Report exonerating Ombudsman’s office of bias branded a ‘whitewash’

Martin Shipton

Calls for the Welsh Ombudsman’s office to be scrapped have resumed despite a review which concluded that a social media post by its chief investigator stating “F… the Tories” was no proof of bias.

Sinead Cook resigned from her job as head of the code of conduct team earlier this year, days after Nation.Cymru revealed that she had posted numerous politically contentious messages using pseudonyms. Ms Cook’s team was responsible for investigating complaints made against councillors.

Ms Cook ran an 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 include 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.”

‘Humour’

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 posts by @SweetlittleSewandsew also showed clear political bias. After the content of Ms Cook’s posts was revealed, a number of non-Labour councillors accused the Ombudsman’s office of being biased against them, claiming they or party colleagues had been treated more harshly than Labour councillors when complaints that they had broken the local government code of conduct were made against them.

Dr Melissa McCullough, the Commissioner for Standards for the Northern Ireland Assembly, was commissioned by Michelle Morris, the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW), to undertake a review of decisions made by Ms Cook and her colleagues in the code of conduct team. Dr McCullough has now reported that PSOW’s decision making has been “appropriate, fair and free from political bias”.

Some 673 individual complaints were reviewed, including 89 that were handled by Ms Cook, referred to as the former code of conduct team manager (FCTM).

Respect

Dr McCullough’s review stated that a theme which emerged from the inquiry was the respect code of conduct team members had for the FCTM, the work that she did, her professionalism and the support she provided to those she managed.

Ms Cook herself was interviewed after the case review was complete. The review states: “[It] was not in the scope of this review to investigate the incident or the FCTM in relation to the posts she made. However, the review felt it would be entirely appropriate to invite the FCTM to speak to the lead reviewer to provide any information she felt relevant to the review, if she wished to do so; we are grateful that she engaged with the review.

“The FCTM said that she is not very political and doesn’t lean towards any political party; rather, she has strong personal views about policy issues and the impact policies have on people.”

The review stated it had “found no evidence that the FCTM expressed her personal views on political matters ‘akin to her social media posts’ in the office and/or inappropriately influenced other staff members, in the performance of their duties under the Local Government Act 2000.”

The review did not go down well with some anti-Labour local politicians.

‘Serious concerns’

Welsh Conservative councillor Iain McIntosh, who sits on Powys County Council, said: ‘I would like to understand why Dr. Melissa McCullough and her review team failed to reach out to myself or any other Welsh councillors, particularly those of us who have voiced serious concerns about the decisions emanating from the Ombudsman service. Furthermore, why were some of us explicitly denied the opportunity to contact the investigative team to present our concerns?

“The so-called independent investigation has seemingly disregarded significant misconduct involving non-Conservative councillors. It appears that decisions within the Ombudsman’s office have indeed been politically motivated. Given that the investigation overlooked these critical issues, I find myself unable to trust its conclusions. It seems to be nothing more than a whitewash. We need a totally new Ombudsman service, followed by a more thoroughly conducted independent investigation.’

Cllr McIntosh posted a message on X that said: “A Powys county councillor elected as a Liberal Democrat was reported to the PSOW for making TikTok videos repeatedly saying ‘F*** the Tories’, the exact same statement issued by the Ombudsman’s office head of investigations, who went on to resign over her comments. PSOW informed the person who reported the Powys councillor that they would not investigate the matter!

“To hear that following an investigation, no bias has been found, it is beyond incredible. I have zero confidence in the investigation, and when I contacted PSOW for the contact details of the investigators to raise my concerns, they refused to pass on the details. We deserve better than this is Wales!”

‘Impartiality’

Cllr Amanda Williams, leader of the Bridgend County Independents opposition group on Bridgend County Borough Council, said:”I raised concerns about the standard of investigations and impartiality of an officer within the Ombudsman’s office and I received a copy of the report today from the Ombudsman. I was disappointed, but not surprised, with the findings and that those who had due cause to complain about the handling of their complaints were not contacted for their comments or asked for their evidence. The report has only increased my concerns regarding the standard of investigations and that key witnesses were not contacted.”

A councillor who insisted on remaining anonymous told Nation.Cymru: “I would dearly love to comment on the report but genuinely fear the repercussions of doing so.”

Welsh Conservative Senedd group leader Andrew RT Davies posted a message to X that said: “A whitewash. This scandal caused irreparable damage to the Ombudsman’s reputation. It must be closed and replaced.”

We sought responses from Ms Morris and Dr McCullough, but neither provided us with a statement.