Birmingham Labour councillor cleared after 'nine months of hell' over Happy New Year phone call claim

The Labour Party has cleared Cllr Jack Deakin of any blame after a nine month investigation that left him 'distressed and disgusted'

A Labour city councillor accused of harassing a party employee has finally been cleared and totally exonerated - but not before being suspended and 'humiliated' for nine months.

Jack Deakin, who represents Allens Cross ward, said the ordeal had left him angry and distressed. He is now considering legal action over the original allegation, claiming he believed it was made maliciously. Mr Deakin was formally suspended in January after a complaint he had made a drunken and harassing phone call to a party employee, that breached conduct rules.

The party lifted his suspension on August 30, and has recently informed Cllr Deakin that a panel of Labour's National Executive Committee had ruled he had not committed the prohibited act he was accused of. He has expressed his fury over the original claim and the length of the subsequent investigation.

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"It took the investigation nine months to decide whether I left a voicemail wishing someone a Happy New Year. Any other organisation wouldn't have investigated such a complaint with seriousness, and would not have taken longer than a month or two. The harm and damage caused by this, some irreparable, is disgusting."

He described the experience of being under suspension as 'one of the most upsetting periods in my life and time in the party." In a statement he said: "I'm very grateful for the support individuals have given me...I look forward to continuing campaigning for the party I love and representing The Labour Party."

He is among a batch of Labour councillors within the Labour group who have been under investigation this year over a series of allegations. Cllr Barbara Dring (Lab, Oscott) was suspended amid claims she had leaked internal information - she was eventually exonerated and her suspension lifted.

But the ordeal was described as 'extremely distressing' by Cllr Dring, who has an untarnished reputation during 20 years service as a councillor. Her suspension came amid a clampdown by the local party into concerns that crucial information had been leaking out of the group with the potential to undermine the leadership and the party, allegedly including confidential casework details.

Separately, Cllr Des Hughes (Lab, Kingstanding) was suspended and later found in breach of strict rules designed to avoid conflicts of interest and improper behaviour. He was found to have continued to be paid to work for a city council-run special needs support service for three months after he stood for election, and was also found to have failed to declare his financial interest in the service while speaking out in its defence at council meetings. Coun Hughes breached the code of conduct for councillors in four separate ways, bringing the council into disrepute, the city's Standards Committee ruled after an investigation. He had denied wrongdoing.

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As a result, it was recommended he should repay any money due, be made to apologise to the council for his conduct, and be removed from his roles as trustee of the Barry Jackson Tower (a family homeless centre) and as the council representative on the Board of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Cllr Martin Brooks (Lab, Harborne) is currently under suspension amid allegations he made social media posts that breached conduct rules, including a claim he shared information online about a Labour celebration event that the party had hoped to be free of demonstrations and protests.

In a separate development, Councillor Shabina Bano (Small Heath) recently defected from the Labour group to join the LibDems after claiming that her complaints of bullying and harassment by fellow group members had not been taken sufficiently seriously. She joined the Liberal Democrats after a two year dispute over claims of misogyny and bullying. In a damning resignation statement earlier this month, she accused the city council's ruling Labour leadership of failing to properly address her concerns, first raised soon after her election in 2022.

Councillor Bano claims her allegations opened her up to further 'harassment, gaslighting and factionalism'. The Labour group 'does not reflect my values', she said in her parting shot. Some of her claims are disputed and subject of counterclaims, while the outcome of three Standards Committee inquiries into the allegations has yet to conclude.

We have reached out to Birmingham Labour leader Cllr John Cotton to comment on the current state of affairs within the Labour group, which was heavily criticised in an internal Labour Campaign Improvement Board report last year which highlighted toxicity and division among its 65 members.