A public sector worker has stated that he is ‘not satisfied’ with a public apology issued by a Bracknell councillor who shared sensitive medical information about him.
The information was shared by councillor Jodie Watts (Labour, Harmans Water & Crown Wood) during a spat on Facebook.
Cllr Watts has since issued a formal apology for the incident as a result of a conduct panel hearing at Bracknell Forest Council after the man made a formal complaint against her.
The hearing held last month found that she revealed, and later deleted, sensitive information about the health of a man called Mr Cunningham, who made the complaint.
Cllr Watts confessed that a debate about immigration on a Facebook group ‘fell into chaos’, and she revealed information about him possibly seeking a diagnosis they were discussing.
Her apology has been published as part of the process.
Cllr Watts said: “I wish to express my sincere and unreserved apologies for the breach of confidentiality that occurred during my engagement on social media.
“I fully acknowledge the seriousness of this lapse and regret the impact it may have had on you.
“I have agreed to undertake training pertaining to this and will not repeat such a mistake.”
The apology was published on Wednesday, November 5.
During the hearing, it was stated that the Facebook spat started during a debate about immigration.
However, Mr Cunningham disputed that in a phone call to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
He said: “It had nothing to do with immigration, I wasn’t commenting on immigration at all.
“That had nothing to do with me; in fact, I agreed with her on the immigration stance.
“If it were about the Afghan resettlement scheme, I agree with that, I would be agreeing with her.”
But in further interactions, he claimed cllr Watts wrongly accused him of hateful comments.
Mr Cunnigham said: “She said I’ve posted ‘hate’ online, but has not backed her claims up, I’ve never been hateful to anyone. I’m getting messages asking what the hell is going on.
“I’ve separated myself from politics as a result; it’s stressed me out.
“Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be too concerned, but that was a bad GDPR breach; you would lose your job. Ultimately, it is down to the Labour whip.”
The panel ruled that cllr Watts should undertake appropriate training and issue a public apology.
When asked whether he felt these steps were satisfactory, Mr Cunningham said: “I’m not satisfied, she has already had training, they’ve just asked for more, is she going to learn a second time? I feel it has been very lenient.”
Mr Cunningham is a public sector worker.
Cllr Watt’s apology can be seen attached to the agenda for the panel hearing, which was held on October 16.
Bracknell Labour and the council have been contacted to answer Mr Cunningham’s claims.
