A Liberal Democrat councillor has been forced to apologise after ramming his car into a binman’s bin.
Redcar and Cleveland Borough councillor Chris Jones got into the altercation on September 10.
The row kicked off when Mr Jones’s car hit a wheelie bin a worker was been pushing as he attempted to overtake the bin lorry.
The councillor was seen on the lorry’s CCTV “gesticulating with his arms” towards the binman as he stuck his head out of the window.
The worker said he told the Lib Dem councillor he was going to call his higher-ups.
He also claimed Mr Jones then swore at him – and told him nothing would happen because he was a councillor.
Mr Jones denied the claims by the binman and said he simply told him he was a councillor.
He also alleged the binman swore at him first.
Chris Jones has received formal reprimands for hitting a bin with his car as it was held by a worker
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REDCAR LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
The bin worker claimed he required physiotherapy after the incident.
Reviewing the events, the Redcar and Cleveland Council panel upheld several code of conduct breaches and formally reprimanded the Lib Dem councillor.
It found that in either recalling of events, Mr Jones mentioning his status as a councillor would be seen as a indication of seniority over the complainant or an attempt to influence their actions.
The panel found his actions to be disrespectful and by driving over the verge he showed “little to no respect” to the safety of the refuse workers.
The Tory leader of Redcar council urged the Lib Dems to remove the whip from Chris Jones
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WIKIMEDIA
The Conservative leader of Redcar council, Carolyn Curr, said Mr Jones should have the whip removed.
But the leader of the Lib Dems, Jemma Joy, said this was an “isolated” incident and Mr Jones was a “dedicated councillor of many years”.
She added that her party was now reviewing several of his council positions.
“I regret I may have briefly acted out of character for which I apologise if my actions caused any distress,” Mr Jones said in January.
He stood as a prospective parliamentary candidate for Redcar in 2024, which was won by Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley.
He garnered 1,542 votes in the election, taking home just four per cent of the constituency’s vote share.
Redcar and Cleveland Council has been run by Labour as a minority adminstration since 2023, and has not had overall control since 2013.
Cleveland Police have reviewed the incident and accepted an “out of court disposal” in the form of a driving safety course.