A CITY councillor suspended by the Standards Board for revealing details of an unlawful deal allowing British Energy to defer payment of business rates due on an nuclear power station was acting in the public interest, the European Parliament heard last night.
Gina Dowding, who was suspended for three months for disclosing details of Lancaster City Council's financial dealings with British Energy, has received the backing of MEPs after Green Euro-MP Jean Lambert drew parliament's attention to her case.
"Cllr Dowding has been suspended for breaching commercial confidentiality rules designed to prevent financial wrong-doing by public officials," Mrs Lambert told fellow MEPs.
"This is patently a misuse of these rules. Cllr Dowding acted to blow the whistle on a suspicious financial arrangement that she believed to be unlawful and against both the wishes and interests of her constituents.
"She has nothing to gain personally and no-one has called her integrity into question.
"Both Gina and those she represents are being punished for acting in the interests of the public to the detriment of a deeply unpopular, dangerous and redundant industry which has become unable to stand up on its own two feet."
Cllr Dowding passed on details of British Energy's request to defer business rate payments of #1.77m - which would have cost Lancaster taxpayers nearly £20,000 in lost interest alone - to Caroline Lucas MEP, who cited the deferral in an official complaint against unlawful state aid being granted to British Energy in defiance of EU competition law.
Her decision has been vindicated by the European Commission, which indicated it did view the tax deferral a form of 'unlawful state aid', constituents who have rallied her support, and councillors from across UK political spectrum.
Euro-MPs from across Europe and spanning the political divide told Mrs Lambert how shocked they were at Cllr Dowding's treatment and the lack of transparency in the UK's local democratic institutions.
"I think many of our EU partners have been frankly shocked by this case. Cllr Dowding has been punished using perverse 'standards' regulations that not only fail to require elected councillors to act in the public interest - but in some circumstances actually prohibits it.
"The law must be changed urgently to place the public interest at the heart of every elected official's duties."
She added: "At a time when the European Parliament is paying particular regard to transparency and accountability in prospective members, developing trading partners and even the European Commission, it is embarrassing to have to admit to the UK's poor record on local accountability."
ENDS
Note to Editors
A briefing on Cllr Dowding's case is available from Ben Duncan on
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For more information please contact Ben Duncan on 020 7407 6280, 07973 823358 or at press@greenmeps.org.uk