Crowthorne clerk bullied by councillor 'upset' by outburst

A COUNCILLOR launched an angry outburst against a colleague at a meeting held specifically to condemn him bullying said colleague.

Melanie Saville, Crowthorne Parish Council (CPC) clerk, appeared to be wiping away tears near the close of the meeting after being accused of lying by councillor Richard Price, who was found to have bullied her on several occasions in 2020.

The clerk said she was “very, very upset” following the outburst and the councillor was slammed for his “totally inappropriate behaviour” by his colleagues.

Richard Price breached the council's code of conduct

Cllr Price’s attack came at a meeting of the parish council called specifically to censure him after a borough council panel agreed in January 2021 that the Conservativehad breached the council’s code of conduct on six occasions.

The panel handed him a number of sanctions as a result of his bullying and harassing behaviour, which included a ‘verbal attack’ at Crowthorne Market in which Cllr Price ‘shouted’ and ‘gestured angrily’ at Ms Saville, leaving her ‘shaken’ and ‘in tears'.

These punishments included stripping him of his title as finance champion at CPC, anti-bullying training and monitoring of his behaviour.

Speaking at the meeting on Tuesday, February 16, parish council chairman Bob Wade said: “We take any breaches of the code of conduct very seriously and specifically the impact any such breaches may have on the health and wellbeing of our staff.

Cllr Price confronted Mel Saville at a meeting of Crowthorne Parish Council

“This council does not tolerate inappropriate behaviour and particularly recognises the importance of treating everyone -- staff and councillors -- with due respect, even when disagreements occur.

READ MORE: Councillor Richard Price bullied Crowthorne clerk Melanie Saville, panel finds

“Hopefully passing these recommendations today, we can draw a link under this unfortunate episode and work towards reconciliation between all parties.”

Cllr Wade moved to impose the sanctions, which included monitoring Cllr Price’s behaviour over the next six months.

But Cllr Price, who has served on the parish council since 1988 did not stay quiet, choosing to speak out against the punishments.

Referring to allegations he left Ms Saville out of important council financial discussions, Cllr Price said: “I also believe that the clerk should also be monitored, because, at the code of conduct panel, there were absolute lies told, which were proved by the minutes of our meeting that she wasn’t excluded from any of the meetings with finance officers.”

Cllr Price confronted Mel Saville at a meeting of Crowthorne Parish Council

Before councillors voted on imposing the sanctions, Ms Saville, who was clerking the public meeting live, responded to Cllr Price’s outburst.

She said: “I would like to say that I don’t accept what has just been said by Cllr Price.

READ MORE: Bracknell Conservative boss responds to councillor bullying Crowthorne clerk

“The hearing has taken place, the findings are what the council is putting in place today via this censure, and to have allegations of lying voiced at a public meeting, that haven’t been spoken about or alleged at a public hearing of the panel… I’m very, very upset.

“This undermines the process I have been through so far to get to this point.”

Councillor Price’s comments sparked a backlash from his colleagues.

Councillor Cliff Thompson said Cllr Price’s remarks were “not relevant”, and Cllr Wade said he was “extremely disappointed” by his colleague’s “totally inappropriate behaviour”.

Bruce McKenzie-Boyle, who replaced Cllr Price as CPC’s finance champion, laid into his predecessor, too.

READ MORE: Documents reveal councillor bullied parish clerk

He said: “I am shocked and very disappointed by councillor Price’s behaviour. I think it needs to be investigated deeply after this meeting.”

Before a vote on imposing the sanctions took place, Cllr Tina McKenzie-Boyle urged chairman Bob Wade to draw the meeting to a close as “our clerk is very upset.”

Ms Saville appeared to be wiping away tears as she called councillors names for the vote.

Cllr Price confronted Mel Saville at a meeting of Crowthorne Parish Council

All councillors present at the meeting voted to impose the sanctions against Cllr Price, except for Cllr Price himself, who chose to abstain.