A senior councillor found to have breached Warwick District Council's code of conduct is facing calls to quit the cabinet from an ex-colleague who resigned over the row.

Cllr Lowell Williams, the district's portfolio holder for decarbonisation, acknowledged an independent investigation had found he had shown a lack of respect towards an officer – council employee – during a private meeting of senior staff and cabinet members in November 2024.

The complaint was raised by then-councillor Helen Adkins, who was in charge of housing until she resigned earlier this month, citing a lack of respect from Cllr Williams and leader Cllr Ian Davison. 

Cllr Williams was cleared of any bullying, harassment or discrimination of either the staff member or Ms Adkins, or bringing the council into disrepute.

It was found that he had not disrespected Ms Adkins but did fail to meet his obligations in regard to respecting a senior officer in the housing department. 

He said he had apologised to the officer and had subsequently worked "very positively" with them but declined to comment when asked whether they are still working at the authority.

Staff treated 'very badly'

Following her resignation, Ms Adkins said: "There have been a number of situations where I have felt these two particular people at the top of the Green leadership – not the Labour leadership – have treated people very badly and without any respect.

"This includes other colleagues and officers, there are a number of people and I just couldn't tolerate it any longer."

She added that "it wasn't being called out or dealt with effectively" by any politicians and felt the formal complaint was "kicked down the road" by council officials.

"At every point it was dragged out," she said.

"It has taken eight or nine months to go through that process and it is still not adequate." 

Ms Adkins went on to cite "unacceptable behaviour by the leader" across "a number of instances".

"I can no longer be in an administration with people who behave like that," she said.

Cllr Helen Adkins has resigned from Warwick District Council (image via Warwick and Leamington Constituency Labour Party Official Website)

She declined to comment on exactly what had been said but confirmed it had been solely verbal, in a private meeting and that no one had been abusive.

"It is really unfortunate," she said.

"The work that I was doing with the housing team was very important to me. We were making strides on the regulatory judgement we had and it is really upsetting that we got to this position. 

"The other problem was that I felt no one was calling it out, people that I had asked to call it out wouldn't.

"It had been going on for a number of months and the behaviour was also towards senior officers.

"The rest of the cabinet is filled with really good councillors. Some of the Greens are great councillors, it is just these two particular individuals."

The apology

In a statement, Cllr Williams said he had "issued a written apology on December 6, 2024, for my approach and any discomfort caused, which was not my intention".

It added: "While I would have preferred for this matter to have been made public at an earlier stage in the interest of transparency, I was advised that doing so would have constituted a breach of the code, as at that time the matter was progressing.

"I respect the outcome of the investigation and have reflected carefully on its findings.

"While I maintain that my intentions were constructive, I recognise the importance of ensuring that this is always matched by respectful and collaborative communication, especially in challenging or complex situations. 

"I remain committed to working positively with colleagues and officers, and to supporting the effective delivery of council projects in the best interests of our community."

Ms Adkins argues that is not enough. 

"Once I knew he had broken the code of conduct, I felt it was unacceptable for him to carry on in cabinet," she said.

"The Labour leadership should have spoken out more and pushed for him to resign." 

Leader asked to 'reflect' on his approach 

Cllr Davison said he was not aware of any complaints against him but confirmed that there had been occasions where senior council staff had asked him to "reflect" on his approach in meetings.

He said he had done so but maintained his belief that he had not crossed the line. 

"I do my best to conduct myself as well as I can but we do have robust discussions and I am not going to shy away from that," he said.

"I don't think I have gone beyond any red lines but within cabinet, and with senior officers, we certainly discuss how I and others behave. I am comfortable with that."

Cllr Davison said he was not aware of any complaints against him

Asked whether he would refute Ms Adkins's claims, Cllr Davison replied: "If we have any discussions where people – particularly senior officers – feel I have been disrespectful, I can assure you it will be discussed afterwards and resolved.

"The senior officers are not wilting flowers, they will tell me if they think I have not behaved as I should. I am comfortable with where we are with that.

"If someone has an issue we talk it out, whether that is one-to-one, which is often best to begin with, as a larger group or with the monitoring officer.

"If none of that works with me – and no one has said that it has got to this point – then the obvious thing would be mediation."

Cllr Davison would not confirm or deny whether Ms Adkins raised the issues with him, nor would he comment directly on what had occurred other than to confirm it related to decisions on the "incredibly challenging" area of housing. 

"I am certainly disappointed that she resigned and I would urge anyone with concerns to find a way to raise them and talk them through," he said.

"I would hope everyone behaves that way to get them resolved."

Cllr Davison said he was "happy to accept" that he had, on occasion, been asked to reflect on things he had said.

Pressed on whether he felt he had overstepped the mark, he replied: "Whether some of the things I have said have been firm, or overly firm, is a matter of judgement.

"There have been times when cabinet members or senior officers have suggested I reflect on that. That is right, I have reflected and given what has gone on, as a cabinet we feel that reflecting more collectively is something that would be a good idea."

Asked what the result of his own reflection was, Cllr Davison replied: "You then try to refine how you approach things."

He declined to comment on whether he had apologised to Ms Adkins or any council officers, stating his belief that it would be "unfair" on Ms Adkins to go into that level of detail.

He added: "I am impressed with her ideology, what she was trying to do and her passion for helping our council tenants.

"I am sorry she chose to leave but that's fine. I am certainly not going to say anything against her."

What now? 

Warwick District Council's monitoring officer Graham Leach – the authority's most senior legal professional – confirmed the result of the independent investigation related to Cllr Williams and said work was now underway on what to do with the outcome.

He is due to meet with the chair of the council's audit and standards committee and an appointed independent party imminently to work towards the appropriate course of action.

He acknowledged the investigation had taken "longer than would have been ideal" with officers currently reviewing the process "to bring cases forward in a more timely manner" as well as refreshing guidance on expectations around investigations. 

Guidance on the confidentiality around complaints is due to be brought to the council's audit and standards committee in September. 

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has requested a copy of the independent investigator's report from the council. A total cost for the investigation has also been requested.