A COUNCILLOR who posed as a resident to praise himself on the Daily Echo’s website should have resigned from Bournemouth council’s standards board.

That’s the view of Roy Wardle, the independent chair of the board, who has revealed how he asked Labour group leader Ben Grower to reconsider his position.

Cllr Grower made national headlines after he was revealed as Omegaman – an internet poster full of admiration for himself and other Labour members.

Mr Wardle said: “It seemed a most peculiar thing for him to have done. I really was most concerned about what had happened. I expect all members of the committee to not just observe the code of conduct but to set an example.

“I really felt he had let the committee down, let the council down, let himself down and let me down. I asked him to consider his position. I felt he should stand down from the committee, or at least stand down from the assessment sub-committee that deals with complaints from members of the public about councillors.

“His response was he wasn’t going to, he had done nothing wrong.”

With the media attention surrounding the issue, Mr Wardle expected someone else to complain about Cllr Grower. When no one did, he decided to do it himself. The Standards Board for England investigated and they concluded Cllr Grower had not breached the code because he was not acting for the council when posting his messages.

Mr Wardle said he was surprised with the ruling. “Does that mean that any councillor in any local authority can post comments on a website under another name and say whatever they like?” he asked.

He cannot remove people from the standards board but he has written to all four group leaders, including Cllr Grower, asking them to consider carefully who they nominate to the standards board this year.

“If the council decides that it wishes to reappoint him to the standards committee, that’s their decision. I’m happy to have him on it as long as he continues to make an effective contribution.” Cllr Grower was unavailable for comment.