The leader of Swindon Borough Council Councillor Jim Robbins is facing a standards complaint.
The Local Democracy Reporter understands that a member of the public has lodged a complaint and concerns Cllr Robbins alleged failure to list hospitality and gifts on his register of member’s interest.
Cllr Robbins says he has listed everything he should have, but the information has not been uploaded onto the Swindon Borough Council website.
The nature of the complaint is not made public, and nor will the result of any investigation, but it is understood that the complainant was particularly exercised by a tweet by Cllr Robins showing pictures of him at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in July.
(Image: Aled Thomas) Cllr Robbins had tweeted: "Amazing day at the Royal International Air tattoo. Huge Thanks to Sqn Leader Robertson for the invite and warm welcome.”
VIP tickets for the Tattoo vary from £93 for the Cotswold Club to £421 for the First Class Club.
A number of MPs have listed hospitality at the event citing its value in this range.
Cllr Robbins said he had declared everything he should have.
“I’m confident I’ve made all declarations that I ought to have made in my role," he said.
“I’ve been made aware they have not appeared on the website as they should have. I am putting pressure on the council to make sure that the declaration that I have made and other councillors have made do appear.”
At this stage, there is no evidence of actual wrongdoing and this will only be made public if the complaint is upheld after investigation.
Councillors are not allowed by council rules to comment on standards investigations, but chairman of Swindon Conservatives, and a former borough councillor, Vinay Manro said: “I would have hoped Cllr Robbins would have declared any hospitality as required.
“As a long-standing councillor, he should be aware of his responsibilities, and as leader of Swindon Labour Councillors, and Leader of Swindon Borough Council more so.
“Given recent revelations with our Labour prime minister, it is not good for politics in general from those currently in charge who promised to be better.
“If Cllr Robbins suggests this is an oversight, then I hope he will put in measures to ensure it does not happen again. What else hasn’t he declared? We must collectively do better.”
A standards committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 14th. Its agenda has not been published, and while it's an open meeting, discussion of any complaints will be held in a closed session.
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