A COUNCILLOR breached a code of conduct by remaining on a standards committee which decided the fate of a fellow councillor she had supported in court, an investigation has found.

Anne Davis, who represents Tendring Council’s Hamford ward, was accused of breaching the councillors’ code of conduct by remaining on the standards committee, despite declaring she had attended court with Ukip councillor Lis Bennison.

Mrs Bennison, who represents Clacton’s Peter Bruff ward, was the subject of an agenda item which went before the standards committee on September 27 after she slapped a man outside Clacton Pier during the town’s airshow in 2016.

Mrs Bennison was found guilty of assault at Southend Magistrates’ Court last July and given an absolute discharge – the lowest level of sentence.

Clacton resident William Hones and district councillor Andy Baker complained about Mrs Davis’ participation in the standards committee meeting in September, which concluded that Mrs Bennison should be removed from committees and sub-committees for one month.

External investigator John Austin found Mrs Davis had breached the code of conduct by taking part in the meeting after making an “error of judgment” and recommended she be asked to undertake further training.

“The fact that she attended court would, in my view, cause people to think she had an allegiance to Mrs Bennison over and above being a fellow councillor,” he said.

“I therefore find there is sufficient evidence to show Mrs Davis breached the council’s code of conduct in remaining in the meeting and participating the way she did.

“I do not however think this was a deliberate or conscious act. She had nothing to gain personally.

“I accept that her actions were borne firstly out of a genuine wish to support a council colleague, who she felt needed help, and secondly a misunderstanding of how her court attendance would be viewed by others given her role on the standards committee for the issue in question.”

After the investigation, Mrs Davis acknowledged the breach and apologised for her actions.

She said: “I believe and accept I may have inadvertently and unintentionally breached the councillor’s code of conduct, and certainly, that I could be perceived to have done so.

“For that, and the expense caused to the council by that mistake, I am very sorry.”

A report by council monitoring officer Lisa Hastings, which goes before the standards’ committee on Monday, said Mrs Davis has agreed to undergo refresher training on the code of conduct, especially in relation to declarations of interest.

The report added: “The monitoring officer considers these actions are both appropriate and proportionate responses to the investigator’s findings and, in the circumstances, has resolved the matter informally without the need for a hearing.”