Ethical standards chiefs have decided to take no further action against three Thanet councillors, including leader Cllr Sandy Ezekiel, relating to an incident at the Mayor’s civic ball in Margate last year.

Cllr Ezekiel, Cllr Doug Clark, who was the retiring Mayor, and Cllr Clive Hart were reported to the Standards Board for England after they allegedly squared up to each other in the Winter Gardens bar towards the end of the black tie do.

The Standards Board has made public summaries of its final report. The full report will remain confidential.

It found in the circumstances of the case, no further action was necessary against any of the councillors.

Obligations of the board’s code of conduct stipulate councillors must treat others with respect nor must they bring their authority into disrepute. The trio were reported for allegedly breaching these points.

In its summary of the complaint against Cllr Ezekiel, the board said he had “sworn loudly, used abusive language and behaved aggressively towards the retiring Mayor.”

The report added: “There were several different accounts of the sequence of events. The officer noted some of the witnesses’ accounts apparently differed according to the political affiliations of those involved.

“The ethical standards officer concluded, based to a significant extent on

Cllr Ezekiel’s own evidence, that he had been offensive and discourteous towards the retiring Mayor and another councillor.

“The officer took the view that a number of members had generally behaved

inappropriately during the incident. While she did not excuse Cllr Ezekiel’s conduct, the ethical standards officer found that under the circumstances, no further action was necessary.”

In the summary of the allegation against Cllr Clark, the board said he had

made an anti-Semitic comment to the complainant’s wife (Cheryl Ezekiel, the Mayor’s secretary) about a Holocaust Memorial Day service, referring to

it as “the Jews’ do”.

The report said: “Cllr Clark stated he had read 'Jews’ do’ from his diary, where he had written them to save space and because his dyslexia meant he could not spell 'holocaust’.

“However, the ethical standards officer considered that in reading the words out, Cllr Clark was offensive and disrespectful, particularly as he was aware of the complainant’s Jewish heritage and that his wife was present.

“With regards to the altercation at the Mayor’s Ball, the ethical standards officer noted that Cllr Clark may have started the dispute.

“She concluded that even if Cllr Clark had behaved as the complainant and other members of his political group had alleged, his behaviour would not have been

sufficiently disrespectful to be a breach of the Code of Conduct.”

Summarising the complaint against Cllr Hart, the board said he had behaved in an aggressive and intimidating manner.

It said: “The ethical standards officer noted Cllr Hart had become aware of an altercation between the retiring Mayor and another councillor. Most of the eyewitnesses stated Cllr Hart either shouted or loudly said the word

'outrageous’.

“The ethical standards officer considered the conflicting accounts of Cllr Hart’s demeanour as he approached the altercation: some described him as being composed while others said he was aggressive.

“The more consistent evidence suggested Cllr Hart was then verbally provoked by one of the two members in dispute and left the scene shortly afterwards on the advice of his wife.

“The ethical standards officer did not consider that Cllr Hart’s conduct, even as described by the complainant, could reasonably be regarded as bringing his office or authority into disrepute, and found no evidence of any failure to comply with the Code of Conduct.”