A SENIOR councillor has resigned from his position as a BCP Council cabinet member days after he was found to have breached the code of conduct.

Cllr Mark Anderson, portfolio holder for environment and place, said he fully accepted the findings of an independent investigator and he “unreservedly” apologised.

In an email, which the Conservative Queen’s Park ward councillor shared with the Daily Echo, he thanked colleagues who supported him and his family in the past few months following the death of both his parents in a short space of time.

“Whilst coping with this, I have tried my best to continue my duties as a cabinet member at BCP Council but appreciate that it has not been an easy balance,” Cllr Anderson wrote.

“I’ve therefore not always got everything right. Earlier this year, council officers sent me a list of suggested areas for focus as part of my initiative for a Big Spring Clean.

“Inadvertently, and without thinking the situation through, I asked Conservative Councillor colleagues to feed in further ideas for areas needing special cleaning attention and did not ask other councillors at the same time.

“Whilst it was my intention to do so, I completely understand that this did not look like an equitable way to carry out my duties.”

As reported, an independent investigation following a complaint by Independent councillor Stephen Bartlett found Cllr Anderson had breached several aspects of the code of conduct.

These findings were largely backed by members of the standards committee at a meeting on Tuesday, February 28.

Acting committee chair Cllr Vanessa Ricketts said several code breaches had been found justified.

These included showing other councillors and members of the public a lack of respect and not treating all councillors with courtesy; compromising, or taking actions which might compromise the impartiality of the council and those who work with it; bringing his role into disrespect and using his position improperly; together with politically motivated mis-use of council resources.

The committee ordered Cllr Anderson give a formal apology at full council and recommended BCP Council leader Cllr Philip Broadhead remove Cllr Anderson from his cabinet position and portfolio responsibilities.

In his resignation email, Cllr Anderson said: “I fully accept the findings of the independent investigator, acknowledge that this fell below expectations as a Cabinet Member, and I unreservedly apologise.

“I have offered my resignation as cabinet member to the leader of the council, and upon my recovery will continue to serve my ward residents and all those in the BCP area to the best of my ability.

“I thank those again who have supported me during this difficult time for me and my family.”

Cllr Broadhead confirmed he had accepted Cllr Anderson's resignation.

In a statement, he said: "I would like thank Councillor Anderson for all his hard work as a cabinet member for BCP Council over the last few years, and will continue to support him during this difficult time for him and his family.”

A spokesperson for BCP Council said: “BCP Council’s standards committee has fully considered the findings from the investigation relating to complaint BCP-132 at its meeting on February 28, 2023.

“The committee supported the findings of the independent investigator, which found three breaches of this council’s code of conduct by Councillor Mark Anderson. Additionally, the committee felt three further breaches took place.

"The committee applied sanctions deemed reasonable and reflective of the severity of the breaches to this council’s code of conduct.”