A Liberal Democrat councillor who was accused of breaking social distancing rules says she is the victim of a “malicious attack” that is “politically motivated”.
Wokingham Borough Council’s Standards Committee launched an investigation in June after a formal complaint was lodged against councillor Imogen Shepherd-DuBey and a Labour councillor.
She told the Standards Committee it was a “malicious attack” from someone who is “out to get at both the Lib Dems and Labour in Wokingham.”
It was made by a member of the public, who remains anonymous, after the councillor was interviewed by BBC South in June about a campaign to save BBQ King Kebab Van.
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A group of people were gathered outside the popular kebab van in Wokingham, but Cllr Shepherd-DuBey says the BBC’s footage shows that she kept a safe distance from everyone who was there.
In an email, the councillor was told the council’s Standards Committee has “agreed unanimously to take no further action” because “there was no evidence” to support the allegation.
However, in October the Standards Committee was told that the investigation into the complaint is “ongoing”.
Cllr Shepherd-DuBey said: “Only one person complained – about me and a Labour councillor who were in the video – but not anyone else.
“I sent a copy of the video to Andrew Moulton, our monitoring officer. It clearly shows that there is no such problem and I thought nothing more of it.
“In the Standards Committee meeting, I had thought that this complaint had been dealt with months ago and I was surprised that it was still on the list.”
She added: “In all honesty, as an opposition councillor, we routinely get politically motivated complaints, like this, lodged against us.
“So far, none of the complaints against me have stuck and I am very aware that councillors are held to a higher standard than most people.
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“I am also all for supporting the outcomes of these complaints, being made public and letting the public know what actually goes on.
“The real problem is why is it taking so long to process these complaints? Even simple ones, such as this.”
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