A councillor who made a number of false allegations, including that a member of the public was an ex-offender who had been imprisoned for violent crime and that another councillor behaved criminally by sharing a pornographic video has been reprimanded.
Paul Dowson, who is no longer on Pembrokeshire County Council previously represented Ukip and stood in the 2021 Senedd elections. He had previously been found to have breached the authority's code of conduct by putting comments about Black Lives Matter online.
He deleted his account shortly after the comments were published on June 8, 2020 and denied being racist or sharing the post. A council committee found he knew it was "likely to be considered racist".
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The Adjudication Panel for Wales (APW) disqualified him from holding office as a councillor for three years, something he can choose to appeal.
The panel found he had brought his office as a councillor and Pembrokeshire County Council into disrepute by:
- Falsely stating publicly on two occasions that another councillor behaved criminally by sharing a pornographic video. The APW also found that this conduct amounted to bullying behaviour
- Falsely stating on social media that a member of the public was an ex-offender who had been imprisoned for violent crime, something the panel said amounted to harassment of the member of the public
- Posting misleading information about the Welsh Government’s Relationships and Sexuality Education curriculum on social media
- Suggesting on social media that a member of the public was ‘on the register’, implying the sex offender’s register
- Deliberately attempting to mislead the ombudsman by providing a fabricated social media post during the investigation
Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales, said: “We welcome the outcome of the hearing. These were all extremely serious complaints. The false allegations and statements made by former Councillor Dowson were potentially harmful and reputationally damaging to the individuals concerned and to the council.
The decision to disqualify the member from holding office for three years reflects the seriousness of his conduct. Our investigation and the APW’s decision demonstrate that the ethical standards regime in local government in Wales is effective in ensuring that those who breach the standards expected of them are held to account in order to maintain trust and confidence in local democracy.
"This is the second outcome of a hearing into the conduct of former Councillor Dowson in as many months, as in June the Pembrokeshire County Council decided to censure that member for his comments on social media about the Black Lives Matter movement. We believe that it is important to draw public attention to the outcomes of these hearings, so that lessons are learnt and the local constituents are fully aware that their elected representatives will be held to account if they breach the code of conduct."
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