Row erupts as councillor accuses resident of telling lies

A row erupted when a senior councillor accused of a member of the public invited to ask a question at a meeting of having told “a lie” about her. 

Councillor Catrin Maby, who is Monmouthshire council’s cabinet member responsible for highways, accused the public speaker, and a Conservative councillor, of having said in a video and on social media she called people opposed to a controversial road closure of being “road rats”. 

The Labour councillor was responding when resident Justine Johnson asked a question about the closure of part of Goldwire Lane in Monmouth to vehicles, under the council’s scheme for members of the public to put questions to cabinet members at full council meetings. 

During the January 23 full council meeting at County Hall in Usk, Cllr Maby stated the process for reviewing the traffic order and why it had been made in response to concerns from 11 residents of the narrow section of the road which is now restricted to access only. 

The Drybridge councillor then said: “I’m sorry about this Mrs Johnson I believe you have told an untruth about me on social media and in a video and this lie was repeated by Cllr (Jane) Lucas in this chamber. 

“Both claimed I referred to residents as road rats. I will take this opportunity to categorically state this is a lie, I never used such a term and neither have the officers and I would ask that she, and Cllr Lucas, correct this lie publicly here and on social media and that they desist from further defamation of my character.” 

Mrs Johnson replied: “I have never said that you called us ‘road rats’ it was a road run, rat run.” 

The clearly upset resident also complained she didn’t have time to ask a follow up question as she said Cllr Maby had “delivered the same speech” when she had been asked about the road closure at December’s meeting. 

She had also told the meeting two petions, with 334 signatures, had been collected opposing the closure, which Cllr Maby said came into force in October. It will be reviewed after six months with the impact on the local highway network, and all user including pedestrians, asseesed. If the impact isn’t “disproportionate” the council will move to make it a permanent order. 

Cllr Lucas, who was attending the meeting remotely via video link, didn’t respond but Cllr Maby was criticised by other members. 
Independent Group leader Frances Taylor said, later in the meeting, she hadn’t managed to catch the chair’s attention, but had wanted to raise a point of order. 

Cllr Taylor said: “I was rather surprised at a councillor raising a personal matter with that resident. I didn’t think, personally, that was welcome or what this chamber is for.” 

Later in the meeting Conservative Alistair Neill said: “I feel compelled to say that I’m really shocked that a cabinet member would accuse a member of the public of lying in this chamber, alongside accusing a fellow councillor, with no opportunity for recourse and I feel that should be called out and withdrawn.”