Councillor misconduct hearing

A County Durham councillor has been asked to apologise to council officers and undertake standards training following a misconduct hearing, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Bill Edgar.

Councillor Kenny Hope, Independent member for Delves Lane, has been reprimanded after a complaints panel found his conduct fell below the standards expected of an elected member.

Concerns over his conduct were escalated after Reform council leader Andrew Husband said Cllr Hope “began a crusade [of] false attacks and accusations” in emails sent to council officers about the accuracy of scrutiny committee minutes. 

A document seen by The Local Democracy Reporting Service shows a Durham County Council Standards Assessment Board ruled that Cllr Hope complete training on the council’s code of conduct and member officer relations protocol, and apologise to the democratic services manager over his conduct towards officers.

But Cllr Hope said he disputes the outcome of the hearing, which was held behind closed doors on Monday, July 13 at County Hall.  

He said: “I fundamentally disagree with the findings against me. As an elected councillor, I have both the right and the responsibility to ask questions where I believe there are matters of legitimate public interest.”

The complaint centred on a series of emails in June in which the former Reform member challenged the accuracy of minutes from a meeting of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, alleging they failed to properly record discussions about proposed scrutiny working groups.

Cllr Husband claimed the emails amounted to “false attacks and accusations” against him, saying Cllr Hope had accused him of showing “little respect to residents and fellow members”, lacking leadership and improperly involving himself in the scrutiny process. 

In response, Cllr Hope said he was exercising his right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and had acted in the public interest by questioning decisions he believed required scrutiny.

He denied accusing Cllr Husband of misconduct, saying his concerns related to the accuracy of the committee minutes and whether they properly reflected decisions made at the meeting.

The board acknowledged elected members enjoy enhanced protection for political speech but concluded some of Cllr Hope’s comments about Cllr Husband were “personal in nature” and “disrespectful”, particularly because they were circulated to a wide audience.

It said any concerns should have been raised privately rather than through widely circulated emails.

The panel, made up of two Reform councillors and one Independent, also found Cllr Hope had not followed the council’s protocol for allegations that officers and the council administration had sought to undermine scrutiny by omitting information from the official minutes.

According to the decision notice, the board shared its “shock and disappointment” at Cllr Hope’s conduct.

It said his actions risked damaging the council’s reputation and could have affected the wellbeing of officers who may have felt they had been publicly singled out.

The board accepted Cllr Hope was entitled to question the accuracy of the minutes but concluded the way he raised his concerns was “wholly inappropriate” and fell below the standards expected under the council’s code of conduct.

Responding to the outcome, Cllr Hope added: “The questions I asked were, in my view, entirely within the bounds of free speech and freedom of expression and formed part of my duty to scrutinise the council and hold those in positions of authority to account on behalf of residents.”