No action taken against ‘gay marriage causes floods’ ex-UKIP councillor
No action will be taken against an ex-UKIP councillor who famously claimed earlier this year that same-sex marriage caused flooding.
David Silvester was suspended and then expelled from UKIP in February, after writing a letter to a newspaper blaming the floods of December 2013 and early this year on David Cameron’s decision to legalise equal marriage.
However, he has remained an independent town councillor in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
In March it was announced that South Oxfordshire District Council had launched a formal investigation into his conduct, but it was revealed today that no action will be taken.
A spokesperson told the Henley Standard today that the council’s monitoring officer had concluded that Mr Silvester was acting in a personal capacity.
The statement said: “She has accepted the investigator’s view that Cllr Silvester was not acting in his official capacity when he wrote his letter to the Henley Standard; as such she considers that this matter falls outside the scope of the council’s standards framework. She therefore has no powers to take any further action in relation to the allegations.
“She has, however, written to Councillor Silvester to warn him that using his honorific title in personal correspondence is not advisable as it lays his reputation and that of the town council open to unnecessary risk.
“She will also issue advice along similar lines to district councillors and parish clerks within the district.”
