He said taxpayers would likely question why the money had been spent
Councillor Fraser McFarland(Image: Fraser McFarland)
A Reform councillor has blasted the council he sits on for spending more than £19,000 to investigate comments he made about its involvement with asylum seekers.
Councillor Fraser McFarland, leader of the opposition on Bassetlaw District Council for Nigel Farage’s party, was placed under investigation after speaking about asylum seekers who were being moved from the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge last year.
The then-Conservative councillor took part in an interview with GB News in which he claimed residents of the barge had been housed in Bassetlaw and had been prioritised over locals.
At the time, Bassetlaw District Council said it had no contact with any agencies about asylum seekers being housed in Worksop and that it was not involved in securing them temporary accommodation, as this process is managed by Serco on behalf of the Home Office.
An email from the council’s chief executive confirmed that the authority was involved in securing longer-term accommodation for those given leave to remain, as the local authority has a legal duty to do so.
Labour’s Councillor Jonathan Slater – who is now deputy leader of the authority – later made a formal complaint that Councillor McFarland’s statements to GB News included “several inaccurate, false and misleading claims”.
The council then commissioned an external legal firm to produce a lengthy report which found Councillor McFarland had breached the council’s code of conduct on two counts out of four.
However, a panel of councillors disagreed with that finding in October, sparing the now Reform group leader from sanctions such as being banned from council buildings and having his council laptop confiscated.
After he escaped punishment, the councillor used a Freedom of Information request to reveal the amount of money spent on investigating his conduct.
This request detailed that the council had spent £14,094 on the legal services of Bevan Brittan, which investigated the complaint on its behalf.
The council had also paid £792 to a legal advisor for considering papers and a meeting before the standards hearing, for which they would be paid another £4,200.
“At a time when every pound of public money matters, residents are entitled to question how such a significant sum was authorised and whether it represented good value for taxpayers,” Councillor McFarland said in response to the released payment data.
“This episode has been an unnecessary distraction from the real issues facing our communities, and it raises serious concerns about decision-making within the council.
“Those responsible for commissioning and overseeing this process should reflect carefully on their actions and consider their position.
“My focus now is on continuing to serve the people of Bassetlaw with integrity and transparency.”
The external law firm’s report found he had “brought his office and the Council into disrepute by making comments which he knew to be false” and used his position “improperly to the advantage or disadvantage of himself or anyone else by making statements which were patently false, promoting a political agenda and heightening the risk of community unrest”.
Bassetlaw District Council argued that given the seriousness of the complaint and findings of the external law firm, it was “duty-bound” to refer the matter to its standards sub-committee, which decided not to punish Councillor McFarland.
“Given the findings of this detailed independent investigation, the council was duty-bound and had a responsibility to refer this matter to the Standards Sub-Committee,” a council spokesperson said.
“This allowed for an open and transparent hearing of evidence, which included testimony from Cllr McFarland that he did not dispute he made the statements complained of, but stated that when he made them he honestly believed them to be true.
“On the basis of all the evidence heard by the committee, it concluded that on the balance of probability, it could not be satisfied that there had been a breach of the code of conduct. No further action has been taken.
“As part of the hearing, Councillor McFarland also offered an apology in response to the initial complaint and said: ‘If my comments were perceived as misleading, I apologise’.”