Council bosses could have acted sooner to deal with bullying concerns, reveals investigation

Newcastle City Council confirmed on Monday that its former leader, Nick Kemp, had been cleared of breaching its code of conduct in his treatment of Michelle Percy, who made a complaint about his behaviour in September 2024.

The local authority said that it would release no further detail of the probe into the allegations, despite the cost to the public of the investigation and calls from senior councillors for transparency on the findings given long-standing concerns about the culture of governance at the Civic Centre.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) can now reveal that law firm Bevan Brittan LLP, who were commissioned by the council last November to carry out the investigation into Ms Percy’s complaint, found that “more could have been done” to deal with her concerns at an earlier stage to “diffuse the situation” between two of the highest-ranking public figures in Newcastle.

A copy of the investigation, seen by the LDRS, concluded that Coun Kemp did not breach the council’s code of conduct, in the context of the “enhanced protection” under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to freedom of expression in a political context.

However, Bevan Brittan added that their judgement “is not to be taken as a finding that the Councillor’s behaviour was always acceptable” and that he “could certainly have conducted himself in a less confrontational and aggressive manner at times”.

Their report adds that there is “no doubt that the Complainant has felt distressed, upset, and undermined”.

The investigation took around nine months and has cost taxpayers more than £74,000.

It also states: “We would also comment that it would appear that more could have been done by the Council to address issues arising, and the Complainant’s concerns in relation to the Councillor’s conduct, at an early stage. If there had been earlier intervention, and efforts to mediate, these may have acted to diffuse the situation and avoid the matter reaching the point it did.”

Coun Kemp resigned as leader of Newcastle City Council in September 2024, days after the LDRS reported that he was the subject of a bullying complaint from Ms Percy.

The Byker councillor, who has since quit the Labour Party and now represents the East End and Associates Independents, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and today said that confirmation he had not breached the code of conduct was received “with no sense of jubilation or triumph”.

Ms Percy left her role as the council’s director of investment and growth this summer.

Bevan Brittan’s report, which is more than 200 pages long, details testimony from various top-ranking Newcastle Labour politicians and senior council directors, including chief executive Pam Smith and new council leader Karen Kilgour.

It assesses a series of allegations between June 2023 and August 2024, involving disagreements on matters like the Jesmond Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), the regeneration of the city centre, and council budget savings.

Ms Percy alleged that the incidents were “examples of persistent behaviour which creates a hostile, toxic and intimidating environment”.

Investigators said that Coun Kemp sometimes acted in a manner described as “unreasonable” and which “created a tense atmosphere”.

However, the inquiry found “no evidence to suggest that the Councillor engaged in personal attacks” and that he was “entitled to express his discontent” about how council services were being delivered.

Ms Percy claimed to have raised issues repeatedly with the council but said there was “rarely any feedback”. 

The council said it had spoken to Coun Kemp about his behaviour, but he stated that he was not aware that the complainant or other officers had considered his conduct inappropriate.

Bevan Brittan concluded that the issues “could have been dealt with in a more proactive way by the Council”. 

Last week, a cross-party group of councillors who sit on the authority’s audit and standards committee raised concerns that the detailed conclusions of the investigation could be withheld from them and the wider public.

They called for “full scrutiny” of the report’s findings in order to give confidence to elected politicians, council employees, and residents about how the city is governed.

There have been multiple questions raised about the behind the scenes culture at the Civic Centre over the past couple of years, with a wider-ranging inquiry into its leadership having been promised once this complaint was resolved.

Ms Smith refused to deny the presence of a “toxic” atmosphere at the council when she appeared in front of the authority’s audit committee in autumn 2023.

And that committee’s former chair and another independent member, Hamish Moore and Stuart Green, later wrote to Coun Kemp  to warn of their “grave concerns and serious reservations concerning a number of governance issues” – including claims that some top executives were “unwilling or reluctant to answer challenging questions openly” and that “rather than having a climate that should welcome and value challenge, we have the very opposite”.

The city council said on Monday that it was “not appropriate to provide a commentary” on Bevan Brittan’s report, but that would work now start to instigate a broader culture inquiry and “we look forward to understanding what, if any, improvements can be made to the formal processes laid out in the Newcastle Charter”.

Coun Kemp said that confirmation he had not breached the code of conduct was received “with no sense of jubilation or triumph”.

He added: “The independent investigation commissioned by Newcastle City Council has cost the council tax payers and residents of this great city a significant sum.  In this challenging environment, those funds could have been used for positive benefit.   It further compromises the once sterling reputation of the City Council.  

“The allegations made have cost my family, my friends and my business dearly.  They damaged me politically, professionally and personally.  Notwithstanding the above, I now have the opportunity to rebuild and refocus.  I have always remained committed to serving the residents of Byker to the best of my ability, most recently as an independent councillor.  I will, as always, champion this great city as positively and enthusiastically as before.”

Ms Percy has been contacted for a response.