Hughenden councillor who ‘bullied’ staff to be decided on

Councillor Linda Derrick was found to have breached the members’ code of conduct by Buckinghamshire Council’s standards committee in March.

Tonight, at an extraordinary general meeting, Cllr Derrick’s fellow Hughenden councillors will consider whether the Council will make a formal complaint.

Members will also decide whether to impose operational restrictions on Cllr Derrick, who represents Widmer End Ward.

The final item on the agenda is to “consider options and resolve further actions” following the recent resignation of the Clerk.

READ MORE: Hughenden councillor 'censured' and told to apologise over 'bullying'

The outgoing Clerk, who quit the Council after less than five months, is the second Clerk to leave in the last 18 months.

There are also six current vacancies for councillors on the Council, which currently only has nine councillors out of a possible 15.

In March, Bucks Council’s standards committee found that Cllr Derrick had “made unreasonable demands of an officer to see documentation”.

It also found that she had “posted online blog comments in criticism of the same employee”.

It added: “In a third case, Cllr Derrick made unreasonable requirements that a witness be present for her meetings with another employee, and that meetings between them be recorded.”

READ MORE: Hughenden Parish councillor Linda Derrick speaks out over 'bullying'

Cllr Derrick’s actions in the first and third complaints were found to be “bullying in nature, given the distress caused”.

Cllr Derrick uploaded a post to her blog last week about tonight’s meeting, featuring an image of a burning witch.

In the post, the beleaguered councillor included Cllr Debra Main’s proposals to further sanction her, which included distancing herself from the council office, the Clerk and officers.

Cllr Derrick said: “These proposals ask Council to impose further sanctions on me which would disenfranchise my constituents.”

In a statement, Cllr Derrick also said: "I have consistently denied that I breached the Code of Conduct.  Eventually, I decided in December 2022 not to respond to, or read, any further correspondence on the complaints in order to protect my mental health.  

"The only action I am required to do under the sanctions is to undertake some training.   I have not been able to undertake this training because the training offered to me in May was not the training agreed and authorised by Council.  I then asked the Clerk in June, for advice on how to undertake the training but have not received any advice.  

"I set this out in a long and detailed e-mail to Cllr Jones, the Chair of HPC, a few weeks ago, copied to all parish councillors, the Clerk, the deputy Monitoring Officer, members of BC’s Standards Committee and residents.   

"Until I undertake this training, I am not allowed to enter the Parish Offices apart for formal meetings.  I have complied meticulously with this restriction and have worked round it in order to represent my constituents."

Cllr Main wrote: “Earlier this year the council made the difficult decision to sanction one of its councillors and require her to carry out some remediation activities.

“Sadly, Cllr Derrick has failed to demonstrate any willingness to understand the impact of her behaviour, and much less, to apologise and correct her actions.”

In a Council document related to tonight’s meeting, Cllr Derrick said the first complaint against her related to a “10-minute unwitnessed meeting” between her and the then-Clerk in the Council office carpark in 2021.

Tonight’s meeting will take place at 7:30pm at the Council Office, The Common, Great Kingshill, High Wycombe, HP15 6EN.