Leeds city councillors' home addresses taken offline due to 'harassment'

According to a report published by Leeds City Council officers, many of the details of councillors' home addresses had been removed from the internet due to hostile behaviour from certain members of the public.

A senior member of the authority even told of one of her own experiences of threatening behaviour, and added that the problem appears to be getting worse.

The details of the report will be discussed next week at a full Leeds City Council meeting.

Coun Elizabeth Nash (Lab) who chairs the council's standards and conduct committee, said: "Some members have had threats of physical violence. I had a threat myself made against me a while ago. Members should not be subject to that kind of behaviour.

"I think it has increasingly been a problem - some members have requested their own names and addresses be removed.

"I would not say this type of thing was par for the course that one should expect violence.

"Let's not forget, we have had two parliamentarians that have died in recent years. Because we live locally, the chances of that happening are increasing."

According to a report by Leeds City Council officers, members' home addresses were removed from councillors' online registers of interest in order to ensure their safety.

The report stated: "Permission to withhold an interest is granted in cases where disclosure of the details of an interest could lead to a member or co-opted member, or a person connected with the member or co-opted member, being subject to violence or intimidation – it is particularly relevant that that threat or potential threat would be substantially contributed to because of those interests appearing on the members’ public register.

"In response to concerns raised by a large number of elected members about instances of harassment, intimidation and vulnerability, which were particularly intensified following the tragic death of Sir David Amess, the monitoring officer took the step of withholding details of members’ home addresses from the register of interests accessible by the public.

"This approach was mirrored by authorities regionally and nationally. The actions taken by the monitoring officer in Leeds in relation to sensitive interests mirrors a recommendation recently made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life and is also an approach adopted by authorities regionally and nationally."

Coun Nash spoke of her own experience of a threat from a member of the public around three years ago when, while holding a surgery, she had to immediately leave and call the police.

"It did not worry me for long," she added. "Some people are very angry. They may do all sorts of irrational and silly things."

The report will be discussed at a full meeting of Leeds City Council on Wednesday, March 23.