Councillor out in the cold after blue badge row

A BOROUGH councillor has been thrown off all committees and asked to apologise a second time after failing to make sufficient amends to a disabled motorist he challenged over parking.

Fellow councillors decided Ratby, Bagworth and Thornton representative Chris Boothby had breached codes of conduct.

An investigation was launched after the woman driver complained that on June 6 Cllr Boothby had questioned both her right to a blue badge permit and to her parking on double yellow lines.

The woman said she’d been unable to get a disabled spot on the car park of a Ratby pub and so left her car, legally, on the road.

In January members of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s ethical governance and personnel committee imposed sanctions on Cllr Boothby, requiring him to issue an apology, undergo training and accept removal from both local and external civic bodies.

The hearing was held in the absence of the Tory who had referred to the situation as “laughable” and not wishing to “give the matter further credence”.

An independent investigator said Cllr Boothby felt as the then executive member for housing and community safety he was able to query the parking, whereas he had no more responsibility to do so than anyone else.

He also explained the issue for discussion was not whether the woman had parked in an inconvenient or obstructive manner but about how Cllr Boothby had treated her and challenged her entitlement to a blue badge.

The committee decided Cllr Boothby had failed to “strive to create respectful and courteous relationships” and by not attending the hearing had “shown a lack of respect for the committee and the standards process”, so banning him from council bodies and requiring him to issue an apology.

These sanctions were upheld at an appeal hearing, attended by Cllr Boothby who put forward his case, part of which claimed his human rights had been breached.

His argument held no sway with the panel who were satisfied the sanctions imposed were proportionate and should stand.

The panel also concluded Cllr Boothby had “shown neither remorse nor acknowledgement that he had acted outside the remit of his role”.

They recognised the potential reputational damage to the authority and determined the letter of apology issued by Cllr Boothby “was inadequate in the circumstances and risked causing embarrassment”.

The sanctions will stay in force until May next year when there are local elections for all borough council seats.

Cllr Boothby told The Hinckley Times: “I accept the sanctions imposed and I will continue to work hard within the community to help local residents.”