LESSONS will be learned following the tribunal verdict that a Malvern Town Council clerk was dismissed unfairly, says the town mayor.

The formation of an enquiry panel was voted for, to investigate where the council failed to follow correct procedure and why, following the dismissal of Richard Chapman.

Mayor of Malvern, councillor Julian Roskams, said: "It's important given the tribunal verdict that we do learn the necessary lessons from the entire saga, and we will.

"We were dealing with exceptional circumstances in this case, and had no real procedures in place to handle the allegations.

"We took legal steps,based on advice from legal professionals, but we have got to look again to help us handle cases like this better in the future.

"At the time we took the best legal advice for the best possible reasons, and I stand by those decisions."

Mr Chapman was dismissed from his role in April, on the grounds of gross misconduct, following allegations of bullying.

However, a four-day tribunal hearing in Birmingham found the dismissal to be unfair and the allegations "unmerited".

At the Malvern Town Council meeting on Tuesday, October 28, nine councillors voted for the formation of the panel, while there was one vote against and four abstentions.

It is set to be put into action in four to six weeks, with three Malvern Town councillors on the panel too.

Cllr Roskams says procedures have now been investigated, and his colleagues have confidence in those systems.

He said: "We were not prepared for situations of this nature before, but now we are.

"These new procedures will allow complaints to be handled properly in the future, so staff are unlikely to have to face allegations from people on that scale ever again.

"The staff on this council have confidence in how complaints will be handled, and how to act on any that are received.

"The enquiries will be held in public meetings, with independent legal advisors to ensure transparency throughout the enquiry.

"It was a very unfortunate situation, but it will benefit everyone in the long run as this council is now better prepared."