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Councillor forced to step down

Faye Adams
25/ 5/2005

COUNCILLOR Les Wilcox has been forced to step down from his post on the council after a tribunal ruled he had broken the code of conduct.

The tribunal which took place at Bredbury Hall Hotel, Stockport on Thursday found the Whitfield ward councillor had sent email messages to council members and officers that contained 'inappropriate and abusive' language.

It was also recorded that emails 'went far beyond the assertive and legitimate role of a council member, with the effect that they amounted to the use of bullying language and treatment'.

According to the panel the councillor broke three of the rules which govern elected members including 'failing to treat others with respect' and 'bringing his office and the council into disrepute'.

The Glossop Independence Party councillor has been ordered to step down for a period of two years and cannot stand for election within this period.

Leader of the council, Councillor David Lomax, said: "A two-year disqualification is classed as a severe penalty on the top end of the scale and it sends out a very clear message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated - a principle that we fully support."

He added: "Councillor Wilcox was unwilling to be part of a positive working culture dedicated to improving services for people in the High Peak.

"He has let down the people who elected him in the Whitfield area."

In February Councillor Wilcox was criticised by MP Tom Levitt, during a speech in Parliament, over the emails. He accused him of helping to force an officer into early retirement and bullying behaviour which led to another suffering a heart attack.

Mr Levitt said: "He included large numbers of councillors and staff in his emails, often undermining the work of council officers in front of their juniors, instructing officers to do his bidding, expecting them to behave in an unreasonable manner and routinely accused them of lying, plotting and secrecy and copying his offensive and misplaced emails to the local press."