A GRANGE-OVER-SANDS councillor has been formally censured for bullying the town’s ex-deputy clerk and disrespecting its mayor.

Coun Frank McCall was found in breach of the council’s Code of Conduct by South Lakeland District Council’s standards hearing sub-committee.

It is the first time since February 2010 that SLDC has had to hold such a hearing.

It followed a complaint by town clerk Vivien Tunnadine over behaviour towards mayor Coun Tom Harvey, former clerk Robert Cass and former deputy clerk Alix Jagger, who resigned over the matter in December.

Local government consultant Mike Dudfield investigated allegations of incidents between June-December 2011 and found breaches of the code.

They included Coun McCall sending ‘harassing’ emails criticising the clerk’s authority, ‘shouting’ and ‘looming over’ Ms Jagger in a dispute about distributing meeting documents and ‘swearing’ and being ‘aggressive’ towards Coun Harvey during a discussion on freedom of information.

The committee, held in public at Coun McCall’s request, ruled he breached the ‘failing to treat others with respect’ and ‘bullying another person’ parts of the code.

Since the complaint was made in January, Coun McCall has been restricted to attending only full meetings of Grange Town Council but barred from committees he sits on.

He said he would have to resign if more restrictions limiting the ability to fulfil his ‘obligations as a councillor’, by means of a punishment, were imposed.

“My behaviour has, on occasions, been inappropriate and I’ve expressed my regret for this,” said Coun McCall, who has worked for the Foreign Office and the National Archive.

He asked the committee if he was wrong to, among other things, encourage greater openness of council business, offer colleagues free training on information laws or seek access to documents.

“Was it unreasonable for me to be offended when the expertise I’ve built up over a 30-year professional career was dismissed as unimportant?” he questioned.

The committee told Coun McCall it was not unreasonable for him to be offended, but asked if he felt the way he went about seeking answers was as important as accessing the information, to which he replied: ‘Yes’.

Mr Dudfield told the committee that aggression was a potential side effect of medication Coun McCall was taking for epilepsy, and this could ‘trigger’ certain conduct.

Committee chairman David Thomas told him his behaviour as a councillor had been ‘unacceptable’.

But he said there had been ‘breakdown issues on both sides’ and recommended Grange Town Council held training sessions for councillors and officers on personal relationships and working with others.

The committee decided not to restrict Coun McCall from future council business.

Mr Thomas added: “We don’t believe any further period of exclusion serves any purpose to the people of Grange.”

Speaking to the Gazette afterwards, Coun McCall said he was trying to improve his behaviour.

“On returning to full council activities, I will do my best to contribute in a positive way for the people of Grange,” he said. “I do have a short fuse. I’m trying to be more restrained.”