Veteran councillor facing inquiry over clash

A VETERAN East Riding councillor is being investigated over claims that she tried to push her way into a private event.

Doreen Engall is said to have turned up uninvited to the launch of a community bus scheme in Holme on Spalding Moor.

Parish councillor Nick Evans lodged a formal complaint after Coun Engall claimed she had been "publicly, physically and verbally attacked" at the event.

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Both claim and counter-claim will be heard by an East Riding Council standards committee.

The pair clashed when Coun Engall, who is also the parish council's vice chairman, turned up at the Blacksmiths Arms for the launch last March.

The Tory politician, a former chairman of the council, says she was invited by a representative of the scheme.

She claims that when she arrived Mr Evans – one of the volunteer drivers – obstructed her and pushed her back, saying: "You are not going to gatecrash my launch."

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However Mr Evans – who stood as an Independent in the 2007 East Riding Council elections against Coun Engall – says despite being told she was not welcome, Coun Engall tried to push past.

In a statement he said: "She attempted to push her way past my extended arms in which I was holding a clipboard in one hand and a pen in the other.

"I stood my ground and asked her to take her hands off me."

Coun Engall claims that Mr Evans's actions were "both unbecoming and unacceptable" and amounted to a breach in the code of conduct. But officials who investigated her complaint recommended no further action, saying there was no evidence he was attending the event in his official capacity.

Another volunteer driver, Paul Whitworth, organised and paid for the event, to celebrate the success of efforts to get a bus permanently based in the village. He said: "The bus arrived on March 18 last year and I wanted to celebrate it – it felt like a little victory so I invited about 40 people who'd been involved, including councillors, but they weren't there as councillors, they were there as supporters of the community bus.

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"Doreen Engall was not on the list because as far as I am aware she has never done anything to support it."

The standards committee, which met to discuss Coun Engall's complaint earlier this week, deferred a decision.

Committee member Symon Fraser said: "It was certainly my view that there should be a proper hearing to clear the air."

Mr Evans said he "felt unable to comment in view of an outstanding complaint against Coun Engall."

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Coun Engall said it wasn't "fair or wise" to comment "at this stage".

An East Riding Council spokesman said an investigation into Mr Evans's complaint was ongoing, adding: "The committee wishes to discuss both issues together."