Councillor apologises for telling call handler to 'speak English' in 'derogatory and humiliating' exchange
Councillor Janet Cleverly told a council standards committee she was "mortified" by her actions
An independent councillor who told a call handler to “speak English” has been reprimanded and ordered to undergo extra training.
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Janet Cleverly made the remarks while reporting a fly-tipping incident to Newport City Council in April 2024.
An ombudsman’s investigation found the Bettws councillor’s comments were “derogatory and humiliating” and fell well below what is expected of an elected member.
Cleverly later apologised and told a council standards committee she was “mortified” by her behaviour.
During the call, the handler said there were "disruptive sounds" on the line and asked Cleverly to repeat some details.
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According to the ombudsman’s report, Cleverly interrupted and said: “I’m sorry, can I speak to somebody who’s speaking English?"
Minutes later, as the handler tried to clarify further information, Cleverly added: “Sorry? I can’t understand anything you’re saying. Speak English.”
Later that day, she emailed the council’s cabinet member for environmental matters, writing: “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.”
The incident was flagged by a customer services manager, who raised concerns about Cleverly’s “unnecessary” tone.
A council monitoring officer said the handler’s English was fluent and described Cleverly’s remarks as “consciously or otherwise, racially motivated” and “discriminatory”.
The report said the handler was left “very emotional and upset”.
Cleverly later told the ombudsman she had worked in black and minority ethnic communities during her career as a youth and community worker and had “lots of BME friends”.
She said it had been a “really bad line” and apologised if she had upset the handler, insisting it had not been her intention.
Parts of Thursday’s hearing were held in private to protect the identity of the call handler, who did not attend.
“I was absolutely mortified by my actions that day,” Cleverly told the panel.
The committee found she had breached three parts of the councillors’ code of conduct, covering equality, respect for others and bringing the role into disrepute.
It will now decide what sanction should be imposed.