A WEST Somerset councillor involved in a public spat which saw people walk out of a council meeting has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Watchet Cllr Rosemary Woods, who represents the town and surrounding area on Somerset Council, was alleged to have breached the code of conduct for councillors after a heated exchange with the town’s now-deputy mayor Cllr Loretta Whetlor.

She was reported to the standards board of the unitary council by Cllr Whetlor, some of the people who had been attending the meeting, and the town council itself.

Somerset deputy monitoring officer Tonya Meers investigated what happened and ruled that there had not been a breach of the code, which sets the standards for how councillors should behave in public.

The decision left Cllr Whetlor ‘very disappointed’ and the town council said it was ‘dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint’.

Cllr Woods told the Free Press: “The monitoring officer found I had not said anything wrong but she advised I should in any case apologise to the town council, and I have formally done so.

“I have listened to the tapes of the meeting and I did not mention Cllr Whetlor.

“I have listened to the entire tapes and they do not show that I mentioned any name, which is presumably the conclusion that the monitoring officer came to.

“What I did say, is that I had been considering resigning from the council, but I did not make it clear that this was because of family reasons.

“I did say that ‘somebody’ would be pleased if I resigned. I do not think that this would be confined to one person.”

Cllr Woods said she would continue to battle for the best interests of Watchet and the other communities in her division, as she had been doing over the Watchet Marina financial problems and the unwelcome proposals for a giant solar farm at Washford Cross.

Cllr Whetlor said the ruling on the code of conduct had been a ‘disgrace’ and it appeared the matter had simply been swept under the carpet.

She said: “As far as they are concerned there is no case to answer. That is as far as I can go unless I want to take it further and go through solicitors, which I really cannot be bothered to do.

“I have to just let them get on with it.”

Conservative Cllr Woods defeated Independent Cllr Whetlor in last year’s county council election for the Watchet and Stogursey division, in which nine other candidates also stood.