Lord Mayor of Oxford censured for making 'inappropriate comments' to girl

'It's sexy when you bend over like that': Lord Mayor of Oxford censured for making 'inappropriate comments' to girl in under-13s sports team

• Lib Dem Alan Armitage said to have made comments to a member of under-13s sports team
• He allegedly told her 'it’s sexy when you bend down like that'
• Standards Committee ruled it ‘highly probable’ that he made comment

By SARA MALM

PUBLISHED: 21:01, 27 February 2013 | UPDATED: 21:01, 27 February 2013

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Inappropriate: Oxford Lord Mayor Alan Armitage allegedly made the comment to a member of a under-13s sports team at a awards evening

A Lord Mayor who allegedly told a schoolgirl she was 'sexy'  has escaped with a mere slap on the wrist.

Alan Armitage, Lord Mayor at Oxford City Council, was said to have made the inappropriate comment to the young girl during an official engagement last year.

The girl, who was a member of an under-13s sports team, met Mr Armitage at an awards evening where he told her: 'It's sexy when you bend over like that'.

Tonight members of Oxford City Council’s Standards Committee ruled that it was ‘highly probable’ that Mr Armitage did make an inappropriate comment to the young girl.

As a result he was censured for having broken the code of conduct set down by the city council.

However at the hearing, which met in private, it was found that there was no reason why he should not continue as Mayor.

There were differing accounts of what Liberal Democrat Mr Armitage was alleged to have said to the girl during the event in June last year.

They include the above comment but he may also have told her that ‘bending is very sexy’ and ‘oh, that’s a bit sexy’. 

The Mayor denied the allegations against him.

 

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Following the meeting, the council issued a decision notice which said: ‘As the Lord Mayor attended the awards evening in his official capacity the committee also concluded that the inappropriate remark had brought both the office of Lord Mayor and the city council into disrepute.’

Rap: Oxford City Council's Standards Committee called the alleged comment 'highly inappropriate'

The statement added that the committee therefore decided that there had been a breach of the councillors’ code of conduct.

The committee agreed that Mr Armitage should be censured for breaching of the code and that the committee’s decision should be reported to other councillors.

Mr Armitage, who had been a city councillor since 2002, has also been censured for breaching part of the code which says councillors must treat others with respect.

Tonight he said he would continue in his duties as Mayor.

‘I regret the whole thing very much,’ he said.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2285504/Its-sexy-bend-like-Lord-Mayor-Oxford-censured-making-inappropriate-comments-girl-13s-sports-team.html#ixzz2M8xTI8aM
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