Local Tory chiefs distance themselves from council leader found to have downloaded porn onto his work computer.
Senior Tories in Dorset have failed to offer their full support to the leader of Bournemouth Council after “top shelf” porn was found on his town hall laptop.
George Preston, chairman of the South Dorset Conservative Association, told Left Foot Forward:
“I have nothing to say on this matter. I’ve got no comment to make, none whatsoever.
“It’s between him and the Council.”
In sharp contrast to council staff who had been suspended for distributing joke emails about viagra, Stephen MacLoughlin, who represents Central ward, did not even receive a slap on the wrist for his offence.
Despite widespread criticism of the inconsistencies in the respective treatment of Cllr MacLoughlin and the employees, the council maintain they were powerless to discipline him, even if they wanted to.
A council spokeswoman told Left Foot Forward:
“It is the decision of the Group whether to exclude a member from the Group. There are specific rules regarding disqualification e.g. bankruptcy, failure to attend meetings for a length of time etc. The current circumstances do not give rise to disqualification.
“Each case is judged according to the circumstances. Councillor MacLoughlin is not a Council employee, and as such is not subject to the procedures relating to employees. The action taken is consistent with that which would be taken in such cases involving Members.”
Mr MacLoughlin was unavailable for comment.
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3 Responses to “Porn-row council chief faces neither discipline nor support”
Shamik Das
Porn-row Tory council chief faces neither discipline nor support: http://is.gd/4w6z2
Silent Hunter
The law should be the same across the board for ALL. Not something the Labour Party are familiar with eh?
Has anyone asked John Prescott about his thoughts on the matter?
I realise that he actually ‘had sex’ in his office rather than just look at it on his PC . . . clearly ‘having’ is a a lesser offence than ‘looking’. LOL
Rory
When I saw the headline to this story I was immediately pretty sure that it would be about a Tory. I think that reflects quite badly on a website that takes such pride in its non-partisan credentials.