Councillor told to apologise again over ‘spying scandal’ after £10k investigation

A councillor found guilty of ‘spying’ has been told to apologise for a second time after admitting to secretly recording a private meeting. 

Councillor Mark Kenyon was caught on CCTV last year recording a private meeting between townhall bosses and independent councillors. 

The recording was later leaked online, leading to the online harassment and verbal abuse of a number of elected members and staff. 

An 18-month investigation into misconduct, costing £10,000, concluded Mr Kenyon had breached the councillor’s code of conduct on three counts, a Standards sub-committee heard yesterday (Tuesday).

Investigator Simon Goacher found that Mr Kenyon’s recording was ‘unjustified’, despite attempts by the councillor to justify his actions under ‘public interest’.  

The meeting, which came shortly after Labour lost their overall majority at the local election in 2024, featured a negotiation with independent councillors to secure Labour’s position with the former chief executive acting as a broker – something political groups are entitled to do, according to the report. 

Mr Goacher said: “Councils need to have safe spaces where elected members and officers can discuss policy, negotiations or contentious local issues without fear they will be secretly recorded and put into the public domain.

"It’s a fundamental principle of democracy. 

“It is quite common for these types of meetings to take place in councils after a political group loses their overall majority.

"The Liberal Democrat group was part of a similar meeting that very same day.” 

Councillors discussed the findings of the review over a six-hour meeting, where they also viewed parts of the CCTV footage several times.

Mr Kenyon (pictured below) can be seen placing a device next to the door of the leader’s office and walking down the corridor.

He then appears to pause, listening to something in his left hand, before ducking into the Liberal Democrat’s office.

He can later be seen waiting outside the leader’s office for around 10 minutes before collecting his device. 

Committee members were then asked to decide on sanctions for Mr Kenyon.

The majority claimed they believed he ‘had suffered enough’ after losing his chance to run for MP in the general election. 

Mr Kenyon, who had apologised to the members before the investigation started, was told he would need to apologise again. 

A council source anonymously told the LDRS the process ‘shows the mockery of the standards procedure, where councillors choose the punishment for their own kind’.

The committee came on the same day as the government declared an intention to strengthen the ability to introduce sanctions, including introducing suspensions for serious misconduct. 

Labour councillor Umar Nasheen, who argued for harsher sanctions, told the LDRS: “How ironic that on the day the Government announced tougher sanctions for bad behaviour by elected members, the opposition in Oldham came together to undermine public confidence in the standards we should hold ourselves to.

“Spying and recording your political opponents was once enough to bring down a US President but clearly here in Oldham some members have decided that this is a trivial matter that the public don’t deserve to know about.

“There is no question that Cllr Kenyon brought the Council into disrepute, but in trying to legitimise and excuse these actions some members of the sub-committee have done the people of Oldham a disservice.”

But others on the panel claimed the whole investigation was a ‘costly and pointless spectacle’. 

“The standards committee was nothing more than a political circus orchestrated to attack an opposition councillor rather than uphold any real sense of integrity,” Oldham Group councillor Kamran Ghafoor said. 

During the proceedings, Mr Kenyon admitted wrongdoing and expressed regret about his actions.

In his previous apology, he wrote: “I offer a sincere and unreserved apology to all those who were involved and attended the meeting on that date.

"Upon reflection, I recognise that I should not have used my phone to record the events in the heat of the moment and I really regret doing so – if I could turn back the clock, I absolutely would do. 

“I also apologise to the Council and recognise that this is not the standard of conduct that should be expected of a councillor.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.