THE INVESTIGATION into the conduct of the town council’s senior clerk has sparked a separate dispute.
Mayor Julian Roskams and resident Harry Tanner have been involved in a heated email exchange in recent weeks, where Coun Roskams requested Mr Tanner retract claims he had made in an email to acquaintances. The Observer has seen the message in question but can not repeat the allegations for legal reasons.
Coun Roskams confirmed he was seeking legal advice against Mr Tanner, who is a well-known figure in the town, claiming the allegations about his handling of the clerk’s case were ‘false’ and ‘defamatory’.
The Mayor said the comments seriously damaged his reputation and significantly misrepresented his actions, adding the statements he made in his email were entirely without foundation.
Mr Tanner replied saying he had sent the ‘private’ email to his contacts and said it was regrettable the message had been forwarded on.
But he said: “I feel I can not be held responsible for the actions of others.”
Mr Tanner added: “I and many of my local acquaintances are concerned about the current situation regarding the Town Clerk and the inevitable cost of this process to the public purse.
“We are clearly going to disagree on elements of this but we surely must accept that it is time to bring this matter to a conclusion and act in the best interests of Malvern people.”
He concluded saying he now considered the matter between the two ‘closed’, but Coun Roskams branded his response ‘wholly inadequate’ maintaining Mr Tanner had made ‘no effort to correct his errors’.
