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A Wirral Councillor who sent texts stating that she could use her position to “shut up” an investigation into alleged fraud has been found to have breached numerous council conduct codes.

Labour Cllr Louise Reecejones was the subject of an audit investigation by Wirral Council regarding a charity she co-chaired, the Wirral Family Forum in 2015.

A new report has found her to be in breach of the council’s code of conduct on four counts relating to her behaviour during and around the time of that investigation.

But the Pensby and Thingwall councillor is appealing against the findings of the report and against the process of the investigation.

The breaches include “cavalier” comments made on social media, references to confidential matters in the press and her conduct during the latest investigation.

The Wirral Council’s standards board probe took place this year after three people made complaints about Cllr Reecejones’s conduct relating to the 2015 audit investigation.

One of the complainants showed texts to the standards board, in which - during a discussion about the original audit probe - Cllr Reecejones wrote: “She doesn’t scare me and a little councillor involved might just shut her up.”

Despite claims by Cllr Reecejones that the texts referred to someone else, the council standards board concluded that from context, they were directed at the Independent Audit investigator.

She also sent a text stating: “They don’t seem to realise I’m at the top of the pecking order”, when discussing the probe.

In response to this, the standards report states: “Whoever they were about, the texts demonstrate a willingness by Cllr Reecejones to use her councillor status as a threat and as a means of influencing the way people respond.”

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

It adds that the councillor “seems quite willing to use her position as councillor to her own benefit when it suits her.”

The original audit investigation related to two fraudulent invoices from the Overchurch Residents Association to the Wirral Family Forum - totalling a sum of £3,000.

Despite the audit team concluding there was “significant evidence” that Cllr Reecejones had fraudulently produced the invoices, the Crown Prosecution Service later decided not to prosecute her.

But it is her conduct during and around the time of the original investigation that has led to the latest report and conclusions that she breached the council’s code of conduct four times.

One of the breaches owed to the fact that she referred to the standards investigation into her conduct as part of an article on the local news site Wirral Leaks - something that was later repeated in Private Eye.

She has also been found to have failed to treat one of the complainants involved with respect because she used social media to accuse her of “stalking and harassing her” without evidence,

The report is heavily critical of Cllr Reecejones’s use of social media in general and states: “Cllr Reecejones frequently posted in her public and private capacity and she did not appear to give much consideration to her own view (and that of the council code) that people may not easily distinguish between her actions as a public figure and her actions in a private capacity.”

“Her tendency to be cavalier about whether she is acting in a public or private capacity means that she sails dangerously close to the wind at times.”

In total, the standards investigation has found Cllr Reecejones to have breached the council’s code of conduct on four occasions - for failing to treat people with respect and for conduct which was contrary to the council’s duty to promote and maintain high standards of conduct.

The comments to Wirral Leaks regarding the investigation were also found to be a breach of confidentiality.

Finally, the investigator Alison Lowton concluded that Cllr Reecejones’s inability to “maintain a consistent account of her behaviour” during the latest probe meant she “failed to show respect to the process” and again breached the council’s conduct code.

The report was published on June 15 and the ECHO understands that Cllr Reecejones has 21 days to respond and indicate whether she will appeal against its findings.

She said she will appeal against the decisions of the standards board, but said it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.

Cllr Reecejones was temporarily suspended at the time of the first investigation, but a Labour spokesman said it would not comment on her position at this time.