I read with shock of the conviction of Liberal Democrat councillor Stephen Fenwick for his drunken racist attack (13/03/14). However, my shock is not confined only to Councillor Fenwick’s conviction, but also to his refusal to resign and Sutton Liberal Democrats’ handling of the scandal.

There are a number of very serious questions which need to be answered by Ruth Dombey, Leader of the Liberal Democrat-run Council. They are questions of probity, accountability and public trust. They may also cut to the heart of the reputation of Sutton Council itself.

Considering the offence took place on 4th January and Fenwick pleaded guilty on 10th March, when did Councillor Dombey first learn of it? Fenwick served as a fully-fledged Lib Dem councillor between the offence and his conviction, and only resigned the Lib Dem whip after conviction. If Councillor Dombey knew about the incident and the pending court appearance, the correct action would have been to suspend Fenwick’s membership of the Lib Dems until the outcome was known. Failing that, Fenwick should have done the decent thing and resigned.

Any right-minded organisation would act accordingly to suspend a member pending criminal charges for racist thuggery. Given that the Liberal Democrat Party is suffering a reputation crisis about how it deals with allegations of improper and illegal behaviour (Lord Rennard and Mike Hancock MP, for example), Ruth Dombey should take this opportunity to clear up concerns - failure to do so will only cause further damage. In the meantime, Fenwick can preserve a shred of dignity by resigning the office of councillor. 

JASON HUGHES
Conservative councillor candidate
Sutton South Ward


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