A Conservative district and county councillor has been banned from any role on the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority for at least a year after being found guilty of breaching the code of conduct.
Cllr Steve Tierney of Wisbech, a close confidante of MP Steve Barclay, will lose his place on the Environment and Sustainable Communities Committee and is banned from being recommended by Fenland District Council for any position on the Combined Authority until 2026.
The decision to ban him was announced today by John Pye, the independent chair of the audit and governance sub committee that met behind closed doors to hear the allegations against Cllr Tierney.
Other members of the panel – who agreed unanimously on the sanctions- included Cllr Paul Hodgson-Jones, a Conservative councillor at Huntingdonshire District Council who represent Holywell-cum-Needingworth.
Also on the panel was Cllr Martin Smart, a Labour councillor from Cambridge who represents King’s Hedges and Cllr Chris Wiggin, a Liberal Democrat council for Hampton Vale ward on Peterborough City Council.
Cllr Tierney was subject to a special investigation by the Combined Authority following a series of scurrilous comments on X (formerly Twitter) against Mayor Dr Nik Johnson.
He refused to apologise for the comments.
Tonight, having been notified of the panel’s findings, Cllr Tierney responded by tweeting “Nik Johnson and his censorious supporters keen to avoid scrutiny as ever. 🙂 im not going anywhere, my friend. Far from it. Watch this space 🙂 :)”. It has been viewed just 40 times.
Few details of the complaint have yet to be made public, but Mr Pye promised a fuller decision notice within a week.
In a brief public statement after the hearing, he said there had been four complaints made against Cllr Tierney, of which two had been upheld. The panel’s findings were unanimous.
He said the decision notice would set out more detail about the findings, and a report would go the Combined Authority board.
The principal recommendation, he said, was to recommend that Cllr Tierney “be barred from serving on any Combined Authority committee before the civic year 2026/27”
He said the Combined Authority board would also be asked to consider what actions they could take in reminding councillors of the appropriate use of social media.
Council’s 1-minute silence for a squirrel, a raccoon, and a chimp called Boris
Mr Pye also called for the board to “improve the clarity of understanding” of members of constituent councils and their role within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
He also added that it was “disappointing” that Cllr Tierney had chosen not to “engage constructively” with the code of conduct process.
He had failed to respond to emails, failed to answer phone calls, and failed to respond to messages.
An independent investigator told today’s panel that had advised quite a lot of local authorities, and it was unusual for a member, but not unheard of, for a member not to attend.
A further hearing is expected to hear the outcome of an investigation into comments made on X by Cllr Anna Bailey, the leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council.
Excluded from today’s hearing was a complaint against another Wisbech councillor, Cllr Sam Hoy; she withdrew from any participation in the Combined Authority and so it was unable to pursue a complaint against her.
However, Cambridgeshire County Council has sanctioned her and Cllr Tierney.
One of the outcomes of that hearing was for a report to be sent to the county council group leader Cllr Steve Count asking for his response and what action he might be considering against both Conservative colleagues. It is not known whether he has responded to the county council on the matter.
Cllr Count is known to be a strong believer in councillors’ adherence to the code of conduct since he also chairs the conduct committee of Fenland District Council for which he receives an additional annual allowance of £1,928.
Four Conservative councillors – all members of Fenland District Council – jumped to the defence of Cllr Tierney after he posted a Facebook ‘rant’ last night.
Cllr Samantha Hoy wrote: “It bloody stinks, this whole thing has been a cover up from day one although I am not surprised with Labour as they are used to cover ups- just look at the grooming gangs
Cllr Haq Nawaz wrote: “Well done, Steve for standing up for what you believe in. You have our full support, without any reservations. NJ is only here for a few more months anyway.”
Cllr Elizabeth Sennitt Clough wrote: “All that time and those resources for a couple of tweets written in your personal capacity.
“I would say it is all so petty, had it not serious implications for people’s personal freedoms. You would think that there would be more important issues with which to contend. In fact, I have an arm’s length list of issues that do not seem to be addressed!”
And Cllr Brenda Barber (Cllr Tierney’s mother) wrote: “We need councillors who will challenge, ask questions otherwise what’s the point? Keep going!”
