A local authority’s complaints procedure has come under fire. Middlesbrough Council’s standards committee heard from unhappy local politicians who didn’t believe the process is fit for purpose, highlighting instances where neither the person complaining, nor the individual on the receiving end of the complaint, are satisfied when investigations are concluded.

The attack related specifically to the system by which complaints against Middlesbrough councillors are handled. Liberal Democrat Councillor Morgan McClintock addressed the committee (of which he is not a member) on Monday October 20. He described the process as “mysterious” and “distressing”, while Nunthorpe Parish Councillor Adrian Walker believed the process was an “utter disgrace”.

Head of legal at the council, Ann-Marie Wil

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