Mayor of Pershore accused of 'bullying and intimidation'

Pershore Town councillor Matthew Winfield has been asked to formally apologise after a complaint was made about his behaviour by former clerk, Ann Dobbins.

A report conducted by the monitoring officer at Wychavon District Council found the mayor had breached the town council’s code of conduct.

At an extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday (April 12), a majority of nine to three councillors voted in favour of councillor Winfield accepting the findings of the report and writing a formal apology for his behaviour to the complainant.

In response to this, councillor Winfield said: “The council chose to accept a report without debating its contents, or examining the evidence on which it was predicated, and without giving me the opportunity to defend myself.

“The contents of the report remain disputed, and the matter is now being dealt with by the principal authority, Wychavon District Council, where I will have an opportunity to respond to these allegations.”

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Councillors voted in favour of councillor Winfield accepting the findings of the report and writing a formal apology (Image: Pershore Town Council)

The complaint made by the recently retired town clerk focused on an incident on July 15 last year.

Mrs Dobbins stated it began with the mayor “insisting” she hand over a folder which she says had not been agreed by the management group.

“Councillor Winfield then became what I found to be quite intimidating,” reads Mrs Dobbins complaint in the report.

“He did not threaten me but at no point did he sit down or suggest we discuss the problem.

“It seemed that he had decided what he wanted and became very angry when I refused.

“I believe that he was struggling to control himself.”

Mrs Dobbins claims she asked him to leave several times before he “stormed out” of her office.

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Councillor Winfield being presented with the mayoral chains by former Mayor, Julian Palfrey, and the complainant, former clerk Ann Dobbins (Image: Newsquest)

The report also notes complaints made about councillor Winfield’s behaviour towards the clerk and other female members of staff at a meeting on December 15.

Staff members at the meeting described his behaviour as being “extremely dictatorial, misogynistic, unkind, and very rude”.

In the conclusion, the report states there has been a “clear breach” of the Pershore Town Council code of conduct, which states you must treat others with respect and not bully, intimidate or attempt to intimidate.

It is then recommended that councillor Winfield makes a written formal apology to Mrs Dobbins and attends relevant training.   

Wychavon District Council has been contacted for comment.

*UPDATE* 

A special meeting of Wychavon’s Member Conduct Committee was held on Monday (April 17) where it is understood members unanimously voted to clear councillor Winfield.

Full story here