Conservative Councillor Henry Smith

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 21st Oct 2004

At the request of several readers of this website below is the full text of the Press Release issued by Crawley Borough Council's Liberal Democrats leader Cllr. Gordon Seekings on 7 October. This concerned former Crawley Borough Council's Conservative member, Cllr. Henry Smith - who is at present West Sussex County Council's leader.

Commenting on the Standards Board for England's report on West Sussex County Council's Conservative leader, Cllr. Henry Smith, Crawley Lib Dems Council Group Leader Cllr. Gordon Seekings said:

"The report on Cllr. Henry Smith that was sent to me anonymously I forwarded on to the Standards Board for England within 24 hours of receiving it on 16 October 2003 as I was legally obliged to do. They confirmed to me on 30 October 2003 that they aimed to investigate and make a decision within 20 days.

"It was not until the beginning of 2004 when I was notified - by 'phone - that they were making investigations; and it was not until 21 May 2004 that a copy of the draft report was sent to me and Cllr. Smith for our comments, observations and factual corrections.

"The final report was produced and sent out on 9 June 2004 with a caveat that the contents could not be revealed until a summary was posted on the Standards Board for England website.

"Only in a letter from the Standards Board dated 1 October 2004 did it advise that the report would be put on the Standards Board website on 7 October 2004. That report was put there today.

"Irrespective of the minor breaches of the Councillors Code of Conduct that Cllr. Henry Smith has been found guilty of, 12 months is too long for anyone to have to wait for a resolution. Cases should be investigated quickly and if wrongdoing is found then speedy action should be taken. It is also incumbent on the Standards Board that, if after investigations no further action is needed, or the accused has been found innocent, then that should be made public just as quickly.

"Councillors, of whichever political party, are always in danger of being accused of wrongdoing when residents have had decisions made that are the opposite of the ones they had hoped for. It is imperative therefore that Councillors should not only be honest but be seen to be honest - and it is also of the utmost importance that the Standards Board for England (who oversee the ethical standards of Councillors) should act swiftly.

"In this case I feel that the Standards Board, although thoroughly investigating the case as much as they were able, have not acted as quickly as they should have done. They have fallen well short of the standards that they themselves have set.

"I am also saddened that the writer of the anonymous report chose to make the accusations that way. If he/she really had the best interests of the residents of Crawley at heart then it should not have been done anonymously. If the writer had made him/herself known then it would have allowed the Standards Board to investigate the matters more easily and thoroughly.

ENDS

Editors notes.

1. The Standards Board for England Website is at www.standardsboard.co.uk

2. The report referred to above is SBE5160.03

3. Report SBE5573.03, also on Cllr. Henry Smith and previously placed on the Standards Board website, is a separate report and has no connection with the report referred to in this Press Release.