A SADDLEWORTH councillor has avoided major punishment after being found to have covertly recorded a meeting involving Oldham’s leader.
And opponents believe Mark Kenyon got off lightly.
The Saddleworth West and Lees Liberal Democrat faced a standards sub-committee hearing on Tuesday, November 11 following the incident.
An independent report told how audio of a private meeting in May 2024 involving Labour Cllr Arooj Shah and independent Cllrs Marc Hince and Lisa Navesey was leaked on social media.
It also says Cllr Kenyon was ‘seen, having left the Liberal Democrat room, having apparently visited the toilet, apparently placing something outside of Cllr Shah’s office.’
The leader’s complaint against him stated: “The behaviour on display here is shocking, it cannot be normalised.
“I have not – nor would I ever – consider bugging my opponent’s office under any circumstances.
“The leak itself has also caused significant abuse to both myself and Cllrs Hince and Navesey after the fact, abuse which continues to date and shows no sign of ramping down because members of the Liberal Democrat Group chose to leak it to the individuals in question.
“I expect serious action as a result of this brazen behaviour. It cannot be allowed to stand.
“If spying on your political opponents was a serious enough incident to bring down a
President of the United States of America, it cannot be tolerated in local government.”
According to the report, Cllr Kenyon held his hands up as he wrote in response: “Upon
reflection, I recognise that I should not have used my phone to record the events in the heat of the moment and I really regret doing so – if I could turn back the clock, I absolutely would do.
“I would be tremendously grateful if you would pass on my apology to the complainants and others present at the meeting.
“I also apologise to the council and recognise that this is not the standard of conduct that should be expected of a councillor.
“For clarity, no special listening device was used. I could clearly hear what was being said in the room when standing in the corridor.
“I decided in the spur of the moment to record what I could clearly hear in the corridor and then share them believing it would be likely to be shared further.
“I absolutely recognise that this was the wrong action to have taken.”
The report by leading local government solicitor Simon Goacher concluded Cllr Kenyon failed to comply with the council’s code of conduct regarding the recording – Liberal Democrat colleagues Cllrs Louie Hamblett, Howard Sykes and Dave Murphy were cleared of that accusation.
The sub-committee is also said to have ruled there was no case to answer into claims they did not co-operate with the investigation, even though the report states there ‘has been a failure to comply with paragraph 8.2 of the council’s code of conduct by Cllrs Hamblett, Murphy and Sykes.’
The code of conduct reads: “I co-operate with any code of conduct investigation and/or determination.”
And the decision that makes Cllr Kenyon send a written apology made on July 19, 2024 to all involved as the appropriate sanction has been met with astonishment by political opponents.
Oldham’s Labour group stated: “Opposition parties conspired to exploit technicalities, allowing Cllrs Howard Sykes, Louie Hamblett, and Dave Murphy of the Liberal Democrats to escape proper sanction for their behaviour.”
Cllr Holly Harrison said: “The actions of the Liberal Democrats on May 20, 2024 leave a stain on all of us and brought everyone’s reputation into question.
“The fact that some members of the committee argued that there should be no sanctions imposed by the council for one of the most intrusive acts I’ve ever encountered and one of the most blatant breaches of the code of conduct – and despite Kenyon himself admitting the breach – beggars belief.
“We all know we’re dealing with a toxic political environment at the moment, this behaviour has exacerbated this.
“It has had a profound impact on members present in the meeting leading to sustained abuse and I’m afraid the consequences he now faces do not match the severity of his conduct.”
Cllr Umar Nasheen, who also sat on the sub-committee, added: “Spying and recording your political opponents was once enough to bring down a US President, but clearly here in Oldham some members have decided that this is a trivial matter that the public don’t deserve to know about.
“There is no question that Cllr Kenyon brought the council into disrepute, but in trying to legitimise and excuse these actions some members of the sub-committee have done the people of Oldham a disservice.”
Cllr Hince, who describes the report as ‘damning,’ claimed he and Cllr Navesey were, ‘victim of the most vile and horrendous abuse which even resulted in death threats.’
He said “This whole thing has caused a lot of stress to me and my family.
“It fuelled an online hate campaign by making out we were making secret deals. when we were just negotiating on behalf of residents.
“I know my colleague Cllr Lisa Navesey and her family were equally affected, and we have received no apology nor even acknowledgement for this insidious wrongdoing.
“This wasn’t the act of one councillor, who acted on a spur of the moment. The report shows beyond doubt collusion and an attempt to cover up.”
In response, the area’s Liberal Democrats pointed out ‘the committee unanimously found that Councillors Sykes, Murphy and Hamblett had no case to answer.’
And a spokesperson said: “Councillor Kenyon has openly accepted that he made a clear misjudgement in allowing the recording to be released and has apologised for this 16 months ago.
“Councillor Kenyon and the Liberal Democrats stand by his response.
“He was deeply concerned about the proceedings that were taking place, and remains so, but absolutely accepts this was not the correct way to raise them.
“All the other complaints were found to be completely without substance.
“It is a shame that it has taken so long for this process to be concluded.
“This should draw a clear line under an unfortunate incident and a drawn out process that has benefitted no-one.”
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