Market Drayton Town Council upholds decision to remove member from committee

Market Drayton town councillor and former mayor Stephen Glover was removed from his position on the personnel committee due to allegedly discussing sensitive matters.

A statement issued on behalf of the town council said: "Market Drayton Town Council has determined that Councillor Stephen Glover has failed to comply with its code of conduct.

"The town council had initially referred a complaint to the monitoring officer alleging that Councillor Glover had discussed sensitive matters concerning members of staff with a member of the press, asking that a story was published.

"Councillor Glover agreed that the alleged discussions had taken place and the investigating officer concluded that the actions of Councillor Glover amounted to a failure to comply with the code of conduct.

"The monitoring officer had made attempts to resolve the matter informally, without the need for an expensive and lengthy investigation but Councillor Glover had declined to voluntarily offer an apology to the members of staff involved.

"The actions of Councillor Glover had the potential to leave the town council vulnerable to claims from members of staff who, without the support of other town councillors, might have taken action against the town council."

The statement added: "The town council decided to censure Councillor Glover."

It comes weeks after Market Drayton Town Council apologised after admitting making a mistake on how it dealt with a complaint made against another councillor.

Market Drayton town councillor Mark Whittle was suspended from town council meetings for three months after allegedly failing to adhere to the code of conduct.

But investigations have now cleared Councillor Whittle of any wrongdoing and the town council has admitted it was wrong to suspend him.