THE LEADER of Greenwich Council, Chris Roberts, challenged a member of the public to stop spreading "rumours" of wrong-doing about him last night.
The dramatic exchange took place during public questions at the full meeting of the council at Woolwich Town Hall.
Babubhai Master, a constituent in Cllr Roberts' Glyndon ward, has repeatedly laid down written questions about the council's relationship with a property developer over the last year.
Mr Master, who this website understands is a member of the local Labour Party and stood as a candidate for the council in 1982, complained to the mayor that he had not been allowed to raise in his written question whether there was a conflict of interest in the Leader of the Council's purchase of a property from a developer in the borough.
"I will have to go somewhere else to ask the questions," he told the mayor.
At this, the Leader of the Council stood up to raise a point of order:
"He is referring to my purchase of a property.
"If he believes, and if he has any cause to believe, that there is anything incorrect with the purchase of my property there are several courses of action open to him. He can report it to the Chief Executive, to the District Auditor or to the Police and I challenge him now publicly to do all three and stop this nonsense once and for all.
"What he is doing is suggesting is that I behave in a certain way which I certainly do not. So I would actually ask him to raise those questions directly with the Chief Executive, the District Auditor and the Police. Stop the rumour, stop the innuendo and let charges be laid if there are any so that they can be properly answerered."
[…] in triumph for a celebration. He’s a figure who sharply divides opinion – witness this intriguing exchange with a member of the public at a council meeting, and this spoof Twitter account, set up in […]