(2009) Liberal Democrat Cllr Julian Brazil

SOUTH Hams councillor Julian Brazil has been found guilty of bullying a council officer and breaching the national code of conduct.

Members of a standards board met at Follaton House to debate accusations that Coun Brazil was aggressive and threatening last June towards benefits fraud investigators attending Frogmore Bakery in Kingsbridge.

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Information received (thanks J.L.):

THE man hoping to be the next Liberal Democrat MP for Totnes has been suspended from working as a South Hams councillor for the next three months for bullying a council officer.

Julian Brazil has also been ordered to write a 'grovelling' letter of apology to the woman social security investigator he bullied and to undergo a course of training in the local government code of conduct which he breached.

Read on

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Apparently, the following text was posted on and subsequently removed from the newspaper disclosing the crime:

"Fraud and bullying is okay then?

In response to Cllr Brazils comments I find it very difficult to see how he is helping his local community by supporting someone who is allegedly stealing from the public purse, because that is what benefit fraud is. That money is the community's money, the very community that this man is supposed to support. Was he using his position to lean on local council investigators to try and stop them doing their duty? Why would he do that? I suppose it's possible in such a small community that he might have known the accused.

Either way the council staff were just doing their job, use of bullying behaviour is unacceptable. We will not accept it in the play ground, we will not accept it in the workplace, and we certainly should not expect it from our politicians.

The fact is he has been found guilty by an independent board; a positive step by him would be to accept this and do something about it, rather than try and blame everyone else. Its seems our politicians are quite good at blaming everyone else for their inappropriate actions at the moment.

Cllr Brazils desperate cries of 'not fair' are characteristic traits of a bully. Bullies never learn to accept responsibility for their behaviour, or to recognise the effect of their behaviour on others. Perhaps the standards board should send him on a bullying behaviour familiarisation course as a positive first step."

Paul Young, Kingsbridge