A DORSET Councillor has been admonished for his behaviour towards a senior, female, officer.

Tory councillor Bill Pipe, who represents Lytchett Matravers and Upton, has been told to send a letter of apology and to undertake diversity and inclusion training.

He will also be offered a mentor to provide ongoing guidance and support.

Cllr Pipe admits mimicking the accent of the officer and said he was astonished that she had been offended and intimidated by what he saw as "merely jovial banter."

He denied telling a homophobic joke, making a comment about a visible panty line and saying that he wanted to know where the officer parked so he could 'nick the parking space. The investigating officer agreed that these allegations could not be substantiated.

A panel of three decided that Cllr Pipe had breached the council's Code of Conduct and protocols for dealing with officers, bringing the council into disrepute.

Chair Cllr Susan Cocking said the panel had been appalled at the lack of respect shown, which she said, amounted to harassment and bullying.

"This was offensive and not acceptable under any circumstances – no one should be subject to such treatment," she said.

Cllr Bill Pipe at a September meeting, the last he attended.

Cllr Pipe, who had his council pass withdrawn in the summer when the investigation started, and is only allowed in council buildings when accompanied, said after the hearing that he was genuinely remorseful and had not realised his actions would cause offence, having gone on for what he said was eight or nine years, without complaint.

He said he failed to understand why the officer had not raised it with him, the chief executive or her line manager, at the earliest opportunity if she was offended.

"Had I known my doing this would offend, or belittle her, I would have stopped immediately and apologised… had she come to me and said not to do it I wouldn't have carried on," said Cllr Pipe.

"I thought she was taking it in the spirit it was meant – a happy, jovial way. It's pretty sad it's got to this state."

He revealed that he is now being treated for depression, but said after the hearing that it was unlikely the finding would alter his decision to stand for council again at the May elections.

He admitted that 25 years in the armed forces may have shaped his behaviour but genuinely believed, at the time, that his copying of the accent was good-natured banter.

Cllr Pipe stood down from the position of senior lead councillor for education after just three weeks in post in May last year.

He said at the time he was leaving the position for personal reasons related to the pressure of work.

During the hearing it was said that Cllr Pipe had framed a letter of apology to the officer and had passed it to Purbeck councillor Gary Suttle for his views before sending it.

Cllr Pipe said both thought the other was going to forward it, but in the confusion, neither did.

Fellow councillor Cathy Lugg appeared at the hearing to support Cllr Pipe.

She told the panel that he was not a nasty person and, had he realised he was causing any stress to the officer, would have stopped.

"I suspect his sense of humour comes from his time in the services… he remains a good councillor and is popular in his ward," she said.

The council has no powers to bar any councillor found to breach code of conduct rules from office, apart from for proven criminal activity.