A town's deputy mayor has been has been accused of "woeful behaviour" after directing a tirade of insults and abuse at fellow councillors and members of the public.

Douglas Lawson has had three complaints against him upheld by a standards committee, which recommended he be removed from his post.

The committee heard how he considered himself "at war" with fellow councillors.

It also heard how his response to being offered equality training was "hugely offensive" and how he had described the LGBT community as an "optional lifestyle grouping" like "necrophiliacs" and "bestialists".

The investigation is the latest twist in an ongoing saga at Downham Market Town Council, which has endured a period of turmoil in recent years, with several resignations of councillors and staff.

The upheaval dates back to the end of the first Covid lockdown, in 2020, when the authority introduced controversial plans for social distancing and other changes at the market which gives the town its name.

Mr Lawson said he was contesting the findings of the committee, claiming its judgement contained "legal failures" and that he would be sending the paperwork to the Local Government Ombudsman.

The investigation into Mr Lawson was carried out by West Norfolk Council, which oversees standards issues on smaller authorities in its area.

It launched its inquiry after three former councillors complained about comments Mr Lawson had made on social media and in emails, in 2020.

They included asking a woman who accused him of insulting her intelligence on social media: "Do you have any intelligence to insult?"

Responding to a young man on Facebook, Mr Lawson posted:  "I realise that biologically you are a young male member of some community somewhere but not from Downham Market and with no specific links to Downham Market apart from some feeble-minded relative. Have you ever had a job? Are you old enough to be on Facebook?"

And in an e-mail to fellow councillors, he described the LGBT community as an "optional lifestyle grouping" like "morris dancers, wee frees, goths, necrophiliacs, bestialists, Ipswich Town supporters, WI jam makers, ramblers etc".

The standards committee, which met on November 3 to discuss the report, also heard Mr Lawson referred to fellow councillors as "Dipstick", "the beige nodding dog", "Tweedle Doo Doo" and "Tweedle Dumber".

The report said: "[Mr] Lawson believed he was at war and that his intended ends justified all means to achieve success in his war and campaign against the former clerk and those councillors he saw as being against him and/or his views."

It added while Mr Lawson held "genuine concerns" he "failed to follow any due process to properly advance these concerns such as making a grievance complaint against the former clerk, opting instead to reach his own conclusions and publicly convey these in e-mails and social media posts".

The report said the investigator considered Mr Lawson had "repeatedly strayed away from what they would consider acceptable" within the "rough and tumble of local politics".

The investigator was "alarmed" at Mr Lawson's response to being offered equality training and said his language was "hugely offensive" and demonstrated why there was a need for him to have attended the training.

The report concluded there were "multiple examples" of him making offensive comments to other councillors and members of the public.

Mr Lawson did not attend the hearing. He provided an annotated copy of the investigator's report with his comments.

He denied making personal remarks about the clerk and said he had confined his comments to her professional competence.

He said he did not require equalities training because he had received "an ample quantity".

Mr Lawson said he had not breached the council's code of conduct, adding: "The investigator had failed to comply with his brief, previous case history in relation to social media and my rights of freedom of speech and freedom of expression." 

The hearing panel described Mr Lawson's conduct as "the type of behaviour that will discourage others from standing for public office", adding it "undermines local democracy as a whole".

It went on: "The type of woeful behaviour evidenced in these complaints has no place in local government."    

The panel recommended Downham Market Town Council should censure Mr Lawson and remove him from the position of deputy mayor and from all committees to which he has been appointed.

They also recommend Mr Lawson undergo ethics and standards training.

When asked to comment on the panel's findings, Mr Lawson said: "As the judgement and recommendations appear to contain several legal failures, unlawful options and procedural flaws the paperwork will be sent to the Local Government Ombudsman for review and assessment.

"Therefore, it is inappropriate to make any further remarks at this juncture to avoid prejudicing the outcome."

An extraordinary meeting of the town council has been called to discuss the recommendations on Tuesday, November 29.

 

 

COUNCIL AT WAR

In February of this year, six councillors quit Downham Market Town Council in protest at the "bullying" they said they had encountered at the authority. The town clerk Elaine Oliver also resigned.

That same month, the serving mayor, Jenny Groom, and her deputy, Jackie Westrop, also resigned and walked out of a dramatic council meeting.

It came after a long-running wrangle over how the council ran the market.

Charlie Pyatt was elected mayor in May of this year. Mr Lawson, who had first joined the council in 2015, became his deputy.