Fakenham councillor Jim Rockett to face sanctions after extraordinary outburst at David Hunter
It seems to have been the most humdrum of local government tasks.
Jim Rockett and David Hunter, two members of Fakenham Town Council, took a tour of one of the town’s parks to see what work might be needed there.
But what followed next triggered such an extraordinary explosion from Cllr Rockett that it led to a ten-month inquiry estimated to have cost thousands of pounds.
It has finally ended with him facing a series of sanctions, including a requirement to apologise to his colleague.
The incident that sparked the row came while the two men, along with the town clerk, were inspecting a boardwalk in a poor condition in Aldiss Park.
Cllr Hunter, who is also CEO of Fakenham Racecourse, suggested it needed replacement, particularly as there was a race day coming up.
It seemed an innocuous enough observation - but for Cllr Rocket, it pushed the button for blast-off.
He launched a foul-mouthed tirade at his colleague, shouting: “Who the f****** hell do you think you are? I have had enough, I am leaving.”
Cllr Hunter then suggested his colleague should leave, but Cllr Rockett then refused to do so, adding: “No I’m not f****** leaving, you can f****** leave.”
Following the outburst, Cllr Hunter lodged an official complaint.
But Cllr Rockett rejected an opportunity to apologise, instead adding fuel to the fire.
He said Cllr Hunter was acting like a “schoolboy” and should “grow up”.
This prompted the investigation that culminated in a standards committee hearing last week before North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).
It has resulted in the councillor facing a series of sanctions.
Mary-Lou Clark, NNDC’s investigating officer, described the incident to councillors during the hearing.
She said that on March 22, Cllr Rockett had met with Cllr Hunter in the park to discuss the boardwalk over an area of boggy ground.
She said Cllr Rockett’s reaction to the suggestion it needed swift repairs sparked the flare-up.
It led to a stand-off, with neither wishing to go, prompting Cllr Rockett to say: “Now I am not leaving, what are you going to do about it?”
Cllr Rockett then moved towards Cllr Hunter and took an “aggressive stance”.
The dispute only came to an end after a pair of groundsmen arrived and de-escalated the situation.
Following the incident, Cllr Rockett allegedly shared confidential information about the complaint with fellow town councillors twice - once in April and then again this month.
Ms Clark concluded that he acted “entirely inappropriately” while acting in his capacity as a town councillor and that he had broken codes of conduct.
‘SCHOOLBOY COMPLAINT’
Cllr Rockett declined to attend the standards committee hearing, which was held in his absence.
He has frequently downplayed the incident, according to officers, but did not dispute the investigating officer’s account of the events.
In one discussion, he said: “This is a schoolboy, ‘please sir, he has been nasty,’ kind of complaint. It is childish and he should grow up.”
During the hearing, Cllr Hunter had said he would drop the complaint if he received a written apology from Cllr Rockett, an offer the councillor has spurned.
Cllr Hunter added: “I would have accepted this but time has moved on and he has made it very clear he has no wish to make any apology.
“I feel very angry about it and equally angry he decided to share confidential information with members of the council.”
After hearing the evidence, the independent person, Charles Monteith – an individual outside of the council who offers their views on the case – said: “[Mr Rockett’s] actions were not respectful and it was intimidating behaviour.
“His actions borderline on threatening behaviour and is close to being a criminal offence.”
COUNCILLOR REPRIMANDED
A panel of councillors – chairwoman Jill Boyle, Pauline Porter, Lucy Shires and Andrew Brown - determined that Cllr Rockett had breached Fakenham Town Council’s code of conduct.
He has now been given a series of sanctions.
This includes making a public apology for his disrespectful behaviour to Mr Hunter at the next council meeting.
They have also said he should be removed from all of his committee positions, which includes the leisure and environment committees.
Meanwhile, he has been told to complete training in councillor code of conduct, data protection and GDPR within six months of the hearing.
‘REGRETTABLE INCIDENT’
Fakenham Town Council is yet to meet to discuss the findings of the hearing and decide its course of action.
Angela Glynn, town mayor, said: “Speaking personally, I deeply regret that a grown-up, intelligent man, which Jim undoubtedly is, acted as he did by completely losing his temper.
“It is also regrettable that so much time and taxpayers’ money has had to be spent on the investigation, particularly when public finances are under such pressure.”
She added the council gets on “quite well” in general and that it is working together to ensure plans to create a swimming pool and new 3G football pitch go ahead in the town.
