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Council to sue three of its own members in slur row Rutland councillors could face harassment injunction
(about 14 hours later)
A Conservative-controlled council is to sue three of its own members claiming they have damaged its reputation. A Conservative-controlled council is to seek an injunction against three of its councillors for alleged harassment.
Rutland County Council voted on Thursday to set aside £90,000 for legal action against Councillors Nick Wainwright, Richard Gale and David Richardson. Rutland County Council has voted to set aside £90,000 for legal action against independents Nick Wainwright, Richard Gale and David Richardson.
The three members of the Rutland Anti-Corruption group (RACP) are accused of using defamatory language in emails. The three members of the Rutland Anti-Corruption group (RACP) are accused of harassing senior officers in a series of requests for information.
Council leader Roger Begy said it was a "black night for the council". Mr Richardson denied the charges and said he did not fear legal action.
'Proper information' In October, law firm Bevan Brittan was brought in to advise the council over a series of email requests by the RACP for information about the authority's actions.
In October a firm of lawyers was brought in to advise the council over a series of email requests by the RACP for information about the authority's actions. It recommended that action could be taken on the grounds of harassment, and that the authority could sue for defamation under the Localism Act 2011 - because several of the requests were made in emails to every councillor.
Mr Begy told the BBC the requests were "costly and pointless". 'Lance this boil'
"We have a group of people making wild accusations and costing our authority a great deal of money, trying to find out something that they believe is there that isn't," he said. At Thursday night's meeting, the council deferred a decision on potential defamation action, but agreed to seek the injunction to prevent harassment of chief executive Helen Briggs and other officers.
The legal advice claimed the authority could sue for defamation under the Localism Act 2011 which grants local authorities the power to act like an individual rather than a corporate body. It agreed to allocate £90,000 for this purpose, and also to ensure that all communications from the group to the council be sent to a single email contact.
The allegedly defamatory statements were made in emails which every council member received. In addition, it said it would support the chief executive and other officers if they wanted to take personal legal action against RACP for harassment.
It is understood some senior council officers have also been advised that they have grounds for legal action. Speaking after the meeting, council leader Roger Begy said: "This is not an evening that this council wants. This is not an evening this council should be having."
The authority was told a number of the emails could be construed as harassment and could be reported to the police. He added: "We needed to lance this boil, that our officers had felt very threatened."
But speaking to the BBC earlier this month, RACP member Mr Richardson denied the group's members had done anything wrong. 'Statutory right'
He said the group had to ask questions in order to carry out their job. Mr Richardson denied "bombarding the council with requests" and said he was not worried about legal action.
"The fact is, we are elected by the people, we are elected by them to represent them and to do the best for them. He added: "You do not worry if you believe you stand on the side of truth. We are more than happy to share all the information with anyone, in any court.
"We can only do that if we have the proper information in front of us," said Mr Richardson. "The problem we have had is that the county council has not been prepared to share the information, that we think we have a statutory right to know, with us."
Correction 11 January 2013: This story has been amended to make clear that the action the council is taking is to seek a legal injunction for harassment.