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Cllr Lee said 'I have been referred to the standards board and I have no idea what for'
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Council leader blasts 'offensive' probe into conduct

By Victoria Smith
December 06, 2011

The leader of Wokingham Borough Council has labelled an investigation into his conduct by the national standards watchdog for councillors as “offensive”.

The referral of Councillor David Lee to Standards for England was made by Wokingham Borough Council’s standards committee on Tuesday, November 22, following a complaint about his conduct.

A spokesman for Standards for England, which is responsible for promoting high ethical standards among councillors, said the Government body is carrying out an initial assessment on the referral and cannot comment further at this time.

It is not known who made the initial complaint regarding Cllr Lee and what its content is, however complaints can come from fellow councillors, council officers and members of the public.

Cllr Lee told The Wokingham Times: “I have been referred to the standards board and I have no idea what for.

“I have been told nothing and I’m really rather annoyed about the whole thing.

“I find the whole thing rather offensive to say the least and I think the only good thing in all of this is Standards for England is now being abolished.”

Standards for England will cease to exist after January 31 following the adoption of the Government’s Localism Bill earlier this month.

Under new arrangements, complaints about councillors will be dealt with locally.

Cllr Lee has been leader of the council for more than three years, after taking over from fellow Conservative Frank Browne in 2008.

He is the ward member for Norreys on the borough council. He is also a Wokingham town councillor for Evendons West and a former leader of Wokingham Town Council.

The borough council’s standards committee is made up of borough and parish councillors and independent members.

A spokesman for the borough council said: “We can confirm that it is true that an allegation has been made against Cllr David Lee, but other than that we cannot comment on this at the present time.”

The spokesman confirmed the matter has been referred to Standards for England.

A spokesman for Standards for England said the organisation will continue to take on investigations until it closes. Investigations that are not completed by then will be referred back to the relevant authority for completion.

They added: “We expect further detail on transitional arrangements to be set out in regulations before the end of January.”

The abolition of the board was announced last year by communities minister Andrew Stunnell.

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step13,

Your comprehension isn't very good, is it? I said that I would like to know what I was being investigated for if I was under investigation, so that was a rather pointless question to ask. Would people stop doing it if they knew they were under investigation? Depends if what they're doing is illegal or not. Would they do it after the investigation has concluded? Varies from person to person.

If you weren't so stupid, step13, you'd be quite amusing.

Dong-Ding, 3rd world slum
07/12/2011 at 17:22

"smacks of petty vendettas and score settling by people who are gaming the system and using to advance petty rivalries" - these people with their petty rivalries - do you mean 'politicians'? I can absolutely imagine that, given the childish way that all politicians appear to act like children and bullies.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
07/12/2011 at 12:11

Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty’s Government: when they intend to abolish Standards for England; and what action they are taking on complaints that are currently being dealt with by Standards for England. [HL13396]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): It is expected that the Standards Board for England will cease its regulatory functions on 31 January 2012; any complaints being dealt with by the Board on that date will be transferred back to the authority that originated the complaint; and that the Board will be abolished no later than 31 March.

Gareth Epps
07/12/2011 at 11:23

There is a strong element within referrals to Standards for England which smacks of petty vendettas and score settling by people who are gaming the system and using to advance petty rivalries.

I also agree that anybody who has been accused of misconduct absolutely has the right to be told the grounds for the complaint, regardless of whether it is unfounded or not.

HatsOfDoom
07/12/2011 at 10:55

So a politician gets investigated, and gets all holier than thou and is happy that the organisation that is responsible for the investigation is closing.

nothing to hide, nothing to worry about

The Racing Snake
06/12/2011 at 23:18

Think it typifies today's authoritarian society when 'we' aren't allowed to know, but 'will be told in due course' what they want to tell us. Actually think all the Council ought to be charged with lunacy for scrapping the excellent refuse service we currently enjoy to save a few bob, when we all know in the long run it will cost more AND the recycled quantities will go down drastically since most won't be recycling green waste. Why do Councils treat uis as stupid by saying they can save money and maintain the service standard when we all know you only get what you pay for. And the excellent Collectors will be made redundant in some way and things will never be the same again. And before that verbose Councillor Baker rushes in to say how I'm another one who just does not understand, can we be assured of his resignation if it turns out to be a disaster?

Bingley, Woodley
06/12/2011 at 19:59

Matthew S Dent - I've accused you of all sorts of things, but I'm not telling you what they are. Come get me with your made up Human Rights act principles, if you like...

@ Ding Dong - do you think that police should inform people who are being covertly investigated for ongoing criminal behaviour that they are suspected of behaving illegally? Or do you think that they might stop that behaviour so that they didnt get caught, then return to it once the investigation was over?

Abbey N - Politicians need to be made more accountable, not less. These investigations for the "less serious" things need to happen so that the public can be made aware of their representatives actions.

step13, Junction Side
06/12/2011 at 19:11

I would, Dong-Ding, of course; but that might have an effect on behaviour. If I were a local drug dealer that the police were investigating, I might be inclined to lay low for a week or two if they knocked on my door...

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
06/12/2011 at 15:03

Damiano,

If the police popped round and said that you were under investigation, wouldn't you want to know what for? I know that I would.

Dong-Ding, 3rd world slum
06/12/2011 at 14:36

At this stage, a complaint has been made and an investigation is taking place; there is no accusation against Mr Lee or case to answer at this point; so I don't think it matters that he doesn't have all the details. Imagine some confused citizen complained that he swore at them, for example, and it turns out Mr Lee wasn't in the country at the time; there would be no need to inform Mr Lee of the allegation of swearing while the matter was investigated.

The more that politicians are investigated, the better, as far as I'm concerned - every political story I've been aware of smacks of either incompetence or shady dealings. Sometimes both.

Damiano_Tommassi, Wokingham
06/12/2011 at 14:22

My experience on complaint handling locally - is they all join forces and cover up for each other! No-one is accountable for anything or anyone at WBC they are all Corrupt to the core

Common Sense, Reading
06/12/2011 at 14:20

Totally agree with Matthew, although I'd suggest that any organisation committed to ensuring to ensuring politicians hold any ethical standards whatsoever must be incredibly busy so they may just be getting round to it.

Vestan Pance
06/12/2011 at 13:16

How is that good? Because the entire Standards Board mechanism has been undermined by petty politics, that's why! Any councillor who offends another, deliberately, innocently or mistakenly, gets wheeled in front of this Quango for no reason other than to show how "important" councillors are. All Councillors stand for re-election - if one of them offends you, then take it out on them in the Ballot Box. Or stand for election yourself. I have no time for local politics any more, and certainly not for local politicians, but the rough-and-tumble of the political process should be resolved in any way other than setting up a quango committee to examine it. If it's bad enough, then use the Law Courts. Otherwise, abolish the Standards Board and get a life.

Abbey Nationalist
06/12/2011 at 13:15

I agree with Mr Dent; an accused person has to know what they are being accused of, it's a basic principle of justice

Monkey, Greater Reading
06/12/2011 at 12:28

I agree with Cllr Lee that the situation where he is not told the details of the accusation against him is ridiculous. It is the basic right of a man (or woman) accused to know what he has been accused of, and is enshrined in the ECHR.

However, Damiano_Tommassi is correct. Calling for the abolition (rather than responsible reform) of Standards for England is excessive and smacks of revenge. I myself am very uncertain about the effect of the Localism Act on local authority standards. My reading of it (which I am, admittedly, uncertain about) seems to remove the requirement for any standards committee at all, replacing it with a vague duty to ensure standards are kept.