Allegations against Stephen Greenhalgh Referred to Police Watchdog
"Serious complaint" over Earls Court redevelopment
Police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints ommission is considering allegations against Stephen Greenhalgh, now deputy mayor in charge of policing in London, when he was Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader.
The complaint relates to controversial plans for the redevelopment of Earl's Court in west London.
Mr Greenhalgh said the "baseless allegations" were "politically motivated".
The Greater London Authority said it referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) as it was classed as a "serious complaint".
The complaint relates to plans to knock down Earl's Court exhibition centre and two nearby estates and replace them with a new "urban quarter" comprising of 7,500 new homes.
Campaigners against the plans say if they are approved, jobs would be lost.
Tenants and leaseholders on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates, who would have to be rehoused, have called for a judicial review on the grounds that the plan is contrary to Hammersmith and Fulham's local planning policy.
The complaint relates to statements taken between late 2010 to the summer of 2012.
The council said no homes had been allocated and no-one had received preferential treatment.
Stephen Greenhalgh said: "I am imm
ormer Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council Stephen Greenhalgh, now a London deputy mayor, has been given a verbal warning over claims he touched a female colleague’s bottom in a lift at City Hall.
Mayor Boris Johnson told the London Assembly: "It is certainly right for us to remind everybody in this place that there can be no inappropriate conduct of any kind in the GLA and that is the very firm advice I have given to the deputy mayor for policing in London."
However, the Mayor said no further action would be taken taken against Mr Greenhalgh. "There is no conclusive evidence here about what has or has not happened," he said.
He also told assembly members that he had confidence in Mr Greenhalgh, who stepped down from his role as Hammersmith and Fulham Council Leader in May to become Deputy Mayor for Policing, and added that he was "doing a first rate job."
Labour had called for an inquiry into Mr Greenhalgh's behaviour following claims that a woman told a colleague he had behaved inappropriately towards her in a lift last month, by touching her bottom.
She was said to have been "upset" by the incident but had not made a formal complaint.
Mr Greenhalgh, 43, responded saying: "I have no recollection of this event and understand no complaint has been made.
" Nonetheless, I would like to apologise unreservedly for anything that could be or may have been construed as inappropriate on my part."
The claims led to an inquiry into whether the issue amounted to a "conduct matter".
In a letter to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac), the monitoring officer for the Greater London Authority, Ed Williams, said the female staff member said she considered "the core elements" of what had been reported in the media to be "true" and "there was contact".
But he added: "It is also the case that I have not questioned the deputy mayor for policing and crime about the alleged incident, as I do not consider that to have been a necessary part of this process.
"I have decided that the conduct of the deputy mayor for policing and crime did not on this occasion amount to a 'conduct matter' as defined above. I will not therefore be recording or referring the matter to the IPCC.
"However, in taking into account the views of the member of staff, I have been obliged to consider that the conduct of the deputy mayor may, inadvertently or otherwise, have fallen short of expectations, whilst noting also that no complaint has been made."
December 20, 2012
