A sex-mad Wigan councillor has escaped the sack despite racking up a £2,500 bill on his council phone by calling premium rate chat lines.
However Councillor Robert Bleakley was barred from speaking to female colleagues after sending multiple sexist and explicit text messages.
Councillor Robert Bleakley escaped the sack for texts that claimed women were for ‘cleaning and washing material’ and that he hoped jailed Vicky Pryce ‘liked her fanny played with in the showers’.
He also made vulgar texts commenting on activist Alison Smith’s ‘tight snatch’ and calling her a ‘fucking bitch’.
The pervert, who has faced disciplinary hearings twice already this year for both viewing pornography on a council laptop and altering emails, sent bigoted messages and called sex-lines costing the council £2,418.95.
Donna Hall, chief executive of Wigan Council, said: “I am appalled and sickened with the language used in these messages.
“It is quite clear, judging by the content of Councillor Bleakley’s text messages, that he has a problem with women.
“I will not tolerate this prejudice, nor will I allow him to come into contact with female officers until he has undertaken equal opportunities training.”
The Wigan Independents Councillor for Tyldesley, who has been disqualified and suspended by the Standards Board for England twice and removed from the Liberal Democrat Party in the past, failed to attend last week’s hearing.
The cross-party panel, which comprised Chair of the Standards Committee Councillor Charles Rigby, Councillor Jim Ellis and Councillor Mike Crosby, decided there was sufficient information to proceed without him.
As a result, Councillor Bleakley was ordered to hand back his IT equipment, including his mobile phone, and also had his internet access taken off him.
He must also undergo equal opportunities training and female officers will be instructed not to speak to him.
During the hearing, the panel heard the evidence, which included some of the text messages. One such message, sent on Saturday March 2 last year, said: “Aren’t they fucking idiots. No wonder women are just cooking and washing material.”
In another message, sent Monday February 11 2013, in a conversation regarding the Vicky Pryce and Chris Huhne court case, he said: “Lol. Oh well we’ll find out this week what happens. I hope she likes porridge and her fanny played with in the showers.”
On Tuesday February 26 2013, he said: “I see that fucking Alison Smith was on the news complaining about the investigation. Someone please tell her to fuck off and don’t come back.”
In a response he continued: “That Alison Smith, typical Scot and I bet she has a tight snatch.”
“What a fucking bitch.”
On Monday June 3 2013 he sent a text that said: “Oh I bet it did. Spunk on her blouse. In 10 years time she’ll be saying he raped her.”
After reviewing the evidence, the panel agreed that Councillor Bleakley had broken the council’s ICT policy and breached paragraph 5 and 6 (b) (i) of the members’ Code of Conduct when he used his mobile phone inappropriately.
Friday’s hearing marks the third time that Councillor Bleakley has been subject to a standards hearing this year.
On the first occasion, back in February, he was found guilty of deliberately altering an email in an attempt to jeopardise a senior employee’s job.
A month later, in March, he was found guilty of viewing pornographic material on his council-issued laptop.
