Transparency call after councillor is cleared of bullying

'MORE COULD HAVE BEEN DONE' TO INVESTIGATE CLAIMS EARLIER

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

NEWCASTLE'S opposition leader says greater transparency is needed to give the public confidence in the city council, in the wake of a bullying investigation.

It was confirmed earlier this week that Nick Kemp, the former Labour leader of Newcastle City Council, had been cleared of breaching the authority’s code of conduct after a lengthy probe into a bullying complaint made against him by a senior director.

But the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) subsequently revealed that the inquiry, conducted by law firm Bevan Brittan, concluded that “more could have been done” by the city council to deal with Michelle Percy's concerns earlier.

Details of the investigation, which found that Coun Kemp “could certainly have conducted himself in a less confrontational and aggressive manner” but did not engage in personal attacks, emerged after long-running concerns about the wider culture behind the scenes at the Civic Centre.

Colin Ferguson, who leads the council's Lib Dem opposition, has now demanded that the confidential report be released to members of the authority's audit and standards committee for further scrutiny.