involved and had arranged an anger management course.

"Three months suspension from being a councillor is bad enough for my constituents but when I am also banned from attending meetings as a member of the public, this really puts the boot in. I am afraid I regard this as an institutional form of bullying," he said in a statement. I have had many emails and phone calls from the public saying they don’t understand what has happened and they support me.  I had considered resigning and standing for re-election. While I am pretty certain I would be re-elected, it would cost the ratepayers money."

A High Peak Borough Council spokesperson said: "The adjudication panel considered Councillor Bell’s appeal and dismissed this on the basis that the sanction applied by the Standards Committee was both reasonable and proportionate."