Inquiry into 'Nazi comment' councillor

A councillor is being investigated by a national standards body after allegedly comparing a Black Country authority's public relations department to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

Peter Smith, who represents Democratic Labour in Walsall, made what he today described as a "flippant" comment during a public meeting held to discuss the Peter Francis case.

Mr Francis received £650,000 in compensation from the authority after an employment tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed for raising concerns about how public money was being spent.

If found guilty of breaching the local authority code of conduct, Councillor Smith could face being banned from serving as a councillor anywhere in the country for up to five years.

A letter sent to Councillor Smith by the authority's monitoring officer Bhupinder Gill states: "Following the meeting I received a complaint from officers of the council that you allegedly made comments referring and comparing the communications team to Dr Goebbels.

"I have been requested by the officers that the complaint be forwarded to the Standards Board for England."

Councillor Smith, who represents the Blakenall ward, today admitted making a "flippant" comment at September's meeting about how the council's press office could "teach Goebbels a trick or two" in light of the positive spin he claims it tried to put on the Peter Francis case which cost Walsall taxpayers almost £1 million.

He said: "It was a flippant remark which wasn't aimed at any individual. It was just a reference to how they kept putting their own positive spin on a case which reflected poorly on the council. In this instance one could reasonably argue that the council used its communications unit to assist in limiting the damage done to the reputation of Walsall Council and its handling of the whole affair." The Standards Board looks into possible breaches of the local authority code of conduct and has the power to send cases of misconduct to the Adjudication Panel of England, an independent disciplinary body for councillors.

At a meeting of the regeneration services scrutiny and performance panel last week, it was revealed a three-year police investigation into the council's financial handling of £42 million of Government funding following concerns raised by Peter Francis had come to an end – and not uncovered any criminal action. Chief Supt Bruce Gilbert said the investigation into how Neighbourhood Renewal Fund money was allocated by the authority found no criminal wrongdoing.