A lack of clarity over what is deemed "appropriate engagement" between councillors and staff led to Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch being cleared of a conduct breach.

A decision notice, published on the county council website on Wednesday afternoon (July 22), stated that two of the three county councillors hearing the case felt there had been nothing to "compel" Cllr Finch to engage in-person with chief executive Monica Fogarty despite her request to do so.

Those councillors recognised that the leader could have "adopted a different approach" to sorting out a disagreement over flying the Progress Pride flag from Shire Hall towards the end of June 2025, but in the absence of specific guidance in the council's constitution or from the Local Government Association (LGA) they stopped short of declaring it a conduct breach.

Independent investigator Claire Ward found Cllr Finch had breached the code by failing in his requirement to "value my colleagues and staff and engage with them in an appropriate manner" but her report stopped short of holding the leader responsible for the public backlash against Ms Fogarty that followed, during which Reform UK's national party leader Nigel Farage MP suggested it was "time she looked for a new job".

The panel's verdict read: "The (panel) accepted that while a face-to-face discussion might have assisted the relationship between the then-interim leader (Cllr Finch) and the chief executive, on a majority basis it was not satisfied that the absence of such a discussion amounted to a breach of the code.

"This was based on the fact that there was no definition in the code or the LGA guidance of what was meant by 'appropriate' engagement.

"The panel felt that this paragraph of the code did not compel (Cllr Finch) to communicate in a specific format or to respond further to the chief executive after they appeared to have reached a position where they did not agree.

"The panel concluded that whilst other (councillors) may have adopted a different approach, the actions of (Cllr Finch) did not amount to a breach of the code."

It noted that one panel member "disagreed" and supported Ms Ward's view that Cllr Finch "had failed to engage with the chief executive in an appropriate manner in relation to the Pride flag".

The panel was made up of chair Cllr Yousef Dahmash, Cllr John Waine and Cllr Richard Dickson.

In the hearing, Cllr Dahmash addressed the matter of appropriate engagement with Ms Fogarty.

The chief executive said Cllr Finch hadn't acknowledged her arrangement with predecessor Cllr Rob Howard on which flags would be flown, her advice to introduce a flag policy if he wished to or that the Progress Pride flag was scheduled to come down in two days, all of which she deemed "sensible context and advice".

Their email exchange featured Ms Fogarty's suggestion to hold a face-to-face conversation.

Cllr Dahmash asked her whether there was anything in the council's member-officer protocol or LGA guidance that required Cllr Finch to engage with that.

Ms Fogarty replied: "I think it is common sense."

"But it is not prescribed anywhere," said Cllr Dahmash.

"Neither is email," said Ms Fogarty. "As senior leaders in a large organisation, we should have the common sense and intelligence to determine what is a reasonable form of engagement."

Cllr Dahmash said: "I appreciate that but if we are discussing a potential breach of the code, we should look at the wording of the code, not an interpretation of it or what might be common sense."

The panel's deliberations were held behind closed doors. The Local Democracy Reporting Service invited panel members to state reasons for their decisions on the day with Cllr Dahmash replying: "This question was raised prior to coming back in and the explanation given will be in the decision notice."

Following the publication of the decision Cllr Dahmash declined to state which way he voted, explaining that he did not want to set a precedent for other councillors or future panel meetings. Cllr Waine and Cllr Dickson have been approached for comment.