Councillor wins in 'bitching' row

A councillor has won High Court backing to be "rude" online about colleagues in what could be a landmark case.

Community councillor Malcolm Calver, of Manorbier, Pembrokeshire, challenged a censure by a local authority standards body over "bitching" and "sarcastic" comments he had made on his website. He claimed it violated his human right to freedom of expression.



Mr Justice Beatson said there was "a need for politicians to have thicker skins than others". The judge, sitting in Cardiff, set aside the censure by the Adjudication Panel for Wales.

He said that, although the panel was entitled to conclude that some of Mr Calver's comments breached its code of conduct, Mr Calver held the "trump card" in his freedom of expression. Public office holders should live with "sarcasm and lampooning" as part of the day-to-day political process, he said.