The Standards Complaints Hearing Panel is scheduled to meet on Friday, 10 October 2025, to consider a complaint regarding the conduct of Councillor Johno Lee. The panel will review evidence and submissions to determine whether Councillor Lee breached the council's code of conduct, and if so, what sanctions should be imposed. The agenda includes a resolution to exclude the press and public from part of the meeting, citing the likely disclosure of exempt information.

Code of Conduct Hearing

The primary purpose of the meeting is to address a complaint under the council's code of conduct against Councillor Johno Lee. The report pack includes a redacted investigator's report, a transcript of a Balderton Parish Council meeting, representations made on behalf of Councillor Lee, relevant extracts from Local Government Association (LGA) guidance, and the procedure for the hearing.

The report to the panel explains that four complaints were initially raised regarding Councillor Lee's conduct, with East Midlands Councils commissioned to undertake an independent investigation in March 2025. The investigation was paused between mid-April and mid-May 2025 due to the County Council elections, in which Councillor Lee and two of the witnesses were candidates. The final report from East Midlands Councils was produced on 26 August 2025.

The panel will consider whether Councillor Lee breached the code of conduct in relation to the following complaints:

• Complaint Number 20241126: Made by Councillor Mike Pringle, this relates to Councillor Lee's alleged conduct at a meeting of the council's Policy and Performance Improvement Committee on 25 November 2024. The investigation concluded that Councillor Lee failed to treat two councillors with respect and did not lead by example in a way that secures public confidence in the role of a councillor, and that as a result Councillor Lee's conduct brought the council into disrepute.

• Complaint Number 20250205: Made by Councillor Forde and supported by the Chief Executive, this concerns a Facebook post published by Councillor Lee on 29 January 2025, which detailed the alleged poor performance of the council, and which was repeated at a meeting of Balderton Parish Council on the same day. The investigation concluded that the information posted was entirely fictitious and therefore calculated to unfairly damage the reputation of the council.

• Breach of Confidentiality: The investigators also concluded that Councillor Lee breached the code of conduct by sending an email to four parish councils on 29 July 2025, and making a Facebook post, referencing aspects of the draft investigation report, after being told that the report should remain strictly confidential.

The report pack includes Appendix 1 - Councils Procedure for dealing with Code of Conduct Complaints, which outlines the council's procedure for dealing with code of conduct complaints, including the code of conduct itself and available sanctions. The council's code of conduct is based on the Nolan Principles¹.

The investigators final report_redacted includes the findings of the investigation into the complaints against Councillor Lee. It details the allegations, background, methodology, findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The investigators concluded that Councillor Lee breached the code of conduct in relation to complaints 20241126 and 20250205, as well as by publicising aspects of the draft investigation report.

Appendix 3 - Transcript of Balderton Parish Council Meeting provides a transcript of the relevant extracts of an audio recording of the meeting of Balderton Parish Council on 29 January 2025, where Councillor Lee repeated the information posted on Facebook.

Appendix 4 - Representations made on behalf of Cllr Lee contains written submissions from Wilkin Chapman Rollits, Councillor Lee's legal advisor, who confirmed that Councillor Lee would not be attending the hearing and would not be represented at the hearing. The representations relate to the interpretation and application of the provisions of the district council's code of conduct by the investigating officers, and address the failure of the investigating officers to apply correctly the right to freedom of expression afforded to Councillor Lee by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights[^3] (ECHR).

The report pack also includes extracts from Local Government Association Guidance on the Model Councillor Code of Conduct.

The panel is asked to consider the information and determine whether Councillor Lee breached the code of conduct, and if so, what sanction should be imposed. The options available to the panel are to determine whether there has or has not been a breach of the code of conduct.

Councillor Lee's legal advisor confirmed that Councillor Lee would not be attending the hearing and would not be represented at the hearing. Instead, written submissions were submitted on 29 September 2025, and these are attached at Appendix 4.