A Conservative councillor will be investigated for comments he allegedly made against a Labour General Election candidate.
Hertsmere Labour candidate Holly Kal-Weiss has alleged Hertsmere borough councillor Anthony Spencer made derogatory and discriminatory remarks about her at a hustings event.
The hustings took place at United Radlett Synagogue on December 2.
Labour have claimed during the hustings, Cllr Spencer shouted at American-born Ms Kal-Weiss that 'she was not British' and allege that he referred to a photograph of Ms Kal-Weiss at a woman's march in Washington while stood next to a person with a Palestinian flag.
The chairman of the meeting, Jeffery Gruder QC, reportedly said to Cllr Spencer: "You are, with due respect, disgracing yourself. Sit down. You are a councillor."
The incident was reportedly caught on video.
2019 General Election candidate for Labour in Hertsmere Holly Kal-Weiss
Ms Kal-Weiss, who came a distant second to Conservative candidate Oliver Dowden, in the election, submitted a complaint against Cllr Spencer on December 31.
A council standards assessment panel have considered the complaint and have decided to refer the complaint to the council's monitoring officer.
The panel, made up of Councillor Anne Swerling, independent person Geoff Core, and the council's head of legal and democratic services Harvey Patterson, concluded Cllr Spencer was at the hustings in an "official capacity" - they decided he was there as a representative of the council, and that he must be abiding by the council's member code of conduct.
Cllr Anthony Spencer is a borough councillor in Shenley
The panel's findings should not be interpreted as a finding that the matters alleged by the complainant to have occurred, did or did not, occur - only the standards committee at the council is capable of reaching such a conclusion.
A council spokesperson said: "We received a complaint on 31 December 2019 in relation to a councillor and conduct at a meeting held at the United Radlett Synagogue. Our Standards Assessment Panel met on 7 May 2020 and has referred the complaint to the Council’s Monitoring Officer to undertake an investigation into the complaint."
Read the full decision notice here
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article