Jackie Weaver did not “have the authority” to mute and eject councillors for a virtual council meeting, according to new reports.
Clips from a Handforth Parish Council meeting went viral after being uploaded to Twitter in February last year. Stand-in clerk Jackie Weaver became an internet sensation after the footage garnered six million views.
She removed former chairman Brain Tolver from the meeting after he challenged her “authority”. The video call then descended into chaos with arguments and shouting.
The phrase later became a meme online, further launching Handforth Parish Council into the spotlight. However, reports by Cheshire council said it understood why she acted as she did, the BBC reports.
READ MORE: The free kettle trick I use to cut £25 a month off my energy bills
Six reports have been published by Cheshire East Council investigating the behaviour of councillors at the parish council. The reports total 145 pages.
One stated Ms Weaver "was not acting in an official capacity at these meetings". The reports, which were produced by an external investigator, said: "Faced with what were unusual and difficult circumstances, and the deep-seated issues underpinning those circumstances, we can understand why Jackie Weaver acted as she did, despite her action being without any formal footing in terms of appropriate process and procedure."
The reports also said that three former councillors were "on the balance of probability" in some breaches of the Code of Conduct for members. Some of these breaches referred to the viral meetings and others were in relation to long-standing issues at the council, which all stemmed from a disagreement over whether a councillor had left their seat or not.
Another report said that three current councillors were not in breach of the code. But the investigators said although they did not breach the code, "their behaviour cannot be said to be exemplary".
A council spokesman told the BBC : "While the early stages of complaint investigation are confidential, once a final investigation report has been issued, there is a strong public interest in the disclosure of findings on conduct matters regarding holders of public office.
"This is especially so when the conduct alleged is serious in nature and occurred within the public domain. "
