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A Coventry councillor said he would "stamp" on a political rival who had reported him for failing to disclose business interests, a report has claimed.

Labour councillor Rois Ali (Cheylesmore) had also allegedly warned he would take Conservative councillor Tim Mayer 'to the cleaners' after he sparked an investigation over the claims.

Cllr Ali has now been found to have breached the council's code of conduct by not disclosing pecuniary interests (DPI) - matters where there is a reasonable likelihood or expectation of financial loss or gain to the person - a report by an independent investigator said.

In meetings with the investigator - Matt Lewin - the report said Cllr Ali claimed Cllr Mayer's complaints were a "personal vendetta" against him, adding he was a "busy man" and had to discuss disclosure of property interests with co-investors.

Mr Lewin found Cllr Ali breached four areas of the code, and concluded: "I do not accept that Cllr Ali was too busy to follow the rules.

"His duties to the public must always take priority over his own private interests - and I am concerned that Cllr Ali appeared not to appreciate this important point of principle.

"I should add that I do not consider that Cllr Ali has behaved dishonestly in the sense that he deliberately sought to conceal his interests. Nor do I find he has made any personal gain as a result of his failure to promptly declare his interests."

The breaches

The failings of the prominent businessman and landowner in Coventry are highlighted in the report by investigator Matt Lewin, published ahead of an Ethics Committee hearing next Tuesday.

All councillors are obliged to disclose their DPI's within 28 days of winning election.

Cllr Ali was elected in May 2016.

But the investigation found he had failed to declare any DPIs within 28 days of his election; failed to declare all of his DPIs promptly; declared many of his DPIs only after he had been prompted by council officers; and did not follow officers' advice to ensure that his register of interests was comprehensive.

In the report, Cllr Ali admitted to breaching two of the codes - honesty and behaving in accordance with legal obligations - but said he did not believe he had done anything wrong and "did not realise the complexity" of disclosing interests.

Threats 'uncalled for'

The report added that during a meeting with Mr Lewin in August, Cllr Ali said he would "stamp" on Cllr Mayer who had reported him in January for failing to disclose his business interests, which led to the investigation.

The report claimed Cllr Ali also said he would "take him to the cleaners" if the rival councillor took the matter any further.

In the report, Mr Lewin criticised the comments as "entirely uncalled for given that the complaint was justified".

In response to the investigator's findings, Cllr Ali said in the report that the comments "need to be taken in the context of the conversation" and that he "did not mean any disrespect".

Cllr Mayer said Cllr Ali's comments were "very concerning".

He told CoventryLive: "In my view Rois should consider his position.

"All the concerns raised have been agreed. On the back of that to be threatened because of it is very concerning.

"It is intimidating and has no place in modern politics.

"It is important to declare our pecuniary interests for transparency. We should not just be abiding by the rules but making sure we are as clean as we possibly can be."

Cllr Ali responded 'no comment' when asked about the investigation and claims of intimidation, adding: "I will wait for the ethics committee."

Police involved

The report said Cllr Ali disclosed his first pecuniary interest on June 6, 2016, but a meeting with council officers two days later found "significant omissions from his register of interests", such as not declaring any employment.

He attended a training session on disclosing interests later than month, the report added, but was reminded by council officials on numerous occasions over two years of further omissions.

He was also referred to West Midlands Police over omissions in his pecuniary interests, Mr Lewin wrote in his report, but the force decided against taking any action.

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