Janet Cleverly has been censured and must complete extra training after telling a council call handler to ‘speak English’ while reporting a fly-tipping incident to the local authority
An ombudsman’s investigation was carried out into the incident(Image: Local Democracy Reporting Service)
A Newport councillor who instructed a call handler to “speak English” has been formally reprimanded and ordered to undertake additional training. Independent councillor Janet Cleverly made the remarks while reporting a fly-tipping incident to the local authority.
An ombudsman’s investigation described the Bettws ward councillor’s comments as “derogatory and humiliating”, and “not what is expected of an elected member”. At a Newport City Council standards committee hearing, held on Thursday, April 23, Cllr Cleverly apologised and said she was “mortified” by her actions.
During the telephone conversation that took place on August 9, 2024 , the call handler had attempted to inform the councillor about “disruptive sounds” on the line, and requested that she repeat certain details. Never miss a Newport story by subscribing to our newsletter here
According to the ombudsman’s report, Cllr Cleverly then interrupted the call handler and said: “I’m sorry, can I speak to somebody who’s speaking English?”
Several minutes later, while the call handler was clarifying details, Cllr Cleverly said: “Sorry? I can’t understand anything you’re saying. Speak English!”
Later that same day Cllr Cleverly sent an email to the cabinet member responsible for environmental matters. In her email, she stated: “I phoned in a complaint about fly tipping this morning and the person I spoke to, could not speak English properly, why would you have someone manning a call centre, I am all for equal opportunity’s (sic) but this person took all my information wrong after I had to repeat everything 3-4 times and spell everything lots of times.”
A customer services manager reviewed the recorded call and raised concerns regarding the councillor’s “unnecessary” manner.
The council’s monitoring officer at the time subsequently informed Cllr Cleverly that a formal investigation would be launched.
He stated that he regarded the call handler’s English as fluent, and described the councillor’s remarks as “consciously or otherwise, “racially motivated” and “discriminatory”.
According to the ombudsman’s report, the call handler was “very emotional and upset” following the incident, but subsequently withdrew from the investigation.
Cllr Cleverly later informed the ombudsman’s office that she had “worked in BME communities” – (Black and Minority Ethnic) – throughout her career as a youth and community worker, and had “lots of BME friends”.
She characterised the phone call as a “really bad line” and expressed regret if she had caused the call handler distress, adding “it was not my intention”.
The ombudsman established that the councillor had previously undertaken training on the local authority’s code of conduct, as well as sessions covering equalities and equal opportunities.
Cllr Cleverly’s remarks during the phone call were deemed “unwarranted, derogatory and demeaning” – while the call handler had been “polite and friendly”, and using “proficient” English, according to the ombudsman’s findings.
The apology was to be “welcomed” but the council’s standards committee should judge whether Cllr Cleverly had breached the code of conduct.
Portions of the committee hearing were held behind closed doors to safeguard the identity of the call handler, who was absent from the proceedings.
“I was absolutely mortified by my actions that day,” Cllr Cleverly told the panel, adding she had found it difficult to hear the call handler “at all”.
Cllr Kevin Whitehead, who leads the Bettws ward’s independents, stated that the phone call demonstrated a “lack of etiquette” from his colleague, but challenged any suggestion that the matter had a racial dimension. He said: “I don’t think there was an intent or anything – [it was] poor etiquette and poor form.”
He further noted that Cllr Cleverly – who had shown “a lot of contrition” – had devoted a lengthy career to supporting young people and the Bettws community, and had received messages of support from people of diverse backgrounds.
The committee concluded that Cllr Cleverly had violated three areas of the council’s code for members – pertaining to equality, respect and consideration of others, and disreputable conduct.
Chairman Andrew Mitchell stated that the “extremely concerned” panel had deliberated over a suspension, but ultimately agreed to censure Cllr Cleverly and require her to complete further training without delay.
The council’s deputy monitoring officer had previously described a censure as “a formal reprimand”.
