Ex-Tory councillor is suspended for bullying teacher
Ex-Tory councillor who said NHS A&Es are ‘full of fat mums in Pot Noodle-stained leggings taking their kids for a day out to harvest Facebook likes because their darling little snot-covered Asbo fell over’ is suspended for bullying teacher
Gareth Baines was suspended for three months from Chirk Town Council Mr Baines had written to teacher Rachel Allen’s employers and said her complaint was ‘vindictive’ and ‘vexatious’Standards committee heard the action had breached council’s code of conduct Comes after he previously resigned from Clwyd South Conservative Association in 2021 when his tweets about NHS caused outrage
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An ex-Tory councillor who said NHS A&Es were full of ‘fat mums in Pot Noodle-stained leggings’ has been suspended for bullying a teacher.
Former Conservative member Gareth Baines was an independent councillor for Chirk Town Council in Wrexham County Borough but has now been suspended due to the bullying probe.
Teacher Rachel Allen raised a grievance against him last year. Mr Baines wrote to her school bosses accusing her of making a ‘vindictive and vexatious’ complaint.
Although Ms Allen’s initial complaint was thrown out, a standards committee heard that by writing to her employers, Mr Baines had tried to ‘smear her name in the workplace’ and breached the council’s code of conduct.
Mr Baines was handed a three-month suspension and told to carry out code of conduct training and write letters of apology.
Former Conservative member Gareth Baines (left and right) was an independent councillor for Chirk Town Council in Wrexham County Borough but has now been suspended due to the bullying probe
A hearing of the Adjudication Panel for Wales was held on December 16 to consider his case after he appealed against his suspension.
The Adjudication Panel for Wales recommended his suspension be reduced to two months.
But Wrexham Council’s standards committee today met and discussed the recommendation and decided to uphold his three-month suspension.
Mr Baine’s suspension from Chirk Town Council comes after he resigned as chairman of the Clwyd South Conservative Association in 2021 following a series of tweets about the NHS which caused outrage.
One of the tweets written on New Year’s Eve 2020 said: ‘A&Es in Germany aren’t full of fat mums in pot noodle-stained leggings/ pjs taking their kids for a day out at A&E to harvest Facebook likes because their darling little snot-covered Asbo fell over. Happy New Year.’
And in another he said: ‘Our NHS is treated as a sacred cow and cannot be criticised. Those arguing for reform are deemed to be Satan incarnate.
‘I’m sorry, but after spending most of my life working on the continent, the NHS isn’t the best in the world – it isn’t one of the best in Europe. Pales when compared with systems like Germany and Norway.’
Mr Baines later apologised for the comments he made and said in a statement at the time: ‘Whilst I feel my comments have been taken out of context, I do offer my sincere apologies for any offence they may have caused.
‘I have also taken the decision to step down from my role as Chairman of Clwyd South Conservative Association with immediate effect.’
Mr Baine’s suspension from Chirk Town Council comes after he resigned as chairman of the Clwyd South Conservative Association in 2021 following a series of tweets about the NHS which caused outrage. Pictured: One of the tweets Mr Baines wrote about the NHS
Mr Baines had acted as an agent for MP Simon Baynes in the 2019 General Election – and rival politicians asked the member to take action over the tweets.
The Welsh Labour Party said: ‘This is terrible and shows what he really thinks about the people who use the NHS.’
And former Lib Dem council candidate Aimi Waters wrote to Mr Baynes saying: ‘As I’m sure you have recently seen on social media, the chair of our local Conservative group in Clwyd South, Mr Gareth Baines, has made some very unsavoury remarks about mothers and their children in A&E waiting rooms.
‘Whilst I understand you cannot possibly comment on certain things, and you cannot control what someone else does, you are able to comment on a member of the local Conservative group – a member who is relatively high profile and actually represents people in the community too.’
