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30
Sept
Legal threat from fellow councillor triggered latest Ripon resignation
A Ripon councillor resigned after being threatened with legal action by a fellow councillor, it has emerged.
The Stray Ferret reported on Saturday that Jo Bate had resigned in the latest round of the city’s ongoing political turmoil, claiming "three councillors are trying to make me their scapegoat".
In just over a fortnight mayor Cllr Jackie Crozier has resigned, her successor Cllr Barbara Brodigan faces a public vote of no confidence, the leader and deputy leader roles have been removed and three of four staff members, including chief officer Paula Benson, have left. The fourth employee has gone off sick.
The staff departures have been at the heart of much of the fallout.
Emails reveal former leader Cllr Andrew Williams emailed Ms Bate, who chaired the staffing committee, on September 21 saying she had suggested that council minutes had been altered.
The email copied in former deputy leader Cllr Peter Horton and Cllr Jackie Crozier, who were also members of the staffing committee.
Cllr Williams’ email said:
To suggest as you did in your statement read to full council in your alleged name that minutes have been altered and they should not have been and that you would not be signing them off is to accuse all three of us of dishonesty and fraud.
We all require a full retraction of this statement and an apology to be issued in terms which will be agreed. We will also expect a payment in lieu of damages to be paid to a charity of our choice.
Cllr Crozier, Horton and myself have acted in accordance with local government law and have given freely of our time in seeking to ensure that all of our staff felt supported in their roles.
If we have not heard from you by 5pm on Wednesday September 24 then we will place the matter in the hands of our solicitors.
The staffing committee was dissolved at the third extraordinary meeting in 11 days on Friday (September 26).
A new seven-person human resources committee was created in its place. Ms Bate, who did not attend the meeting, was appointed chair.
She was the only member of the old staffing committee member to be appointed to the new human resources committee.
But the following day she told the Stray Ferret she had resigned shortly before the meeting — a fact councillors appear to have been unaware of when they voted her on to the new committee.
'A complete and utter shambles'
Asked if she would issue a retraction, Ms Bate said:
I do not feel that I have anything to retract as I only passed on a message asking why the minutes had been altered.
She added she was “a pensioner on pension credits so I cannot defend myself”.
Asked if he intended to pursue legal matters, Cllr Williams said: “We will be seeking advice from solicitors.”
He declined to comment further on that specific matter but described the wider situation facing the council as “a complete and utter shambles”.
He also questioned whether upcoming council meetings could go ahead given there were no staff to issue agendas, adding:
Given that the chairman of human resources committee is no longer a councillor, she can’t call a meeting of the HR committee.
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