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Press Association
Friday April 23, 2004
The deputy leader of Bradford council has resigned after he made a Nazi-style salute and commented "Sieg Heil" to a German-born councillor during a meeting.
Tory Simon Cooke, deputy chairman of the of Bradford metropolitan district council, made the gesture to Labour councillor Lynne Joyce following a speech by her on community safety last Wednesday.
After pressure from the Labour group, Mr Cooke stood down this afternoon.
He said: "I was wrong and I am sorry about it. I offer my sincere apologies for my inappropriate comment. I had no intention of offending any one and I regret my action."
He also ap
logised to the Conservative party and its members for the political fallout.
In a brief statement this afternoon Margaret Eaton, leader of the Conservative group of Bradford council said: "It i
s a
matter of great regret that councillor Cooke has decided to
resign following an incident which occurred in council earlier this week and for which he has publicly apologised.
Earlier Ian Greenwood, leader of the Labour group on the council, said: "It seems to me that the gesture and remark would not be appropriate in any circumstances, but when you're talking about a meeting of the full council where members of the public were present as well, I think it's particularly inappropriate.
"When you consider that Mr Cooke has responsibility for community regeneration, I don't see how he can have any credibility whatsoever." Mrs Joyce said she was highlighting how the council was not coordinated on the issue of community safety when Mr Cooke made the Nazi salute an
d comments as she sat down.
She said: "It was incredibly bewildering and very shocking. It was awful. If you had to pick a gesture that was never acceptable in any circumstances, th
en t
his
would be th
e one. There can be no excuse. For goodness sake, this is what is putting people off
politics.
"He could hire the Red Arrows to write sorry in the sky, and I still wouldn't accept it. At the best, it could be described as a playground gesture by a playground bully. I received an apology off councillor Cooke yesterday, but it read more like a telling-off for making an issue out of it than an apology. It's unacceptable." A Bradford council spokesman said: "It's something we've had to refer to the National Standards Board in London to decide whether there is any need to take further action.
A spokeswoman for the National Standards Board - the councillor conduct watchdog - said she could not confirm whether it had received a complaint at this stage. She
said it was too early to say whether an investigation would take place.
http:
//societ
y.guard
ian.co.uk/localgov
t/st...1201900,00.html
Press Association
Friday April 23, 2004
The deputy leader of Bradford council has resigned after he made a Nazi-style salute and commented "Sieg Heil" to a German-born councillor during a meeting.
Tory Simon Cooke, deputy chairman of the of Bradford metropolitan district council, made the gesture to Labour councillor Lynne Joyce following a speech by her on community safety last Wednesday.
After pressure from the Labour group, Mr Cooke stood down this afternoon.
He said: "I was wrong and I am sorry about it. I offer my sincere apologies for my inappropriate comment. I had no intention of offending any one and I regret my action."
He also ap
logised to the Conservative party and its members for the political fallout.
In a brief statement this afternoon Margaret Eaton, leader of the Conservative group of Bradford council said: "It i
s a
matter of great regret that councillor Cooke has decided to
resign following an incident which occurred in council earlier this week and for which he has publicly apologised.
Earlier Ian Greenwood, leader of the Labour group on the council, said: "It seems to me that the gesture and remark would not be appropriate in any circumstances, but when you're talking about a meeting of the full council where members of the public were present as well, I think it's particularly inappropriate.
"When you consider that Mr Cooke has responsibility for community regeneration, I don't see how he can have any credibility whatsoever." Mrs Joyce said she was highlighting how the council was not coordinated on the issue of community safety when Mr Cooke made the Nazi salute an
d comments as she sat down.
She said: "It was incredibly bewildering and very shocking. It was awful. If you had to pick a gesture that was never acceptable in any circumstances, th
en t
his
would be th
e one. There can be no excuse. For goodness sake, this is what is putting people off
politics.
"He could hire the Red Arrows to write sorry in the sky, and I still wouldn't accept it. At the best, it could be described as a playground gesture by a playground bully. I received an apology off councillor Cooke yesterday, but it read more like a telling-off for making an issue out of it than an apology. It's unacceptable." A Bradford council spokesman said: "It's something we've had to refer to the National Standards Board in London to decide whether there is any need to take further action.
A spokeswoman for the National Standards Board - the councillor conduct watchdog - said she could not confirm whether it had received a complaint at this stage. She
said it was too early to say whether an investigation would take place.
http:
//societ
y.guard
ian.co.uk/localgov
t/st...1201900,00.html