Express & Star obtains secret report on 'stolen valour' councillor whose future will be considered tomorrow
The future of 'Walter Mitty' Councillor Greg Brackenridge will be considered at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday, July 17) following the completion of an independent investigation.
Members of Wolverhampton Council's governance and ethics committee will be told that Councillor Brackenridge did breach the council's code of conduct when he falsely claimed to be an ex-Royal Marine.
A secret report, seen by the Express & Star, reveals that an independent investigation commissioned by the council found Councillor Brackenridge guilty of three separate breaches of the council's code of conduct.
Investigator Melvyn Kenyon also said that Councillor Brackenridge failed to co-operate with his inquiries.
The three areas of the code that Councillor Brackenridge was found to have breached were: treating other councillors and members of the public with respect, not attempting to use one's position improperly, and not bringing one's role or local authority into disrepute.
The complaint, made by an unidentified member of the public, relates to Councillor Brackenridge's term as mayor of Wolverhampton in 2021, and his subsequent spell as chairman of the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority.
It was ruled that the complaints relating to Councillor Brackenridge's time as chairman of the fire authority - he resigned in October last year after a public fall-out with interim chief executive Colonel Oliver Lee - fell outside the scope of the council's disciplinary code. But the allegations of 'stolen valour' - relating to Councillor Brackenridge's claims to have served with the Royal Marines - were deemed worthy of further investigation.
