Councillors' emails unacceptable, says CEO

A council boss has lambasted councillors over "unacceptable" emails sent in the past week which could pose a "significant legal risk" to the local authority.

Durham County Council chief executive John Hewitt said in an email to all its councillors he had never seen such behaviour in the more than 35 years he had worked in local government.

Hewitt did not detail what exactly was said in the emails but said they involved presenting "personal views, allegations and assumptions" about council staff and other councillors as though they were fact.

A subset of the emails seen by the BBC involve those from multiple political affiliations arguing with each other.

Hewitt said the emails had been sent via a councillor-wide distribution list and included comments about him and his staff.

He said: "Having worked in local government for over 35 years, for many different administrations, I have never witnessed officers being singled out in this manner in an email circulated to the entire membership of a council, with allegations being presented as fact without any evidential basis.

"This is not acceptable and cannot be tolerated."

He said the emails had also posed "potentially significant legal risks" for the Reform-led council.

He said spreading "serious and unsubstantiated allegations" about employees through council communication systems without "proper process or evidence" could expose the authority to complaints, grievances and employment tribunal claims.

Hewitt said all councillors had a responsibility to maintain "high standards of behaviour" and "to treat others with respect".

"The current situation is unacceptable and should not continue," he said.

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