CONSERVATIVE Councillor Adrian Fluker has stepped down from his role as council leader.

Deputy council leader, Tory councillor Maddie Thompson, has also resigned as second in command.

The moves come as a councillor has called for an emergency council meeting to consider next steps following a series of allegations and controversies involving Cllr Fluker hitting the headlines in the last 10 days. This culminated in two radio reports on the issues by BBC Essex political reporter Simon Dedman last week.

Independent Councillor Nick Skeens last night (Sunday) called for an emergency meeting of members in the light of the allegations. Cllr Skeens has listed 70 questions he believes need answers after claims of bullying, homophobia and a controversy over whether or not Cllr Fluker made a loan of thousands of pounds to a senior council officer. The officer concerned has since left the employment of the local authority.

In addition, a report published on the Maldon Council website on 6 August concluded that three Tory members of the council's Joint Standards Committee, which is supposed to consider complaints against members without political bias, had 'predetermined' the committee's conclusion that no further action should be taken against Cllr Fluker over complaints by other councillors. The report concluded that the three councillors – Cllr Bob Boyce, Cllr Sue White and Cllr Bryan Harker - had "brought the council into disrepute.

The complaints the committee had looked at were that Cllr Fluker made a 'throat-slit' gesture to two Conservative councillors who abstained in a vote and that he made a "hello sailor" remark to a gay Tory councillor.

Senior officers at the turmoil-stricken council released a statement last week to say that investigations into the matter of the loan had been closed.

A council spokesperson said: "Following both an internal investigation and a police investigation the matter has been closed as neither produced evidence which substantiated the allegations made."

However, Cllr Skeens is not satisfied with that statement and now wants a fresh independent investigation on all the issues raised in the BBC reports and is calling for 'transparency' as required by the 'Nolan Principles' of local government and public service.

It was reported today (Monday, 17 August) that Cllr Fluker has said he is stepping down from his role, giving attacks on "social media and other mediums" among the reasons for his departure.

A statement by Maldon District Council also confirmed the departure of deputy leader Cllr Thompson. It is expected both councillors will leave their leadership roles with immediate effect.

A spokesperson said: "We have been advised today (Monday) that the leader and deputy leader of Maldon District Council have resigned from their respective positions."

A council meeting to determine who the 'designate' leader and deputy leader will be is expected to be held on Wednesday. A decision on who will take the roles on a more permanent basis cannot be made until the annual statutory meeting, often referred to as the 'mayor making' meeting, takes place. A decision was made by councillors at the full council meeting on August 6 to delay that meeting for eight weeks from its originally proposed date in September.