The Member Conduct Panel of Leicestershire County Council is scheduled to convene on Tuesday, 5 May 2026. The primary focus of the meeting will be an investigation into an alleged breach of the Members' Code of Conduct by Mr C. Whitford CC. The panel will also consider whether to exclude the press and public from parts of the meeting.

Investigation into Alleged Breach of Members' Code of Conduct

The meeting agenda indicates that the panel will consider an investigation into an alleged breach of the Members' Code of Conduct by Mr C. Whitford CC. The report pack details that four members of the public submitted complaints between 20 September and 4 October 2025 concerning Mr Whitford's conduct. These complaints primarily stemmed from email correspondence with local residents regarding the unauthorised hanging of St George's flags on lampposts in the village of Markfield. Residents had raised concerns about the legality, safety, and community impact of the flags, and objected to the tone and content of Mr Whitford's replies.

The report outlines that the alleged breaches include:

• Email responses to residents that were dismissive, personalised, or confrontational, failing to appropriately address concerns about legality, intimidation, or community cohesion.
• In at least one instance, Mr Whitford allegedly referred to the possibility of disclosing a complainant's identity, which was perceived as intimidating.
• A social media post was alleged to be discriminatory or offensive.
• An allegation that Mr Whitford failed to register a directorship in his register of interests.
• Further concerns were raised during the investigation about whether Mr Whitford used or was linked to other fake social media accounts commenting on the matter.

The investigation report, prepared by Alex Oram and Mark Hedges (ch&i associates), was received by the Monitoring Officer, Fiona McMillan, on 26 February 2026. The report recommends that the panel consider findings that Mr Whitford:

• Failed to treat members of the public with respect in his email communications.
• Bullied at least one complainant through communications that could be seen as intimidating.
• Brought his role and/or the Council into disrepute.
• Failed to promote equalities or risked undermining equality duties by including inflammatory assertions about religion or faith matters in an official response.

The investigators also found a technical breach relating to the registration of a directorship with Appchatz Ltd but recommended no further action on this aspect. Mr Whitford CC has confirmed he accepts the findings relating to the email correspondence. Pamela Roberts, the Independent Person, has reviewed the investigation report and considers it to be well-evidenced and reasoned. She agrees with the recommendation not to take further action regarding the failure to register the directorship, stating, No purpose seems to be served by pursuing a technical breach of the Code in this instance. Mrs Roberts will attend the hearing to advise the panel of her views.

The panel will also need to decide whether to exclude the press and public from parts of the hearing, as the full investigation report contains personal information and exempt information as defined in the Local Government Act 1972. A redacted public version of the report has been prepared, and the panel will consider a public interest test to determine its publication.

The meeting is scheduled to take place in the Framland Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield.

The documents related to this meeting include the Agenda frontsheet and the Public reports pack.