Devon councillor 'sexually harassed' female staff
- Published
The allegations against Councillor Brian Greenslade go back to the 2000s
A senior councillor who allegedly sexually harassed female members of council staff has been given the "strongest possible" punishment.
Liberal Democrat Brian Greenslade was found guilty of serious breaches of Devon County Council's code of conduct by its standards committee.
The authority said it had "formally censured" him, the strongest measure available against an elected member.
Mr Greenslade, who led the council from 1993 to 2009, is yet to comment.
An investigation was launched after claims were anonymously emailed to council chief executive Phil Norrey by a third party.
The standards committee's report claimed the harassment towards the employees started in the 2000s, and the latest allegations were "quite recent".
Mr Norrey said there were "four females involved" and that "all individuals had been caused stress and anxiety".
'Offence and distress'
Mr Greenslade will now have restricted access to council buildings and the leader of the Liberal Democrats will make a decision whether to remove him from all committees, sub-committees and outside bodies.
Chair of the standards committee Caroline Chugg said: "I am sad to say this investigation revealed a clear pattern of behaviour by councillor Greenslade that can only be described as highly inappropriate and likely to cause offence and distress."
Alan Connett, leader of the council's Lib Dem group, said Mr Greenslade had been on holiday at the time of the standards committee's meeting, and his request for it to be rescheduled was refused.
He called for "a full programme of training and awareness raising" for staff and councillors to tackle "inappropriate behaviour".