Councillor apology after code of conduct breach

Jodie Watts apologised for the code of conduct breach

A councillor who shared information about a resident's potential medical diagnosis on Facebook has apologised for breaking her authority's code of conduct.

Jodie Watts, the Labour councillor for Harmans Water and Crown Wood on Bracknell Forest Council, said she had been debating immigration with the person when the disclosure happened.

She said they had been "telling some untruths" about her, but she was sorry and the breach would not be repeated.

Bracknell Forest Council's code of conduct panel told Watts that she must undertake appropriate training.

She was also told to issue a written apology to the complainant and the incident will be referred to Labour's whip.

"When a councillor shares something so personal in a public forum it can cause real distress and it can make people feel unsafe about approaching their locally elected representative in the future," the council's deputy monitoring officer Helen Brewster said.