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'Rude' councillor hangs up his hat

PC generation takes another scalp

The 70-year-old councillor who got barred from Chichester District Council for being rude to IT staff has given up his chance to appeal.

Councillor Taff Davies, a former Navy captain and software entrepreneur, has conceded his office to a new generation of politically correct tenderfoots.

Old salt Davies had 28 days notice to appeal but let it slip by, even though it may have brought his political career to an end - and all over some rude emails he sent to the IT department.

He had told the IT department the council's email system was "crap", and was subsequently pulled up under the council charter governing "honesty and integrity".

Yet the Adjudication panel, egged on by Jennifer Rogers, Ethical Standards Officer of the Standards Board for England, found that as Cllr Davies persistently threw his weight around, his behaviour "warranted the most severe sanction".

Now we at the Reg have a lot of empathy for the timid sort of people who might have taken offence to the thorny old-timer's abrasive approach.

Cllr Davies was not the right sort of person to work at CDC, the panel said. He was "unacceptably intemperate". He made "undesirable and unnecessary comments" about civil servants. He was "sarcastic, hostile and impatient", and "aggressive and insensitive".

There was no sign that he was vindictive or sanctimonious. He did, however, say on dropping his appeal, that he had decided enough public money had already been "appallingly" wasted on the tribunal brought against him for being rude.

Thank heavens for that. We have no doubt a horde of homeopathic consultants, life coaches, and psychic counsellors are even now preparing their visions for Chichester council's e-government strategy.®

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