Littleport Councillor Was Disrespectful To Council Leader
A COMMENT about district council leader Fred Brown landed fellow councillor Neil Morrison in hot water this week. A nine-month investigation was launched after Cllr Morrison, a Liberal Democrat, implied at a Littleport Parish Council meeting last July tha
A COMMENT about district council leader Fred Brown landed fellow councillor Neil Morrison in hot water this week. A nine-month investigation was launched after Cllr Morrison, a Liberal Democrat, implied at a Littleport Parish Council meeting last July that his fellow Littleport representative had awarded himself a huge pay increase soon after arriving in office in May, in order to pay for his new home.
Independent district and parish councillor, Andy Wright said: "He has every right to criticise the allowance increases, but I don't think it should be reduced to a personal level.
"I said I thought his comment was grossly out of order."
It emerged at the Standards hearing on Tuesday that Cllr Morrison had in fact voted for changes to all councillors' allowances, which went up to more than �3,000 a year, with extra money for Liberal Democrat spokespeople and chairs of committees.
You may also want to watch:
Cllr Morrison compared paperwork to a "dodgy dossier," disputing reports by the parish council and the press, but Littleport parish councillor Christine Ambrose-Smith and clerk Linda Clarke-Jones supported Cllr Wright's version of events.
Cllr Morrison refused to apologise or admit whether or not he had breached the council's Code of Conduct before chairman Anthony Mizen pronounced his decision.
Most Read
- 1 Dad's emotional tribute after baby son dies in A10 horror crash
- 2 Van crashes into pram, killing five month old baby
- 3 County council ploughs £3.4m into farm deal
- 4 Biggest village in Cambridgeshire to get even bigger
- 5 Son's touching tribute: 'My father fought with passion for that in which he believed'
- 6 Man named following fatal collision
- 7 Ex-councillor launches 'one million steps' charity challenge
- 8 First large-scale Cambs Covid-19 vaccination centres open this week
- 9 Councillor shares 'perfect' vaccine experience to encourage others
- 10 Letters: Praise for vaccine teams, search for brewery tray and more
"Had he issued an apology I would not have taken the action that I did," said Cllr Wright, "but he stood by his comments."
In his defence, Neil Morrison said he stood by his statement. "I try to give my presentation of the facts as I see them," he said, and went on to quiz Cllr Wright.
Chair of the standards sub-committee Anthony Mizen, who is not a member of the council, found evidence of disrespect but agreed Cllr Morrison had not brought the office of councillor into disrepute.
