A long-serving councillor is demanding changes to City Hall’s internal complaints system after his grievance against a top officer was put on ice because of a libel claim. Knowle Community Party Cllr Gary Hopkins was embroiled in a lengthy dispute dubbed “Goebbelsgate” following comments made at Bristol City Council human resources committee in February 2021.
Conservative Cllr Richard Eddy told the meeting that attempts by HR officers to justify transferring 200 cleaning and security staff to Bristol Waste were “worthy of Dr Goebbels and the Third Reich”, referring to Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Cllr Hopkins said he did “not believe a word of what has been presented to us by the management side” about the controversial proposal, which was strongly opposed by unions but later approved by cabinet.
Director of workforce and change John Walsh told the committee he felt he had been called a “liar”. In the aftermath, Mr Walsh and another officer who defended the staff transfer, head of facilities management David Martin, lodged a formal internal complaint against the two members.
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The authority’s monitoring officer determined there was a case to answer for potential breaches of the councillors’ code of conduct and referred it to outside independent investigators in May last year. But this inquiry was put on hold when solicitors for the pair of officers then issued a libel claim against the councillors, demanding a retraction, public apology and damages over the same comments.
It is understood that lawyers for both sides, paid for by Bristol City Council’s legal insurance, then entered protracted discussions that lasted until this summer when the parties finally agreed a private settlement without going to court. However, the investigation into the officers’ internal complaints against the two members was not the only one that had been postponed.
Cllr Hopkins had submitted a counter-complaint to the local authority’s ethics and conduct team against Mr Walsh, claiming the director had misrepresented him and that the threat of legal action undermined the council complaints system and was intended to prevent him holding officers to account. The defamation claim put this one on hold too.
'Ridiculous'
Now, Cllr Hopkins fears his counter-complaint will never be investigated because he says the officer is leaving the council. He said: “It was a ridiculous situation that the council could decide that this fake case trumped its internal investigation.
“Mr Walsh’s solicitors’ letter effectively ended up blocking it from happening, and it avoided having to engage properly with the council’s processes. He served this jointly even though Cllr Eddy and I said very different things, and the committee as a whole were very concerned about the staff welfare.
“The defamation claim caused enormous hassle with this case and meant it never got looked into. You have to be very careful with these libel cases because you can’t be 100 per cent certain what will happen in court and you could finish up with huge legal costs.
“I consulted a specialist lawyer who was happy to act and was extremely confident of full success. I was also contacted by several members and ex-members of council staff who were keen to give evidence if the matter came to court.
“After much toing and froing between solicitors the threat was withdrawn with no apology having been issued. Now that the case has been withdrawn I have asked for my complaint against Mr Walsh to be investigated but it is probably unlikely as he is leaving the council.
“The best outcome would be if the council gets its act together and stops this kind of nonsense happening again.”
A council spokesperson said the matters arising from the HR committee had been settled privately between the parties and that the authority was not aware that Cllr Hopkins had formally asked for the complaints process to be reviewed.
Asked if Mr Walsh was leaving or had left the authority, they said they considered that a private matter.
Read the background:
Councillors face inquiry and libel claim over "Goebbelsgate" alleged slurs
Two Bristol city councillors under investigation after comparing officers to "Nazis"
Tempers flare as councillors accuse bosses of lying and gagging staff over Bristol Waste jobs plans
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