DETAILS ON THE RESIGNATION OF REV PAUL FLOWERS FROM BRADFORD COUNCIL IN 2011

 Introduction

 Following the Police investigation of the activities of Rev. Paul Flowers, there has been a lot of interest and speculation as to the reasons for the Rev Flowers’ resignation from Bradford Council where he served as an elected member and the way that it was dealt with by the Council at the time.

As the current Leader of Bradford Council I have asked that a report be produced by Council officers showing the timeline of the events that led to the resignation of Rev. Flowers which includes details of the rules relating to the conduct of councillors and the internal Council ICT policy.  This document is attached and I have then gone on to piece together the information relating to the actions taken by the leadership of the Labour Group at the time and to identify why these decisions were taken. 

I believe it is important to emphasise at the outset that at no time was there any inference that Rev. Flowers had broken any law but there was compelling evidence to suggest that both the code of conduct for councillors and the internal ICT policy had been breached, neither of which are criminal offences.

 

 

Cllr David Green

 

Chronology of Events Leading to the Resignation of

former Councillor Paul Flowers on 15 September 2011

 

Please note, the events set out below occurred in 2011.  Officers of the Council hold very few records of the events to which this note refers.  The details below have been compiled as a result of the collective and individual recollections of officers involved, together with the limited documentation available.  The chronology set out below is produced to the best of the knowledge and beliefs of Council officers.

 

On or before 26 August 2011	Paul Flowers PC was brought into ICT for repair as a result of difficulties in operating the PC and connecting to the Council’s network.
1 September 2011	The Strategic Information Manager, advised Sandra Lomax, Assistant Director IT & Customer Service, in the morning that ICT staff, whilst repairing a fault on Paul Flowers PC, noted that inappropriate material had been found to have been downloaded onto his PC.  The Assistant Director IT & Customer Service immediately went to Desktop Support and viewed some of the material.  She asked the Strategic Information Manager to remain with the PC whilst she went to speak to the City Solicitor, Suzan Hemingway.  The City Solicitor was advised by the Assistant Director IT & Customer Service that inappropriate material had been found on Paul Flowers computer.  The City Solicitor, advised the Assistant Director IT & Customer Service that they would need to meet with Barra Mac Ruairi, Strategic Director for Regeneration (deputising for the Chief Executive who was on annual leave until 5 September 2011) to ascertain the nature of the material and whether it was illegal.  The City Solicitor, the Strategic Director for Regeneration, the Assistant Director IT & Customer Service and  the Strategic Information Manager met at 12.30 pm in the City Solicitor’s office.  The hard drive from Paul Flowers’ PC was attached to the PC in the City Solicitor’s Office where she, the Assistant Director IT & Customer Service and the Strategic Director for Regeneration viewed the images and determined that whilst they were inappropriate, adult in content and sexually explicit, they were not illegal.   On the basis that the images were highly inappropriate but not illegal, the City Solicitor advised the Assistant Director IT & Customer Service and the Strategic Director for Regeneration that this was a potential breach of the Council’s internal ICT policy and, if that breach were by Paul Flowers, would also potentially constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct for Elected Members.  The City Solicitor noted that the images had been downloaded and stored in a personal file in and amongst other personal photographs which were not pornographic.  There was no evidence that these images had been shared with any third parties and appeared to be for Paul Flowers’ personal use.   Having regard to the provisions in the Localism Act 2011 and the precedents established by the statutory Standards regime through the Standards Board for England, the City Solicitor concluded that if the images had been downloaded by Paul Flowers and if he were therefore found to be in breach of the Council’s internal ICT policy and the Code of Conduct for Elected Members, it was unlikely that the breach would result in a suspension or disqualification.  In addition the enactment of the provisions in the Localism Act 2011 which was to follow shortly, would remove the statutory sanctions of suspension or disqualification and leave the sanctions of censure, removal from Council committees and a requirement to apologise to the public and the Council  The Strategic Director for Regeneration and the City Solicitor arranged to meet with the  Leader of Council (the Group Leader for Paul Flowers), Councillor Ian Greenwood, to advise him of the discovery and the actions that would need to be taken as a result of that discovery.  The Leader was advised that this was a potential breach of the Council’s internal ICT policy and a possible breach of the Code of Conduct for Elected Members.  In addition, he was advised that in the circumstances the matter would be considered by the Standards Committee and would likely be referred for a Full Investigation.  The Leader confirmed he would speak to Paul Flowers and inform him of these issues.  The Strategic Director for Regeneration telephoned the Chief Executive to brief him about these issues and the actions taken.  The Chief Executive confirmed his agreement to the course of action taken.
2 September 2011	The City Solicitor was informed by the Leader that he had spoken to Paul Flowers and that he was ‘minded to resign’ but had asked for the weekend to consider his position and confirm his decision.  The City Solicitor asked the Leader to confirm the position as soon as possible after the weekend.
5 September 2011	The Chief Executive, returns from annual leave.
6 September 2011	The Strategic Director for Regeneration, the Chief Executive and the City Solicitor met with the Leader of Council and were advised that Paul Flowers was to resign.  The City Solicitor advised the Leader that she required formal confirmation of his resignation in writing as soon as possible.   The Leader undertook to advise Paul Flowers of this requirement.  The City Solicitor decided, in consultation with the Chief Executive, that having regard to Paul Flowers’ resignation, there was no need for further investigation into the inappropriate material on his Council computer.  It must be noted, however, that in the absence of a formal investigation, there was no finding of culpability on the part of Paul Flowers.  How the inappropriate material ended up on Paul Flowers’ computer was not determined.
Either 9 or 12 September 2011	The City Solicitor advised the Leader that she had not yet received a formal written resignation from Paul Flowers.  The Leader undertook to remind Paul Flowers to attend to this formality as a matter of urgency.
15 September 2011	A formal letter of resignation (copy attached) was received by the City Solicitor.  The City Solicitor notified all Group Leaders and Independent Members of the resignation.
Suzan Hemingway City Solicitor

The Actions of the Political Leadership 

1. As has been shown by the timeline of events produced by officers, the potential breaches of internal policy and the Councillors’ Code of Conduct were reported to the Leader and Chief Whip of the Labour Group by officers in line with national and local policies. 

 

2.I understand that the Leader and Chief Whip of the Labour Group then informed Rev. Flowers of the potential breaches reported by Officers and that Rev. Flowers did not deny the presence of the material in question on his computer.

 

3. There followed one to one interviews between Rev. Flowers and the Leader of Labour Group, both on the phone and face to face, where the options for dealing with the potential breach were discussed.  During  these discussions Rev. Flowers indicated that he was minded to resign as a Councillor and, as will be seen from the timeline document, the Leader of the Labour Group informed officers of this and of the fact that Rev. Flowers had also indicated that he needed some time to consider his position.  Again as indicated in the timeline of events, the Rev. Flowers did submit his resignation and therefore under the Council and national policies there was no further formal action for the Council to take. When Rev Flowers submitted his initial resignation letter he had addressed this to the Leader of the Labour Group rather than the City Solicitor which led to some delay while the letter was re-written and re-submitted.

 

4. There has been some concern expressed both by individuals and in the media that the reasons given for Rev. Flowers resignation were not fully explained to the public and were somehow “covered up”.  What is clear from the statements made by the Leader of the Labour Group at the time in the media, and the information I have gathered since the recent revelations about Rev. Flowers is that, given that no law had been broken, and there had been no formal inquiry to establish the circumstances, the decision to cite work and family pressures as the  reasons for the resignation was based on human grounds intended to spare Rev. Flowers any personal embarrassment.

 

5. It is important to note that there had been no formal or independent investigation.   There was however no suggestion that any laws had been broken and there was no “cover up” of any illegality.

   There was significant evidence that the Council’s protocols and Standards rules had been breached and there was a decision to be taken as to the balance between any public interest in disclosing the reasons and the potential embarrassment to an individual for what was regarded as a lapse in his judgement. Additionally, as Rev Flowers resigned, there were no further steps that the Council could take in investigating the issue and therefore there were grounds for concern about what could be revealed in public under the Data Protection Act about what was contained on his council computer

6. The issue of Rev Flowers’ role as a school governor has been raised and whether he should have been appointed given the reasons for his resignation from Council. There were no legal reasons to prevent him being appointed as a Governor and he was CRB checked as are all governors and no issues were raised.

   Questions have also been raised about whether the Council, or the local Labour Party, had a duty to inform the school of the reason for Rev. Flowers resignation so that they could make a judgement on his suitability.  Again it must be stressed that there was nothing illegal on Rev. Flowers computer that would have been deemed to have disqualified him from serving as a school governor. I reiterate that, as with all Governor appointments, Rev Flowers was CRB checked.

 

7. If there had been any suspicion or evidence that Rev Flowers or any other elected member had broken the law or represented any kind of risk to anyone, both the Council and the Labour Group would have reported this to the appropriate authorities for investigation.

 

8. The only rules that were broken by Rev Flowers were internal council ones and those relating to the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. People will make their own judgements on his choice of viewing but his actions were not illegal and the decision not to reveal the real reasons was made with a degree of compassion for the individual in mind and with a view to the fact that no further Council investigation could be undertaken given Rev. Flowers resignation.

   There is no indication that the incident in Bradford two years ago has any relevance to the more recent claims and revelations regarding Rev Flowers conduct.

 

9. Rev Flowers had resigned from the Council for viewing legal pornography on a Council computer and there was no indication whatsoever of his recently reported behaviour.  Hindsight is being used to make linkages that could not have been identified at the time. The decision not to make public the fact that  pornography had been discovered on Rev Flower’s Council computer was simply intended to recognise the potential for, and help to avoid, acute personal embarrassment to the individual concerned.  

 

 

Cllr David Green