Sunderland's Conservatives have submitted a motion calling for councillors to receive libel law training to next week's meeting of the full Council.
The motion, proposed by Cllr Antony Mullen, states that "it would be unacceptable for a councillor to make libellous comments (e.g. falsely accusing somebody of being a paedophile) towards a member of the public". It concludes that doing so "would be an egregious abuse of elected office" and resolves to instruct the Chief Executive to introduce the libel training from 2021.
Whilst the motion is not about any single councillor or event, it is made particularly timely by the recent reports that Labour Cllr Michael Essl falsely accused local resident of being a paedophile and storing child pornography on his computer. Essl was subject to legal action which resulted in him making a public apology and paying £20,000 (plus legal costs) to Mr Len Lowther.
Cllr Antony Mullen, the Conservative Leader, said: "The proposed training our motion will introduce is designed to inform councillors of what libel is. It is intended to prevent instances of councillors making libellous comments about members of the public, but also to enable them to understand when they may have been libelled and have grounds to take action themselves."
The full text of the motion is below.
Libel Law Training for Councillors
This Council recognises the importance of elected members upholding high standards of behaviour whilst in office, particularly in their engagements with members of the public.
It believes that it would be unacceptable for a councillor to make libellous comments (e.g. falsely accusing somebody of being a paedophile) towards a member of the public and that doing so would be an egregious abuse of elected office.
Council therefore resolves to:
- Note that it believes any councillor in breach of libel law when acting in their capacity as a councillor would not only undermine public trust in themselves, but in the Council as an institution.
- Request that the Chief Executive includes a session on libel law in the 2021 members training programme.
