Redcar leader Mary Lanigan censured for feud behaviour

Redcar and Cleveland Council leader Mary Lanigan previously apologised for her conduct

A council leader who "shouted like a banshee" at a worker amid a long-running neighbour dispute has been formally censured.

Redcar and Cleveland leader Mary Lanigan apologised after she was found to have breached the authority's code of conduct.

Redcar mayor Stuart Smith said the official reprimand was "simply a display of severe disapproval".

Her supporters said it was "vindictive" and "rubbing salt in the wound".

The council's standards committee previously heard Mrs Lanigan and her husband Mike had been in a long-running dispute with neighbours in Easington, East Cleveland, which had seen Mr Lanigan convicted of assault and criminal damage.

'Shocked and disgusted'

The neighbour and another woman lodged formal complaints about Mrs Lanigan, who has led the council since 2019, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The panel found Mrs Lanigan had failed to treat others with respect during an incident on 22 July 2021 when she "shouted like a banshee" at a council worker who damaged young trees and a hawthorn hedge while strimming an area next to the village's war memorial.

The panel also found the leader:

• Lied to police telling them that her husband had been attacked by the neighbour when the opposite was true

• Stood and watched "poker faced" as Mike Lanigan threw a 3ft tree at the council worker's head

• Made angry demands of another staff member in telephone calls which "shocked and disgusted" a colleague who overheard

• Falsely claimed the neighbour was a bully and cruel to the family dog

• Acted improperly on "multiple occasions" by asking the council to allow her husband to burn rubbish at the village cenotaph despite the nuisance caused to neighbours

At a full council meeting, 28 members voted in favour of Mrs Lanigan's censuring while 14 objected.

'Ruined reputation'

Councillor Shelagh Holyoake, who chaired the misconduct panel, said the council needed a leader who was "reliable and trusted" but Mrs Lanigan did "not uphold the standards expected of somebody in high public office".

Councillor Steve Kay, a long time cabinet colleague and supporter said her reputation had been "ruined" by the proceedings and a censure would mean she was being punished twice which he called "vindictive" and "rubbing salt in an open wound".

Councillor Anne Watts said Mrs Lanigan was a friend but highlighted the panel's criticism of the leader's conflict of interest and what it said was her lack of judgement and insight in this regard.

Ms Watts said Mrs Lanigan was prone to a "rant" at times of stress, adding: "It's when she cares she explodes, but this is not the behaviour we expect of a councillor, let alone the leader."

Mrs Lanigan previously accepted she had "crossed a line".