During the time that I spent as a councillor on Weymouth and Portland Council I was once reported to the Standards Board.

In a meeting I asked the leader of the Lib Dem group whether a particular councillor had been encouraged to wait until after the May elections before announcing that she was stepping down.

I also asked whether it would have saved the council some money if she could have announced this prior to the elections to save the extra expense of a by-election.

This was taken by some to be an attack on the character of the councillor.

A local resident, who later became a Lib Dem councillor but was not present at the meeting to hear my questions, chose to report me to the Standards Board.

They quickly decided that I had not breached the Code of Conduct.

The reason for going back to this incident is because it makes the deafening silence at the moment from the Lib Dem councillors about the conduct of Councillor Christine James all the more puzzling.

It seems that none of them, (including the lady who was so outraged by remarks she didn’t even hear) seems to think that a conviction for assault is serious enough to warrant some sort of action.

Perhaps their leader, Councillor Ian Roebuck, is trying to persuade her to resign?

It would be nice if he would make some sort of public comment instead of maintaining a vow of silence.

The Code of Conduct for Council Members makes it very clear that members ‘should not place themselves in situations where their honesty and integrity may be questioned’, nor should they ‘behave improperly’.

It also says they have ‘a duty to uphold the law’ and advises them that ‘you must not conduct yourself in a manner which could reasonably be regarded as bringing your office or council into disrepute’.

On that basis I cannot understand how Coun James feels she can carry on as a councillor but if that is her decision, surely the other Lib Dem councillors must make it clear that she cannot continue as a representative of their party?

Andy Blackwood, Marina Gardens, Weymouth