MALVERN’S former town clerk Richard Chapman was unfairly dismissed from his role, a tribunal judge has concluded.

Judge Mary Cocks decided Malvern Town Council’s decision to sack Mr Chapman over allegations of bullying was unmerited, after a four-day tribunal in Birmingham.

Mr Chapman, who was dismissed in April on the grounds of gross misconduct, said his over-riding feeling when the judge issued her decision today (October 16) was “relief”.

After the decision, he said: “It’s been a very stressful 12 months and I’m totally drained.

“I shouted at two people when I was wrong and that’s all I did.

“I worked with most of the people at the council for 10 years and was very supportive of my staff.”

His wife Mary said: “His reputation has been at stake.”

During her conclusion, Judge Cocks said she had “rarely heard a case where the unfairness of the dismissal was so apparent to me”.

Allegations of bullying were raised after an incident on October 2, when Mr Chapman – who started working at the council in July 2002 – raised his voice at two members of staff due to stress.

Malvern Town Council then launched an investigation into his conduct, after a subsequent complaint from Deborah Powell.

However, the probe by investigator Angela Roberts “mushroomed” out of control, the judge said.

Ms Roberts went outside her remit, and the investigator’s report was slammed as “woefully inadequate”.

In the course of the hearing, the process that saw Mr Chapman dismissed was described as “a witch hunt”, with the second-tier appeal panel that decided he should be sacked labelled “a kangaroo court” by his representative Richard Hignett.

Mr Hignett told mayor Julian Roskams, who was in the witness box, that he “wanted this investigation to be as wide as it needed to be”, in order to see “just how much dirt the investigation could stick on [Mr Chapman].”

Cllr Roskams said this was untrue.

Mr Chapman was found guilty of breaching the authority's Bullying and Harassment Code by a disciplinary panel and handed a first written warning in January.

Judge Cocks said Cllr Roskams was “patently dissatisfied with the findings of the disciplinary panel” and put obstacles in the way of Mr Chapman returning to work.

Subsequently, Mr Chapman appealed about the fact the warning would remain on his record for ever, which is in contravention of the ACAS code used by the council.

He withdrew his appeal the day before the panel was due to sit and was not present for the appeal panel’s hearing on April 3..

In his absence, the second-tier panel chose to sack Mr Chapman, on the grounds of gross misconduct.

Mr Hignett said Cllr Thomas- who chaired the appeal panel – wanted Mr Chapman out.

Cllr Thomas said he “totally” denied the accusation and described “a picture..becoming clear of systematic bullying” by Mr Chapman, which led to the decision to dismiss him.