Hillingdon Council Leader, Cllr Steve Tuckwell, has said he does not intend to ask his deputy to resign
Hillingdon residents have reacted with anger and incredulity after the council’s Deputy Leader was revealed to be the person behind an anonymous Facebook profile criticising them.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) recently revealed that Conservative Councillor Richard Mills was using a Facebook pseudonym in group discussions in which he accused residents of being “keyboard warriors” and publicly supported council policies without revealing who he was.
One of those residents, Sandra D’Souza, who is a school governor from West Drayton and a member of the Labour Party, has joined the local Labour group’s call for Cllr Mills to resign.
When commenting in a local community group about fly-tipping in the borough, she was told by Cllr Mills that she “wouldn’t want to get a reputation as one of those… who just complains continuously”, suggesting that she stands for election herself.
Reacting to the news that it was the Deputy Council Leader sending her those comments, she said: “I hadn’t realised until I read it in the article, and then it sort of resonated with me even more. The fact he was saying that to me, ‘why don’t you run for council’, I thought, gosh, you’re a councillor, saying that.”
She added: “I didn’t expect somebody that’s serving as a councillor to make such a comment in a patronising way… I think he should resign, or needs to be told he needs to resign… [Council Leader] Steve Tuckwell needs to tell him that he needs to leave or step down from his role. It happens at a government level, so why not a local level?”
‘I will not ask him to stand down’
The LDRS asked Cllr Tuckwell whether he still backs Cllr Mills. He said: “It has been drawn to my attention that a formal complaint has been made regarding comments attributed to Cllr Mills, and these matters are now being considered through the proper process.
“As Group Leader, it would be inappropriate for me to prejudge that process or provide a running commentary while it is ongoing. I am sure you will appreciate that I will not be drawn into commenting in a way that could undermine that process simply to accommodate the framing of your question.
“It must be allowed to run its course, and I will respond as appropriate when it has done. For the avoidance of any doubt, I will not be asking Richard to stand down as Deputy Leader.”
‘I feel saddened by his insult to our family’
Under a story featuring Andrea and John Scrivens campaigning against council changes to petition rules, Cllr Mills, under his pseudonym ‘DelightfulYuzu2877’, referred to them and others as “the usual rent-a-crowd”. Andrea told the LDRS she was disappointed “to hear that Cllr Mills has behaved with such disrespect and contempt for campaigners”.
John added: “I feel saddened by Cllr Richard Mills’s insult to our family which he made because of our collaborative efforts to support the RAGC’s (Rural Activities Garden Centre’s) continuing work to help those with learning disabilities…
“In response to Cllr Mills’ anger, we would be grateful to have a constructive meeting with him so that we can explain why so many residents support RAGC and why the council currently has a golden opportunity to assure the long term future of RAGC whilst at the same time reducing or eliminating the alleged annual deficit incurred by RAGC. It would be ideal if the Leader, Cllr Tuckwell, could also participate in this meeting.”
The LDRS asked Cllr Tuckwell and Cllr Mills if they would sit down for a meeting with Andrea and John. Neither provided a response.
Cllr Mills previously told the LDRS he has used online groups as “a form of focus group to gauge public opinion on a variety of local issues”, arguing that his actions are not in breach of Facebook’s guidelines. He also claimed that if people knew who he really was they would be Influenced in their responses because of his political affiliation.
After enquiries but ahead of publication of the original article, Cllr Mills’ username changed to CherishedBlueberry4754. However, the comments appear to have now been deleted.
Daniel O’Neill is a Ruislip resident and has been on the receiving end of the anonymous comments for months. He said: “For months, ‘DelightfulYuzu2877′ told me I was gutless. It told me residents’ associations are fronts ‘taken over by an egomaniac with his own political agenda’, and that people like me are ‘keyboard warriors’ who lack the courage to face the electorate.
“I always assumed I was being dragged into an argument with another resident. I now know I was being baited by the Conservatives’ Chief Whip and now the Deputy Leader of the Council. “That changes everything about how those comments should be read. This wasn’t one resident disagreeing with another online. It was the second-most senior politician on the council, anonymously trying to intimidate me.”
Cllr Mills comment ‘most disturbing’
Cllr Mills also made a number of comments under posts about the campaign to prevent the closure of the West Drayton tip, announced by the Conservative-led council earlier this year. Leading the campaign is Arabella Sargeant, who was suspicious of ‘DelightfulYuzu2877’ and his comments.
She said she found his comments “dishonest and shallow”. She added: “He had every right to disagree with our campaign. What I find completely inappropriate is that the Deputy Leader of the council was apparently doing so anonymously, using a false identity and presenting himself as an ordinary resident.
“At one point the account talked about his own garden, saying ‘My garden’s not big enough to use every week so I only do it a couple of times in summer’. I actually asked him directly, ‘who are you?’ and he didn’t tell me.”
In one of his comments about the tip closure, the pseudonym appeared to suggest that the council may look at whether a ward voted for the ruling party when considering closing a local service. The comment stated: “West Drayton chose a mix of opposition representatives on the council so probably part of what happens when picking the losing side.”
Arabella found this to be the “most disturbing” comment. She told the LDRS: “That is an extraordinary thing for the Deputy Leader of a council to say anonymously to residents who are campaigning against the loss of a public service. We aren’t a ‘side’.
“We are residents. People should never be left wondering whether the services their community receives could be influenced by how they voted.”
Cllr Richard Mills was contacted for comment. He did not respond by the time of publication.
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