Manor Farm: Cambridgeshire council ex deputy leader bullied staff

Former deputy leader Roger Hickford was found to have bullied staff , specifically in relation to matters about his tenancy of Manor Farm in Girton

A former deputy council leader used his position to bully council officers over an authority-owned farm he took tenancy of, a report has found.

Roger Hickford was on Cambridgeshire County Council from 2013 until his resignation on 26 February 2021.

Mr Hickford took on Manor Farm, Girton in December 2017 and an independent report found he bullied officers to set the terms of his lease.

Mr Hickford chose not take part in the investigation, the report said.

The former deputy council leader was found to have breached six areas of the council's code of conduct.

However, the legal firm Wilkin Chapman, which investigated the allegations, found he had not misused council resources.

They noted that a number of witnesses made reference to Mr Hickford displaying "aggressive and bullying behaviour".

One officer who worked on the county council's rural assets said Mr Hickford, a Conservative councillor, was often hostile and insisted "on getting his own way".

During the time Mr Hickford was a tenant of Manor Farm he led a review as deputy leader of the council into the future of county farms.

He also served as chairman of the authority's council asset and investment committee, which oversees the council farms, at the time he applied for the tenancy in March 2017.

The officer raised concerns about a conflict of interest with the then deputy chief executive but felt his concerns were not taken seriously.

One said Mr Hickford "humiliated" him at a meeting and that he often felt "belittled", another said they felt "intimidated".

The council's internal auditor also felt bullied by Mr Hickford after he began an audit in 2019 to the point he suffered stress and anxiety that led to him stepping away from his role.

Mr Hickford chose not take part in the investigation, the report said.

He was found to have breached the following code of conduct areas:

• Respect - he failed to treat officers and others acting on behalf of the council with respect

• Bullying - used a bullying manner to get the council to pay for work that should have been the responsibility of the tenant and used a bullying manner to set the terms of his farm lease

• Disrepute - his conduct towards officers and others, and his conflict of interest, would have reduced the public's confidence in him being able to fulfil his role or the Council being able to discharge its functions

• Impartiality - he compromised officers and others' impartiality in his dealings with regard to Manor Farm

• Improper use of position - he used his position as deputy leader to receive concessions that the council would not otherwise have agreed to

• Interests - he failed to register an interest (the tenancy of Manor Farm) within 28 days and he failed to declare a non-statutory disclosable interest in meetings with regard to County Farms matters

Lucy Nethsingha, leader of the council, said: "As leader of Cambridgeshire County Council since May, I am determined that we will root out disrespectful or bullying behaviour, whoever is responsible, and with that in mind will be asking our new chief executive to undertake a wider review of member [to] officer behaviour, and our support for council officers at all levels across the council."

At a council meeting on Friday it was agreed that the report be referred to the Strategy and Resources Committee with a request they establish a programme of action and prevent a reoccurrence.

The investigation into the code of conduct issues came about in the wake of an audit into how the the Manor Farm tenancy was awarded.

That audit found while correct procedures were followed in relation to the award of the tenancy award, there were serious concerns about financial, transparency and conduct issues.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]