A councillor running for election in this week’s local elections previously hid behind the identity of a woman who did not exist to express his concerns about the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
Liberal Democrat candidate David Melvin, who is running to be West Oxfordshire District Council’s councillor for the Carterton North East Ward, previously was a member of Carterton Town Council but was forced to resign in June 2020 after he sent an email to Carterton’s mayor using a false identity.
Mr Melvin wrote an email to Conservative councillor Michele Mead, Carterton’s mayor at the time, to express his objections to the town council’s decision to relax Covid-19 restrictions at the town market.
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However, instead of sending the email to Ms Mead and councillor James Mills using his own email address, Mr Melvin chose to use the false identity of Julie Burden, who does not exist.
Ms Mead has told the Oxford Mail that Mr Melvin’s willingness to hide behind a false identity showed he was “not fit” to be running for public office again.
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At the time of the incident, Mr Melvin chose to resign after he was caught out by the council for creating an email address under the name of Julie Burden.
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Mr Melvin wrote to Ms Mead in an email on June 5 which said: “I confirm that I am resigning as a town councillor with immediate effect.
“I will wipe and return the council iPad next week.”
Carterton’s town clerk at the time, Ron Spurs, said: “What Mr Melvin did was a breach of the standards you would expect of someone in public office.
“He admitted what he had done when confronted and accepted his behaviour was inappropriate.”
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In the email in question, Mr Melvin acknowledged Covid-19 restrictions for town markets were being relaxed on June 2, 2020, but took issue with the town council choosing to allow a greeting cards stall and gold and silver dealer to take part alongside the traders who were selling food or livestock.
In this email, Mr Melvin accused the town council of a “blatant flouting of the Covid-19 rules” and suggested Witney was choosing to follow the rules while Carterton broke them.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Mr Melvin said the “principal reason” he resigned was because he “lost confidence in the advice” he was receiving from the council’s town clerk Mr Spurs.
He added: “This relates to the widely publicised dispute between current and former Conservative councillors that resulted in the use of public funds in legal proceedings.”
Mr Melvin admitted he did use the name Julie Burden to send Ms Mead an email.
He explained: “I was involved with other residents in sending an email to Michele Mead, who at the time was mayor of Carterton and district council member.
“This was in response to concerns that the town council was breaking Covid-19 rules regarding the market.”
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Mr Melvin said it was clear this was being raised again after three years for “political reasons”.
Mr Melvin hit back at Ms Mead and said it “raises questions of legality and judgement for Michele Mead if she knowingly allowed the Conservative led town council to break Covid rules, when she was publicly encouraging all members of the public to comply with them.”
Ms Mead has said the town council followed the government's guidance and no rules were broken.
The other candidates standing for the Carterton North East Ward include Emma Leeming (Conservative Party), Shaun Harley (Labour Party) and Stephen Breedon (Heritage Party).
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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times.
He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.
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