00:00The investigation launched in November 2024 followed a formal complaint from former council director Michelle Percy.
00:07While the specific details of the complaint have not been made public, it prompted councillor Kemps to resign as council leader and they acquit the Labour Party entirely.
00:17Now the long-awaited conclusions of the independent inquiry carried out by external legal investigators at a cost of more than £74,000 have been handed to the local authority.
00:27But with the report due to be presented to the council's Order and Standards Committee later in the month, councillors across party lines are raising alarm over suggestions that the full fangings could be withheld.
00:40Members of the committee, including both Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors, have warned that a lack of transparency would only deepen public mistrust.
00:49Labour's Hazel Stevenson, a veteran councillor for Benwell in Scotswood, said,
00:52We have waited such a long time for the conclusion of this investigation and we have been told that it has been done properly and that is why it has taken so long and cost so much.
01:03While she acknowledged some legal restrictions may apply, councillor Stevenson insisted that the scale and sensitivity of the matter made it unprecedented and that full disclosure, at least to the committee, was critical to restoring trust among councillors, officers and the public.
01:19According to council procedure, if councillor Kemp is found to have breached the council's Code of Conduct, the matter would move forward to a further hearing to determine any potential sanctions.
01:32If no breach is found, the committee would typically receive a basic report stating that outcome without the full details of the complaint or investigation process.
01:41We'll see you next time.
Comments