Bullying investigation into former North East council leader which cost £74,000 has concluded
A bullying investigation into a former North East council leader has concluded.
Newcastle City Council has received a final report from the law firm hired to assess a bullying complaint made against former leader Nick Kemp. The findings of the investigation are due to be reported to the local authority’s audit and standards committee, the next public meeting of which is due on September 30.
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Senior council director Michelle Percy, who left her post as director of investment and growth earlier this summer, made the complaint against Coun Kemp in September 2024. The Byker councillor, who subsequently resigned as leader and later quit the Labour Party, has denied any wrongdoing.
A council spokesperson said: “We can confirm the external investigator appointed to carry out the investigation into the complaints made has issued a final report to the Monitoring Officer. The outcome of the investigation will be reported to the council’s Audit and Standards Committee in accordance with the formal processes laid out in the Newcastle Charter.”
The council commissioned an outside law firm to carry out the investigation last November. Councillors were told in July that the inquiry had cost more than £74,000 at that time. City councillors and independent members of the standards committee have complained about the length of time it has taken to deal with the complaint.
Labour councillor Hazel Stephenson said earlier this year that the lack of a resolution was “totally unacceptable” for all concerned, while independent committee chair Les Watson added in July that the situation had “gone on far too long”.
Coun Kemp quit as council leader last September, days after the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that the bullying complaint had been lodged, and said that he “strenuously” refuted any allegations of bullying.
He and five other councillors later resigned from the Labour Party in November 2024, wiping out the party’s majority in the council chamber in the process, and now sit as members of the newly-formed East End and Associates Independents group.