Portsmouth councillor accused of "continuous bullying" agrees to issue an apology

Portsmouth City Council said there was evidence that councillor Daniel Wemyss had “potentially breached” its code of conduct through comments made about his fellow Hilsea councillor Emily Strudwick.

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The Portsmouth Independents’ Party member said Cllr Wemyss had put her under “constantly unprovoked attack,” since she was elected as a councillor for the first time in May, including criticising her absence from a meeting while she was attending a medical appointment.

Her complaint was lodged last month and subsequently referred by the city solicitor, Peter Baulf, to an independent panel for consideration.

Writing on social media at the time, she said it had proven politics was “a nasty place,” and explained the comparative lack of women on the city council.

“Since I decided to stand for Hilsea…I’ve been the victim of continuous bullying from Conservative councillor Dan Wemyss,” she added.

“Since becoming a councillor I haven’t on one single occasion publicly posted anything negative about Dan. I have always been nice to him face-to-face and I really wanted to work with the Tories but I am constantly under unprovoked attack from him.”

Cllr Strudwick said her complaint had now been unanimously upheld on all three counts: bullying, not treating a councillor with respect, and bringing the council into disrepute.

“The council have acted swiftly and appropriately with my complaint in relation to being bullied by Cllr Wemyss,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service. “From the moment it was reported they ensured I was supported and directed me to people to speak to.

“That being said, the governance and punishments around members’ complaints is poor and likely needs national reform. The fact that a bullying complaint can be upheld unanimously by an Independent panel but then no real action against a member can be taken is a flaw in the national policy framework.

“From a local council perspective, Portsmouth City Council have acted brilliantly with their response and I’m glad that hopefully this is the end of an unpleasant experience.”

She also thanked councillors Kirsty Mellor (independent) and Leonie Oliver (Lib Dem) for their support.

A spokesman for the city council said: “We can confirm there was evidence to support a potential breach of the councillor code of conduct and that an apology is to be made.”

Cllr Wemyss said he had agreed to issue an apology following a discussion with Mr Baulf.

“I haven’t been ordered to do anything by the independent panel but, after a positive discussion with the city solicitor and to clear the air and move on, I have agreed to apologise in person to Cllr Strudwick,” he said. “I hope to have a more positive relationship with the Portsmouth Independents’ Party moving forward.”

Councillor George Madgwick, the leader of the Portsmouth Independents’ Party, welcomed the outcome.

“I’m glad the panel have upheld the complaint against Cllr Weymss bullying a fellow female councillor,” he said. “This sends a strong message to all councillors that bullying is not tolerated within this institution.”