WENDY HARBON

A complaint about the alleged actions of a Lib Dem city councillor has been made to the Standards Board for England. Tory group leader Philip Hickson is claiming Darley councillor Wendy Harbon allowed fiance David Hughes access to her council e-mail account. He says an e-mail was sent from her council e-mail address by Mr Hughes. In his complaint to the board, which investigates conduct of councillors, Mr Hickson said that was a breach of council protocols.

The members' code of conduct, based on the code set out in the Local Authority (Model Code of Conduct) (England) Order 2001, states councillors "must use any council IT facilities and equipment only in connection with their role as a member and for no other purpose" and they must "keep e-mail and internet passwords secure. Do not reveal or share them with anyone." Mr Hughes confirmed he had sent the e-mail but said he was not trying to mislead anyone.

He said, "The e-mail is from me, not Wendy, and if anyone's guilty of anything it's me, not her. If I did anything wrong, it was an honest mistake." Mr Hickson claimed Miss Harbon had been spoken to in the past by her party leader, Councillor Hilary Jones, regarding unauthorised access to the council's IT and e-mail system. Mrs Jones said she was aware of matters involving e-mails. "We are dealing with those issues," she said.

Councillor Wendy Harbon was later suspended by the city's Lib Dem branch. City Lib Dem leader Hilary Jones confirmed the action was taken over allegations that the Darley councillor was bringing the party into disrepute. Miss Harbon can continue as an independent councillor, even if her local membership is permanently withdrawn, but she said she was considering whether to continue as a councillor in the city.

The investigation will be overseen by David Batey, chairman of the city Lib Dems. He did not give details of the allegations but confirmed part of the decision followed a formal complaint to the Standards Board for England by Derby Tory group leader Philip Hickson, regarding the use of Miss Harbon's council e-mail account. He said this was a breach of council protocol on use of e-mail and council IT equipment which prohibits councillors sharing e-mail passwords. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/07)

Councillor Wendy Harbon has moved to Blackpool after being evicted from her Derby home for failing to pay her rent. However, she has refused to resign her seat on Derby City Council and is still claiming the £9,380 annual allowance she gets for representing Darley ward. Miss Harbon has not attended any council meetings since September. If she does not attend any before July, she will be automatically kicked off the council. Her landlord, Chris Rodgers, said he had no choice but to evict her from his property in Kedleston Road. He estimated she was 20 weeks in arrears and owed him about £1,300.

Miss Harbon insisted she could carry on representing the people of Darley for the next two years. Party leaders in the city are adamant that she should resign, saying she can no longer represent her constituents, but she is refusing to go. She said, "I will do my best to represent the people of Darley. The council have my new address so, if people write to the council, they can forward them to me." Miss Harbon's partner, David Hughes, said the reason she had not paid her rent was because the city council had failed to give her housing benefits he claimed she was owed because she was disabled.

He said, "Of course she should still get her allowance. She is entitled to that money as a councillor and any difficulties she has doing her job are the fault of the council. She was evicted because Derby City Council didn't pay her benefits. She is applying to Derby Homes for emergency housing but is living with me in Blackpool at the moment. As far as her constituents are concerned, her address is the Council House in Derby," he said. "She intends to stay as a councillor right to the end of her term." Michael Foote, the council's director of corporate services, said Miss Harbon had not supplied supporting information to her housing benefit claim, despite being requested to by the council. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Apr/08)

Councillor Wendy Harbon has missed her final chance to cling to her city council seat. She failed to attend a Darley Neighbourhood Forum meeting, meaning she has not attended a single council meeting this year. All councillors must attend at least one council-related meeting every six months to keep their seat. She is now set to lose her £9,380 yearly members' allowance and a by-election will have to be held once her seat is officially declared vacant.

She has failed to attend council meetings or respond to countless e-mails and calls, despite saying she could adequately represent the people of Darley from Blackpool. Once the council has double-checked her attendance at meetings, a notice of a vacancy will be posted and a by-election can then be called for by voters. It means an election could be held in Darley ward as soon as late July. (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/08)

Wendy Harbon has announced she intends to take Derby City Council to court after a by-election is held to replace her. Ms Harbon, who moved to Blackpool in April, lost her seat in Darley ward after failing to attend any council-related meetings in six months. However, Ms Harbon said she did not accept the council's decision to throw her out. The former councillor said she would sue the authority for wrongful dismissal and “disabled discrimination”.

She said, “My legal advise is, we cannot get a case to court before this election takes place, over disabled discrimination and wrongfully being sacked, but the case againt the council is clear, they have on many grounds broken the law over disabled discrimination etc. Also if or when we win, the council will have to allow me to take up my duties as a councillor, along with pay compensation and major compensation to me and other's who were involved in this election too.” (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph, Jun/08)