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Former councillor disqualified for three years
23 October 2009
A former Forest Heath councillor who asked a fellow member to become involved in his son’s planning application and bullied a council officer was disqualified from office for three years on Wednesday (21 October 2009).
Following a Standards for England investigation, former Councillor Terence Waters was found to have breached the Code of Conduct by the Adjudication Panel for England, which agreed with Standards for England’s ethical standards officer’s view that former Councillor Waters had attempted to influence improperly the outcome of his son’s application.
Councillor John McGhee, the member who agreed to stand in for former Councillor Waters at some meetings at which the planning application was discussed, was censured by the Panel for using his position improperly. The Panel also recommended to Forest Heath District Council that he should receive training on the Code of Conduct.
Former Councillor Waters and Councillor McGhee also attended a number of meetings with the council’s chief executive, which former Councillor Waters claimed were to address his concerns about planning procedures generally. However, they were in fact related to the way the council had dealt with his son’s application, and occurred before the application had been determined.
The Panel also accepted the ethical standards officer’s conclusion that former Councillor Waters had bullied a council officer and failed to treat him with respect. Former Councillor Waters made a number of unfounded accusations to and about the officer, and at a meeting at former Councillor Waters’ home, made a serious and highly personal verbal attack on him, including threats about the officer’s employment. He also referred to the officer’s potential involvement in future planning applications from members of the Waters family, compromising the officer’s impartiality.
In addition, the Panel concluded that former Councillor Waters - who had previously been suspended for nine months in 2005, over a separate matter that also related to disrespect - had brought his office and authority into disrepute.
Dr Robert Chilton, chair of Standards for England, said: “When members fall so seriously short of the ethical standards expected of them, it’s vital that the electorate can see that they are brought to account. The three-year disqualification sends out a strong message that such disregard for the members’ Code of Conduct will be dealt with appropriately.”
For media enquiries, contact the press office on 0161 817 5400 or email press.enquiries@standardsforengland.gov.uk.
Notes for editors
Standards for England and the Adjudication Panel for England are independent from one another. Standards for England does not determine sanctions to be imposed on members who have breached the Code of Conduct.
Ethical standards officers employed by Standards for England investigate potential breaches of the Code of Conduct on Standards for England’s behalf. At the end of an investigation, the ethical standards officer can refer the case to the Adjudication Panel if the potential breach is sufficiently serious to warrant some form of sanction.
The Adjudication Panel for England is an independent judicial tribunal. The Lord Chancellor appoints its members following consultation with the Secretary of State for Local Government.
