Jacob Williams https://jacobwilliams.com

Back in 2012 on this website I ran a series of articles which became known as Partygate.

They laid bare the actions taken by those who were in the driving seat of the ruling group of Pembrokeshire County Council, the ‘Independent Political Group,’ and the lengths that were taken to skew the democratic process, all using taxpayer-funded resources.

The leaked files that I shared with the public showed damning evidence that party seniors Cllr. Rob Lewis (cabinet member and deputy leader) along with Cllr. David Wildman (cabinet member) had regularly and complacently used council computers to create a slew of election literature for umpteen of their independent group colleagues who were either successful or unsuccessful candidates going into the 2008 and 2012 council elections.

Such behaviour is in clear breach of the councillors’ mandatory code of conduct requirement that “resources of the authority should not be improperly used for political purposes.”

It also ended any speculation that the ‘Independent Political Group’ was ‘independent,’ and offered conclusive proof – if further was needed – that the ‘IPG’ was, and remains, a slick political party with no guiding morals or sense of direction other than to retain power at any cost.

As well as endless forms of election literature, the Partygate files also revealed political strategy documents had been created by Messrs. Lewis and Wildman to ensure the nefarious IPG kept its grubby mitts on the levers of power in County Hall.

Some months following the Partygate revelations, David Wildman unexpectedly stepped down from the council – and from public life – and moved away from the area. The Ombudsman’s investigation was in full flow at this point.

After Cllr. Wildman became an ex-councillor, the Ombudsman said there was evidence that “he may have breached the code of conduct,” as he “accepted at interview that he was recorded as being the author or the last person to have saved the files, and that he used Council computer systems to create the election material.”

The Ombudsman revealed that Wildman “was of the view that the rules concerning the use of Council computers should be changed.”

Earlier this year it became apparent that the Ombudsman had continued with the case, and that the branch of his investigation into Cllr. Lewis had come to a head. His report was presented – behind closed doors – to the county council’s Standards Committee at a meeting on 15th January. The committee considered the report and decided Cllr. Lewis has a case to answer, and resolved that a full hearing should be arranged to determine the matter, at which Cllr. Lewis could make representations.

The committee hearing – which is open to the public – is to take place at County Hall on Tuesday of next week, the 18th March, at 10am.

The agenda for the meeting has been published and includes a comprehensive set of supporting appendices, including copies of some of the Partygate files, statements, transcripts of an interview conducted with Cllr. Lewis, and the Ombudsman’s final report.

The Ombudsman’s conclusion is that there are twenty-one files within his evidence that Cllr. Lewis “…created or saved whilst using the Council’s computer systems,” and which “are political in nature.”

Cllr. Lewis accepts that he created or saved all of them, but accepts that only 16 of them were improper use of the authority’s resources for political purposes. All of the five files he disputes were not created or saved improperly are the strategy documents, and not election literature.

The Ombudsman’s report is accompanied by 35 files. They are all very interesting to read, and are freely published on the council’s website in PDF form at the following link:

http://mgenglish.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/mgAi.aspx?ID=20048#mgDocuments&LLL=0

The Ombudsman’s report is the fifth file down, titled ‘FINAL S69 Report.‘
In the interests of natural justice I will not be providing commentary on any of the 35 documents which form part of the Ombudsman’s case until the case has been determined and the Standards Committee has pronounced its sentence.