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‘I was only standing up for tenants’: Councillor cleared of wrongdoing after dispute with Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust
Cllr Phil Yerby
A councillor has been cleared of breaching a code of conduct after a long standing battle with a housing trust.
Aylesbury Vale District Councillor Phil Yerby was exonerated from allegations brought by the Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust.
The trust alleged that Mr Yerby had broken ranks after his removal as chairman in January 2011.
In a long list of allegations it said the former cabinet member had ‘pursued a vendetta against the trust’, undermined its activities and reputation and disclosed confidential information.
The trust said these instances indicated that Mr Yerby had broken its code of conduct and it also further alleged that the Aston Clinton councillor had used intimidating behaviour towards its members and employees.
However, in an Aylesbury Vale District Council statement all of the allegations were rejected.
Mr Yerby said: “It is very sad they chose to bring this case against me which has cost the taxpayer many thousands of pounds, when it is clear I was only standing up for tenants who were not in such a position to do so themselves.”
The standards committee stated: “There was no evidence of wrong-doing. Councillor Yerby had acted reasonably and in the public interest and it was perfectly legitimate for him to complain about the trust’s performance in a quasi-public or public forum.”
The trust had further alleged Mr Yerby, an active user of Twitter, had used the social media site to incite members to make complaints.
The committee denied this, saying: “He had a right to use Twitter in the way that he did to encourage public debate about, and to hold to account, the trust. He was entitled to exercise his fundamental right to freedom of expression. “
Mr Yerby added that he would not be pursuing the matter any further, as he did not wish for residents money to be spent on the trust defending itself.
However, he did add he wanted an apology from the trust for what he deemed a ‘baseless complaint’.
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Weather for Aylesbury
Friday 24 May 2013
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