A Newham councillor has breached the council’s Member Code of Conduct as a result of his “threatening” behaviour towards an employee, an inquiry has found.

According to a report from the Standards (Hearing) Sub-Committee, published on the council website, Cllr Ian Corbett, became “aggressive” and “threatening” towards a member of staff in the reception area of Newham Town Hall in September last year.

An investigation into the incident found the Mayoral Advisor for Environment and Leisure had spoken “in an inappropriate manner and acted discourteously” towards the complainant.

The report also highlighted that the East Ham Central councillor failed to engage in the investigation following the incident, which took place in front of a member of the public.

Newham’s monitoring officer has since written to Cllr Corbett to advise him on his future conduct and to “place on record the Sub-Committee’s disappointment and concern that he had failed to engage in the investigation process at any part of the procedure despite numerous requests which went against the spirit of the Code of Conduct.”

A Newham Council spokeswoman said: “The Standards Advisory Committee carried out an investigation into an alleged breach of the Member’s Code of Conduct. The investigation found that a councillor had breached the Code of Conduct and the councillor has been written to-to inform them of the decision.”

Cllr Corbett has been a Newham councillor since 1992. He declined to comment on the matter.