Ombudsman’s annual report criticised as ‘infantile’ and ‘insulting’

Martin Shipton

The “easy read” version of the Welsh Ombudsman’s annual report has been strongly criticised for its “infantile” and “insulting” use of pictures.

Covering the financial year 2023-24, the report briefly refers to a major scandal which the office of the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) found itself caught up in.

Nation.Cymru revealed how Sinead Cook, the office’s head of investigations, had posted under false names a series of abusive social media comments, including one saying “F… the Tories” (spelt out).

Ms Cook was subsequently sacked.

In the Ombudsman’s annual report, a section states: “People and services believe we help improve public services in Wales.

“But 1 member of our staff did damage the trust people have in us this year.”

Against this sentence is a picture of a person in a wheelchair.

Criticisms related to both the content and presentation of the report.

One councilor, who did not wish to be named, contacted us to say: “ Is this the poorest ‘report’ that has ever been produced

“It seems to have used whatever Microsoft programme pre dates PowerPoint

“And the kind of report an 11 year old does when they leave junior school.

“It’s almost like it offers a colouring in page if you make it to the end.

“They were running out of images on the Microsoft free to use programme.”

‘Unprofessional’

Another councillor, who also did not wish to be named, got in touch to say: “ I presume you’ve seen that infantile and unprofessional annual report by the Ombudsman.

“A couple of things jump out…is it the 1990s? Are we still using PowerPoint and clip art for presentations? I’m only surprised that these clowns didn’t use Comic Sans as the font.

“Why have they used a wheelchair bound person’s image to depict the able-bodied Sinead Cooke and surely this attempt at being reductive to her for her wrongdoing is actually hugely insulting to the disabled community. It would be like using the image of a white man to depict OJ Simpson.

“Where’s the stats to back up the reports claims…after all she readily admits she has to regain the public’s trust. She can’t be trusted so where’s the stats to back up her flaky claims?

“Why hasn’t she mentioned the public money spent on a barrister to try to ‘beat up’ councillors in the public forum? I’m sure they’d love to know how much her office ‘actually’ cost the public purse rather than this unprofessional drivel that actually highlights nothing of substance.”

Twitter account

Ms Cook, who resigned after working for the PSOW for nearly a decade, ran a Twitter / X account under the pseudonym @SweetlittleSewandsew. She also posted messages using the aliases Schnade Cee and Smoogi Cookster.

Using her @SweetlittleSewandsew account, Ms Cook wrote: “While we are all debating what GL [Gary Lineker] said in talking about the boycott of MOTD [Match of the Day], we are not talking about the fact the Government is trying to pass a Bill which is incompatible with the Human Rights Act and morally reprehensible. F*** the Tories [spelt out].”

Other posts by Ms Cook included a response to someone who had written: “Seeing far too many Vote Conservative signs for my liking. How can anyone with a conscience still vote for them?”. @SweetlittleSewandsew said: “I’ve come to the conclusion that people are just too stubborn to admit they were wrong, so double down. It’s bonkers.”

Responding to a post from the then Bridgend Tory MP Jamie Wallis in which he said: “I am actively seeking a seat elsewhere with a sense of humour and a philosophical view, @SweetlittleSewandsew wrote: “If the people of Bridgend didn’t have a sense of humour, he would never have been elected. He’s a joke.”

Other tweets by @SweetlittleSewandsew that showed political bias included:

* Gimme an E, gimme an N, gimme a T, gimme an I, gimme a T, gimme an L, gimme an E, gimme a D, what does it spell Boris Johnson;

* @jeremycorbyn as leader of @UKLabour is an honest return to party roots and offers a genuine alternative to @Conservatives:

* [During lockdown]. People in Wales can still go out. Instead of worrying about Wales speak to your Tory buddies about feeding kids in England;

* [Referring to former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell]. She’s a Tory Stan. Geri has always been an awful human being. She was spouting Tory nonsense back in the 90s. She and Posh were anti Europe (although I think a remainer now) and royalist.

In her various guises Ms Cook was critical of the Bridgend County Independents group on the county borough council.

Cllr Amanda Williams, who leads the group, told us: “I have a legal background and used to investigate complaints for a local health board. I have very serious concerns about the Ombudsman’s office. There is no doubt in my mind that non-Labour councillors are treated more harshly than Labour councillors. While complaints made about Labour councillors tend to be dismissed quickly, non-Labour councillors can wait for a very long time to have complaints against them resolved. This causes immense stress. I am aware of one councillor who has contemplated suicide because of such delays. This is completely unacceptable and things must change.”

Shocked

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales before Ms Cook’s resignation, the current Ombudsman Michelle Morris said she had been shocked by what had happened.

“We moved promptly to speak to that member of staff and suspend them,” she said.

“This is way below the standard of conduct we expect from our officers.”

Ms Morris said her office had 70 members of staff and the allegations involved one of them, but acknowledged she had work to do to ensure there was “faith” in the organisation’s impartiality.

We asked the Ombudsman’s office to respond to the criticisms of the “easy read” version of the annual report, but a spokesperson declined to comment.