A councillor who instructed a call handler from Sri Lanka to 'speak English' while reporting an incident of fly-tipping has issued an apology. Janet Cleverly, an independent member of Newport City Council, has faced a formal reprimand for her 'derogatory and humiliating' remarks and has been directed to complete additional training.
The incident occurred in August 2024 when Cleverly contacted the council's customer service line and spoke with a call handler who had been in the role for only four weeks, having relocated from Sri Lanka to the UK in 2022. During the call, the handler attempted to explain that there were 'disruptive sounds' and requested that Cleverly repeat certain information. However, Cleverly interjected, saying: 'I'm sorry, can I speak to somebody who's speaking English?' according to an Ombudsman's report. A few minutes later, as the handler sought to clarify details, she repeated: 'Sorry? I can't understand anything you're saying. Speak English.'
Following the call, Cleverly sent an email to the cabinet member responsible for environmental matters, stating: 'The person I spoke to could not speak English properly… I am all for equal opportunity but this person took all my information wrong after I had to repeat everything 3-4 times and spell everything lots of times.'
A customer services manager reviewed the recording of the call and expressed concerns about Cleverly's 'unnecessary' tone, prompting an investigation even though the call handler did not wish to pursue a complaint. The council's monitoring officer assessed that the call handler's English was fluent and that Cleverly's comments were 'consciously or otherwise, racially motivated' and 'discriminatory'. The customer service team manager described Cleverly's behaviour as 'derogatory' and 'highly inappropriate', noting that the call handler, who had only been in the role for about four weeks, felt 'belittled and inferior' and doubted her own ability to perform the job.
In her defence, Cleverly told the ombudsman that she had 'lots of BME friends' and that the call had been 'really frustrating', disagreeing that the handler had spoken clearly and fluently. Nevertheless, she apologised and said she felt 'absolutely awful' about upsetting the handler. Parts of Thursday's committee hearing were conducted in private to protect the identity of the call handler, who was not present. Cleverly told the panel: 'I was absolutely mortified by my actions that day.'
The committee found that Cleverly had breached three areas of the council's code for members relating to equality, respect and consideration of others, and disreputable conduct. Ombudsman Michelle Morris determined that her 'underlying motivation' was that she was 'irritated from the outset by the way the call handler spoke'. Councillor Kevin Whitehead, who leads the Bettws ward's independents, described the phone call as showing a 'lack of etiquette' from his colleague but challenged any suggestion of a racial element. 'I don't think there was an intent or anything – [it was] poor etiquette and poor form,' he said. He added that Cleverly, who had shown 'a lot of contrition', had a long career helping young people and the Bettws community and had received messages of support from people of diverse backgrounds.
Chairman Andrew Mitchell said the 'extremely concerned' panel had considered a suspension but agreed instead to censure Cleverly and require her to promptly complete further training. The council's deputy monitoring officer had earlier explained that a censure is 'a formal reprimand'.
