A BID to have the decision not to prosecute Bournemouth council’s leader reviewed has failed.
Two weeks ago the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced there was “insufficient evidence” to prosecute Cllr John Beesley for alleged misconduct and failure to properly declare pecuniary interests.
Later that week six out of the 10 councillors who made the initial complaint submitted applications under the Right to Review process.
One, Cllr Nick Rose, wrote to CPS Wessex calling for the decision to be “independently reviewed [...] ideally by the Director of Public Prosecutions”.
He said: “As one of the 10 councillors who made the initial complaint about Cllr Beesley I am considered a ‘victim’ and have the right to request a review.
“It is absolutely in the public interest that the issues identified in this case are clarified in court to help ensure public confidence that people in public office do not abuse their powers for their own personal gain.”
However Cllr Rose has since received a refusal from the CPS, stating that the Right to Review “applies only in specified circumstances which do not apply in this case”.
The decision, likely to also apply to the other five requests, leaves only the forthcoming civil probe into the complaint.
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