25 Jan Public statement following decision made by Northern Ireland Local Government Commissioner for Standards and Councillor JJ Magee
Councillor JJ Magee:
‘I am relieved that this process has come to an end. The last few months have been an absolute nightmare for me and my family.
These unfounded and false allegations came as a complete shock to me, and I am still in disbelief that this has all happened. This concerted attempt to destroy my reputation was unsuccessful, however, the whole ordeal was deeply stressful. It could not have been more hurtful and now that it is over, I am gravely concerned as to how a bogus allegation could escalate to become front page news.
I would like to thank all my family and close friends who have been steadfast and resolute in their support for me. I appreciate the quiet messages of support from across the political spectrum from friends and colleagues at Belfast City Council. The support I have received has helped me through the darkest of times over the most difficult three months of my life.
Although the allegations against me were completely baseless, it is a fact in modern society that people can be on the receiving end of unwanted and inappropriate conduct online and I hope that this ridiculous episode does not discourage genuine people from coming forward.
I applaud the Office of the Commissioner for the manner in which it has dealt with this case, however, there are no winners here. I endured a wholly unnecessary witch hunt in the media in respect of a malicious and baseless complaint.
Now that the record has been set straight, I want to put this all behind me and get back to work, working for my community and making our city a better place.
Niall Murphy KRW Law:
Whereas we were confident that there could be no resolution to this complaint other than Councillor Magee’s absolute and unambiguous exoneration, we welcome this fact, nonetheless.
Upon consideration of the complaint as lodged, we reviewed every single exchange between the parties. We prepared and lodged a 12,000 word, 38 page rebuttal to the complaint and attached every single message sent and received, for the absolute avoidance of doubt.
Our client absolutely denied any allegation of inappropriate conduct and, in particular, any conduct which may have occasioned a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors.
Whereas we are limited in what we can say given the statutory constraints imposed upon NILGCS and those involved in their investigations, which are confidential in nature, we can confirm that the NILGCS have now joined the PSNI and Social Services in confirming that Councillor Magee has no case whatsoever to answer. Whereas the PSNI and Social Services will obviously apply a higher threshold, we can confirm that, having objectively assessed the content of the messages, NILGCS concluded that there is no evidence or suggestion that Councillor Magee used language which would constitute a failure to comply with paragraph 4.13 of the Code (‘Behaviour Towards Other People’).
Furthermore, having looked at the comments either individually or collectively, NILGCS do not consider on balance that there is sufficient evidence to indicate Councillor Magee did not show respect or consideration towards the complainant or that he used bullying or harassing behaviour, or that he failed to comply with paragraph 4.2 of the Code (‘Conduct Bringing Council into Disrepute’).
We described the complaint as malicious and selective, and we further raised concerns as to the unknown and unnamed advisor(s) who assisted the complainant in the preparation of the complaint. We would appeal to those unknown and unnamed advisors to reflect upon their conscience, as to how they have apparently manipulated this person into lodging this malicious complaint, for reasons which are not apparent.
We would also caution social media users to reflect upon their published commentary. It is settled law that users of Twitter/X, Facebook and other platforms can be held liable for comments posted. We are aware of explicitly defamatory postings on various platforms and would encourage deletion of these posts as a matter of urgency, as our client reserves his right to issue libel proceedings in the High Court in respect of any commentary which undermines his good name and reputation.