Defamatory content on West Wittering Parish Council Website

Dear Keith

In a letter to me dated 21^st May from District Solicitor Mike Kelley, he makes clear that if allegations of misconduct by a councillor are made public, the councillor has "rights to protect his reputation under the laws of defamation."

This view contradicts the information supplied by the Chairman and the Clerk on the evening of 7^th May, when I made strong representations about the content and publication of the minutes of the Emergency meeting of 16^th April. They told me that as a record of what took place the minutes were a "privileged" document and accordingly that their publication was something that I could not complain about.

I will be dealing separately with the procedural impropriety of circulating for amendment and discussion draft minutes of a meeting and releasing them as an official record to the Press and public before they had been agreed by Members and signed off as a true record by the Chairman.

For obvious reasons I regard the views of Mike Kelley as more authoritative than those expressed in a heated conversation by the Chairman and Clerk.

I'm writing to you, as the web master, because the following URL http://www.westwitteringparishcouncil.gov.uk/?p=777 contains unjustified and defamatory allegations about my conduct, in particular under the paragraph heading
"43.        COUNCILLOR HOPSON - COMPLAINT TO MONITORING OFFICER."

I request and require that this material be removed from the website immediately. If it is not removed by 10:00 on Friday 28 May, then I will take immediate further action to remedy the situation.

Separately I shall be demanding an apology for what appears at this URL, as well as for the publication of the minutes on public notice boards outside the Medical Centre, in the Library, to the Press and elsewhere.  

Quite apart from any offence and injury caused to me and to my family by this libel, it is appalling that the Parish Council's culture of arrogant disregard for lawful procedures and acknowledged best practice (e.g. in the publications about quality councils) should expose third parties to involvement in this kind of dispute.

David Hopson

This email has been posted to  http://wwpcmailstore.blogspot.com/