Nottinghamshire County Council leader Ben Bradley said he would sack former Ashfield deputy leader Tom Hollis 'if he could', as the councillor was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court. Hollis, who retains his position as a councillor at Ashfield and on the county council, was found guilty of harassing neighbours and careless driving.
In a social media post, Mr Bradley, who is also MP for Mansfield, shared his view on the situation and urged the councillor to resign. He wrote: "I'm deeply disappointed by the sentencing outcome today, which ultimately does not meet the legal tests required for Cllr Hollis to be removed as a Councillor. Sadly, as he is elected by the public and not an employee, I do not have the discretion to 'sack' him. I would if I could.
"I'd want to assure local people that if I had even the slightest hint of an opportunity to ensure that a criminal convicted of harassing his neighbours, and using his position as a Councillor to intimidate local residents, could be removed from office then I would do so. His behaviour has been disgraceful. He is not fit for public office.
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"Unfortunately the law does not allow me to do it. He cannot be removed, but he could and should resign."
Hollis received a 12-month community order in addition to 200 hours of unpaid work for the community for his sentencing. He was also ordered to pay the victims £500 each as compensation, a £95 victim surcharge, costs of £1,000 and a fine of £570 and six points added to his license for the careless driving.
Mr Bradley then went on to urge Hollis to "do the right thing and step down." He wrote: "He is not a suitable person to be a County Councillor, when our core responsibilities are to look after the most vulnerable adults and children in our communities.
"He should resign immediately. If he will not do so, the only disciplinary routes available are through his political party, the Ashfield Independents.
"If Cllr Hollis were a Conservative member, he would be expelled, he would no longer sit as a Conservative at any Council (and certainly not one that I lead!) and he would be removed from all positions of responsibility, in accordance with our party's rules."
He continued: "I don't know what the Ashfield Independents' disciplinary rules are or if they have any, but these actions - expulsion from the party and being sacked from all positions of responsibility - are my minimum expectation, and the public's minimum expectation. He should not be selected by the Ashfield Independents for any future elections.
"He should not be eligible to speak for them on any subject, or receive additional taxpayer-funded allowances through their offices. Anything less than this level of disciplinary action is unacceptable.
"I hope that this kind of response is urgently forthcoming, because so far all I have seen is excuses from the AIs, and Cllr Hollis remains - to my knowledge - a Member of the Cabinet at Ashfield District Council. The public, across Ashfield and the County, will not find that acceptable, and it is not tenable for the AIs and their leadership to continue to dismiss calls to remove him."
The sentence handed down to Hollis does not meet the legal threshold for disqualification from office, a county council spokesperson confirmed today. The threshold is a custodial sentence of three months or more.
Hollis was removed from his position as deputy leader at Ashfield District Council following his conviction this month. A spokesperson for the Ashfield Independents added: "The court has made a judgement and Tom has accepted this and will now serve his sentence giving back to his community. The incidents were well over two years ago in a time of high pressure. Since then, Tom has matured and will now continue his job - serving his beloved communities of Carsic, Huthwaite and Sutton."
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