Lambeth council accused of hiding behind GDPR to protect Labour councillor

Lambeth Council has been accused of hiding behind the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to avoid investigating allegations that its deputy leader, Rezina Chowdhury, lied under oath. The dispute originates from a High Court case concerning the West Dulwich Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN), which a judge eventually ruled was introduced unlawfully after the council failed to consider legitimate resident concerns.

The complaint, brought by resident Jonathan Fowles, alleges that Chowdhury’s witness statement denying any refusal to engage with LTN critics was untruthful. Fowles claims a recording of a meeting with Chowdhury proves she admitted to ignoring his correspondence because she believed he was acting in bad faith following a critical email from two years prior. 

After the judge declined to rule on the recording, Fowles asked the council to investigate a breach of its code of conduct. However, eight months later, Lambeth’s monitoring officer refused the request, stating it would be inappropriate to investigate without a prior court finding of perjury and that the recording may have breached the GDPR.

Fowles has subsequently condemned the decision, arguing the council is using the GDPR to shield its deputy leader. 

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