Cllr Barry Aspinell cleared
Deputy Leader of Brentwood Liberal Democrats, Cllr Barry Aspinell, has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Standards Board for England. Following a year long process, Cllr Aspinell was accused and found guilty of bringing Brentwood Council into disrepute by the local standards board, but his appeal has been upheld and the decision of the Standards Committee has been rejected and he should not have been suspended.
The appeal committee's decision can be found below, but amongst other things, concluded that the Brentwood Council Standards Board:
- appears not to have considered whether or not he was acting in his capacity as a councillor
- gave inadequate reasons for finding that he had breached the Code of Conduct and deciding upon the sanction to be imposed
They also noted that there is a party political dimension to the issue where a new regime has been devised and implemented by the Conservative Party and been opposed by the Liberal Democrats and that a properly informed, objective observer would also be aware of this factor.
It was also noted that Cllr Aspinell's human rights were breached and he did NOT breach the code of conduct.
The Tribunal has rejected the findings of the Sub-Committee.