Lib Dem councillor denies abusing position

A Liberal Democrat councillor has denied abusing her position to try to jump the Medway housing list.

Cllr Cathy Sutton, together with former group leader Cllr Maureen Ruparel, are now under investigation by the Council’s deputy monitoring officer after they were cleared by the Lib Dem regional party’s own internal investigation.

The investigation was instigated by a complaint by their Gillingham North Ward colleague Cllr Andy Stamp, who quit the party last June after coming third in the general election in Gillingham and Rainham.

Although Cllr Sutton refused to comment to the News, Cllr Ruparel said “I never flout the rules. Cathy and I were put in front of a panel and were exonerated”.

Cllr Stamp alleges that the pair tried to put “excessive pressure” on the Assistant Director of Housing and Corporate Services, Deborah Upton, during an October 2009 meeting, in an attempt to speed Cllr Sutton into a council-approved property.

Alan Watkins, from the Medway Messenger, claims that Cllr Sutton was advised of a number of private landlords, after speaking to Mrs Upton in a meeting brought about by the breakdown of her relationship with a member of another party.

It is unclear why the allegations are only being publicised now, nor why Mrs Upton did not make the complaint to them herself.

However, Cllr Stamp, now sitting with the Independent Group, has confirmed that he will be standing as an independent in this year’s local elections, along with two other independents, former Lib Dem councillor Pat Cooper and former Lib Dem press officer Dan McDonald, in a battle that will likely see them campaigning against Cllr Sutton. Cllr Ruparel has already announced her intention to quit the council in May.

Cllr Stamp said that he is “in no doubt that the conduct of local members was just as important when making my decision to leave the Lib Dems”, although at the time he only cited the party’s decision to join a coalition government with the Conservatives.

It is unknown when the investigation will conclude, but it could take months before a decision is made.