Councillor who messaged fellow planning committee member during meeting he could not attend breached code

The standards committee at King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council has recommended that a councillor be removed from its planning committee after emails he sent to a fellow committee member during a meeting he could not attend created the "perception of undue influence".

Independent councillor Terry Parish was unable to attend the meeting as he was recovering from a car accident, according to a report from the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to the report, Cllr Parish, who was previously the leader of the council, emailed his deputy, Cllr Sue Lintern, a series of messages before and during the meeting, including a message that read: "No deferral. REFUSE IT."

A complaint was later lodged against the member over his conduct.

The council's standards committee considered an investigator's findings regarding the complaint last week (7 May).

The complaint alleged that the emails may have influenced, or attempted to influence, Cllr Lintern's decision-making.

The investigator's report identified a set of relevant obligations on councillors within the Planning Code, which included section 1.4 (openness and transparency) and section 3 (regarding impartiality and integrity of decision-making).

It also highlighted parts of the council's Code of Conduct concerning the 'General Principles', impartiality, disrepute and the Nolan principles.

The investigator upheld the complaint, finding that while Cllr Parish did not explicitly instruct Cllr Lintern how to act, and while there was no direct evidence that the emails altered any decision, the nature and timing of those emails could be interpreted as attempts to unduly influence the decision-making process.

The report said the behaviour raised concerns regarding impartiality, integrity, and fairness and transparency in decision-making.

At the hearing, Cllr Parish told the standards panel that he had not intended to apply any influence to Cllr Lintern but only to communicate his opinions.

He noted that this was a misjudgement that had only occurred due to exceptional circumstances, and he regretted it.

In a decision issued on Tuesday (13 May), the panel found the councillor had breached the Code of Conduct and the Planning Code, finding that the emails sent to Cllr Lintern "create the perception of undue influence".

The panel specifically found the emails were inconsistent with section 1.4 of the Code of Good Practice for Planning, section 5.1 of the Code of Conduct regarding disrepute and the Nolan principles of openness.

It also concluded that the Nolan Principle of respect had been breached "in that the emails failed to respect Cllr Lintern and the remainder of the Planning Committee".

The panel recommended that Cllr Parish's group leader remove the councillor from the Planning  Committee.

"At the same time, the panel recognised the wider contributions of Cllr Parish to Council business to council business," minutes of the standards hearing reported.

The panel also balanced its decision against mitigating factors, including Cllr Parish's circumstances at the time, his apology and acknowledgement that he should not have sent the emails. 

Cllr Terry Parish has been approached for comment.

Adam Carey