The councillor who felt leader George Finch had breached Warwickshire County Council's code of conduct has lamented his "complete absence of contrition" for behaviour towards chief executive Monica Fogarty.

Cllr Richard Dickson has confirmed that he was the sole member of a three-councillor standards panel to agree with the findings of a solicitor-led investigation into Cllr Finch's conduct towards Ms Fogarty in a public spat over the Progress Pride flag in June 2025.

Cllr Finch challenged investigator Claire Ward's ruling that he had failed in his constitutional duty to "value my colleagues and staff and engage with them in an appropriate manner" by dismissing Ms Fogarty's request for a face-to-face meeting to discuss whether the flag should be taken down before the end of Pride month, in line with Cllr Finch's request.

Their email exchange was published by The Telegraph and caused a national storm with Ms Fogarty vilified by senior Reform figures, including leader Nigel Farage who suggested it was "time she looked for a new job".

Ms Ward found Cllr Finch could not be held responsible for the backlash but that he had failed in his duty to engage further with Ms Fogarty after the email exchange and once the public furore kicked up a notch.

Two members of the panel – now confirmed to be chair Cllr Yousef Dahmash and Cllr John Waine – acknowledged that other councillors "may have adopted a different approach" but that there had been no guidance or rules to "compel" Cllr Finch to do so, therefore deciding his actions stopped short of a conduct breach.

Cllr Dickson posted a video to YouTube on Wednesday, noting how this was the second instance in less than a month of a "Conservative councillor siding with the Reform UK councillor" in ruling on Cllr Finch's behaviour.

"I was on that committee and based upon the findings of the independent legal advisor, who had produced a long report, agreed (with her) that there had been a breach," said Cllr Dickson.

"This was the second such committee meeting within the past few weeks and these are very serious matters about the standards of behaviour and leadership exhibited by the leader of the county council.

"It was good that it was in public session. Transparency is a great disinfectant.

"I was really struck at how there was a complete absence of contrition, that nothing had been done wrong, and still a view that the role of leadership is to dictate what should be done rather than asking the right questions and listening and hearing with a degree of humility about what is already being done to address the many complicated and complex challenges that the council faces."

The panel's verdicts – collectively and those of the individual councillors – have been viewed as politically-motivated by many.

Asked by the Local Democracy Reporting Service to explain his rationale, Cllr Dickson said his role was to decide on the balance of probability – whether a breach was more likely than not – as opposed to beyond reasonable doubt.

He said that his view had been influenced by the "years of experience" Ms Ward had in such matters, by how "clear on his views" independent advisor Ray Tomkinson had been in agreeing there had been a breach and "the lack of humility and regret" shown by Cllr Finch during the hearing.

"I got the distinct impression that he would do exactly the same thing again," he said.

"He was pushed several times by Ray Tomkinson to say what he had done to build a constructive partnership (with Ms Fogarty since) and he didn't say anything constructive.

"The role of leader is not to dictate as though only the leader knows best, it is about listening to people with years of experience and expertise to find the best way forward on something that, in this case, is of real cultural significance."

Cllr Dahmash previously declined to state which way he voted, explaining he did not wish to set a precedent for any future panels. Cllr Waine was unavailable for comment.