'Absurd' no action taken against councillors accused of making inaccurate comments

BUT INVESTIGATOR SAYS THERE MUST BE 'WIDE DEGREE OF TOLERANCE'

- By JOE LOCKER

THE deputy leader of Nottingham City Council says it is “absurd” no action has been taken against four councillors he accused of making factually inaccurate statements.

Cllr Ethan Radford (Lab) formally reported four councillors over alleged breaches of their council's code of conduct when speaking on the topic of local government reorganisation during public meetings.

All nine councils in Nottinghamshire have been discussing and drafting plans to redraw their boundaries, under the Labour Government’s proposals for the most significant shakeup of how some councils operate in 50 years.

In September, Cllr Radford sent a letter to four Nottinghamshire County Council councillors - Cllr Sam Smith (Con), Cllr Neil Clarke (Con), Cllr Steve Carr (Broxtowe Independent Group), and Cllr Teresa Cullen (Broxtowe Alliance) - asking that their statements be retracted and corrected.

But all four councillors stood by what they had said, prompting Cllr Radford to formally complain to Nottinghamshire County Council 's monitoring officer.

The monitoring officer, senior solicitor Charlie Mason, has now concluded the statements made by each councillor “do not represent a breach of the council's code of conduct.”