A Kenilworth councillor was the only member of a panel not to vote to have leader George Finch's code of conduct breach quashed.

Cllr Richard Dickson twice lost in votes at last week's panel - first to have the meeting held in public, and then to uphold the ruling against the Reform UK leader - the Liberal Democrats have confirmed in a statement.

Private solicitor Claire Ward of Birmingham-based law firm Anthony Collins, found through an investigation that Cllr Finch had broken Warwickshire County Council's code of conduct by publicising comments that "could have jeopardised" a child rape case.

Eight complaints were made over the leader's letter to the Home Office, Warwickshire Police and county council chief executive Monica Fogarty that he published across social media platforms on August 3, 2025.

Cllr Finch challenged the verdict and that led to a panel of councillors making a ruling at Shire Hall on Wednesday (June 24).

This was made up of Cllr John Waine (Reform UK, Bulkington & Whitestone), Cllr Yousef Dahmash (Con, Hillmorton) and Cllr Dickson (Lib Dem, Kenilworth St John's).

Cllr Finch was cleared of any wrongdoing, but Kenilworth's Cllr Dickson was the only member of the panel to vote against the Reform UK leader.

Before any of the evidence was heard, the panel used its first vote to make the hearing private, on a majority of two to one, keeping residents, council staff and the press out for the full four hours that followed.

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Across those hours, the hearing panel heard first from the independent investigator and then from Cllr Finch himself.

The panel then voted again on a 2:1 majority basis, this time clearing Cllr Finch of misconduct.

For both votes Cllr Dickson was outvoted by the Reform and Conservative councillors on the hearing panel.

Cllr Sarah Boad, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said in a statement: "This is the first time in over 10 years that a Warwickshire County Councillor has been brought before a panel over complaints this serious, and the way it was handled tells residents everything they need to know.

"The Conservative and Reform UK members voted exactly the same way, just as they do week after week in the council chamber.

"This week, they did it behind closed doors, where no resident, no member of staff and no reporter could watch.

"That is not how a council earns trust, and it makes a mockery of any claim by Reform or the Conservatives that the people of Warwickshire can rely on".