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Barnet Council could take action against Conservative Councillor Brian Coleman for ignoring tribunal order over rude emails

4:23pm Tuesday 25th September 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Chris Hewett

Councillor Coleman arriving for his standards committee hearing in March Councillor Coleman arriving for his standards committee hearing in March

Disgraced senior Tory Brian Coleman has ignored tribunal orders telling him to apologise for sending rude emails to members of the public.

Barnet Council is looking into the matter and has asked the tribunals service for advice on possible sanctions for the Totteridge representative.

Former GLA member Councillor Coleman was given 28 days from August 8 to retract remarks made to father-of-three Ron Cohen and Doctor Charlotte Jago.

The Totteridge representative called Jewish Mr Cohen a “disloyal Israeli” and told Dr Jago “70 years ago you would have been a (Nazi) blackshirt”.

In March, an independent standards panel found the former Barnet Mayor had breached the members’ code of conduct by sending the emails.

He was ordered to apologise but instead the then-chairman of the London Fire Authority opted to appeal the decision.

A first-tier tribunal on August 8 subsequently upheld the original decision and ordered that the controversial figure either apologise or appeal again within 28 days.

The tribunals service has since confirmed no appeal has been lodged and both Mr Cohen and Dr Jago say they have received no apology.

Father-of-three Mr Cohen, of Twins Avenue, Finchley, said: “It is outrageous. Not only has he been insulting but he’s ignoring the rules that he is supposed to uphold.

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“It is not the apology I’m worried about – it is about how this elected representative is behaving. It shows what the council is really made of.”

Appeals administrator at the tribunals service Pete Martin explained the department has little enforcement power over individuals who ignore such orders.

He said: “There is no real sanction the tribunal can put in place – we can’t force him to make an apology. It would be down to the local authority.

“In other tribunals there are routes to make someone comply but, because there is no single regulator, it is not possible in this case.

“I’m not sure if a councillor has ignored these orders before.”

The Times Series understands Barnet Council is looking to sanction Councillor Coleman for failing to apologise but the authority is yet to make a statement on the matter.

IT Engineer Mr Cohen, 57, said: “I would like to see him removed from his post and suspended from council meetings. He’s obviously not up to the task of representing residents.”

Comments(17)

Don't Call Me Dave says...
4:55pm Tue 25 Sep 12

Brian Coleman received an indemnity, paid for by Barnet taxpayers, to cover his legal costs in fighting this case. The rules on indemnities state that the council must be reimbursed in the event of a conviction. Has Mr Coleman paid the money back?

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Mike NW7 says...
5:16pm Tue 25 Sep 12

At what point do Barnet Council call stop on this man?

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BarnetTrader says...
6:09pm Tue 25 Sep 12

They wont! The asset strippers will be hard at work until May 2014 when we vote them out.

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educated says...
9:46am Wed 26 Sep 12

If he has an outstanding bill (the indemnities) then surely legal action can be taken to recover the money.

If I owed Barnet Council for a parking fine and decided I wasn't going to pay it - do you think they would ignore it?

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
11:03am Wed 26 Sep 12

Simply appalling: why is so much indulgence shown to this man by the so called 'leader' of the council Richard Cornelius? Would any council employee who behaved in this way be extended such tolerance? Elected members of the council who show such gross disrespect for the people they are supposed to represent should be thrown out of office, and their allowances immediately terminated.

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chris stevens says...
2:33pm Wed 26 Sep 12

Brian's a fool, as well as a bully. If the party or the Council don't sack him, they've sunk to his base level. Action please, everyone involved look like fools at the moment. Inaction betrays weakness. Of course, he does know where a few skeletons are buried. Courage mes amis!

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ambrosine says...
9:40pm Wed 26 Sep 12

There has been an outward and virulent campaign against Mr Brian Coleman not for his activities within the tory led council of Barnet, but due to his pro-Israel stance. Attacks against him have been coming in from not only the local press and media, but from those outwardly
anti-semitic, including a physical attack against him from those who oppose his support of Israel.
I would be very suprised if this comment is even published .
The vile accusations that are spewed against Brian Coleman are laughable, and highly dangerous.
However there are people around that have very good memories like myself, and can see where injustice has taken place, not only with these latest accusations but other times where his name has been dragged through the mud.
He may be an Israel supporting Tory, but the political left and anti-zionist campaign of hatred against him, is now venemous.

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chris stevens says...
10:31pm Wed 26 Sep 12

@ambrosine
Paranoid delusions don't help your point of view.
I'd no idea if he was Jewish or Arab or Buddhist till you piped up. Assumed he was just another WASP. If he is Jewish he's a pretty poor advert for Judaism.
But whatever his politics or ethnicity or religion, he's just a dreadful apology for a human being. The man should be sacked by someone with balls. Now you've made a big issue of his background it does make more sense why 'politically correct' folk won't bite the bullet and get rid of him, they're afraid of people like you crying 'foul' and raising frankly irrelevant canards to defend the indefensible.
Would you support him so strongly if he was a pro-Ahmedinajad Iranian councilor?
What does Israel have to do with Barnet politics anyway? Absolutely nothing.
The 'venemous' opposition to Brian is of his own making, I have been to public meetings where he exhibited disgraceful behaviour, he should go NOW, and forever.

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Barnet Parker says...
7:32am Thu 27 Sep 12

My admittedy rudimentary knowledge of Judiaism tells me that the religion is very respectful of women. E.g. Honour your father AND your mother, Miriam is considred as much a liberator of the people of Israel as her brother Moses and Aaron, 7 of the biblical prophets were women etc.

I can't therefore see how criticising someone for referring to women as 'hags' is anti-semetic.Perhaps amrosine could enlighten me further.

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GRG says...
8:54am Thu 27 Sep 12

I believe Mr. Coleman is a Christian ( He lives in a Methodist Church subsidised flat ) - Anyhow, I fail to see what religion has to do with this: it is about his failure to apologise to two people when instructed to do so.
@ambrosine could you enlighten us about your statement: "..including a physical attack against him from those who oppose his support of Israel", as I am unaware of this. If it is true, it is reprehensible.

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
11:53am Thu 27 Sep 12

'Ambrosine' ... as you well know, Coleman is not Jewish, he claims to be a 'practising' Methodist, and has lived ifrom any years, sdespite a six figure income from the public purse, in a fixed rent flat owned by a local Methodist charity.

You state: 'The vile accusations that are spewed against Brian Coleman are laughable, and highly dangerous.'

Vile accusations are indeed dangerous, as anyone who has been the subject of false accusations knows only too well. If you think that it is acceptable that this man makes such accusations, and refers to residents insultingly as 'sad, mad, bad' and 'old hags', there is clearly something very wrong with your judgement.

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Mike NW7 says...
12:01pm Thu 27 Sep 12

I've only ever heard of the likes of @mrsshitrit off Twitter giving Coleman any support. It's a sign of Coleman's increasing desperation that he now chooses to press the Anti Semitic button - and on very dubious grounds too.

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poshiesymons says...
12:52pm Thu 27 Sep 12

hes a tory.....what else would you expect .

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Mrs Angry, Broken Barnet blog says...
12:57pm Thu 27 Sep 12

Ambrosine is an apposite, clerical choice of pseudonym,we must note - perhaps in homage to St Ambrose who had the courage to defend the Jewish people from persecution, at the time of the early church. There is a difference, Ambrosine, between those who genuinely seek to defend those from persecution, and those who exploit the false accusation of persecution for political or self interest.

This issue is about justice, and truth, and respect from an elected representative to the people whom he is supposed to serve, not insult.

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Dr Julia Hines says...
10:33pm Thu 27 Sep 12

Nothing about this case has ever been about anti-semitism. That is quite clear from the investigations, both within Barnet Council and in Court.

It is about breaching the Code of Conduct, part of Barnet Council's constitution, which all councillors should uphold.

It is also about respect for the rule of law. A Judge in a Tribunal has upheld the order for Coleman to apologise.

It is not for him to decide which laws or courts he wants to obey.

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chris stevens says...
10:56pm Thu 27 Sep 12

Yes, and it is up to the Tory leadership to expel him from the Council without delay. He must also have broken some membership rules of the Conservative Party surely?

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Methodman says...
7:03pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Rules are just for Plebs,right Brian?

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