AN EVESHAM town councillor has apologised, six months after being found to have breached Wychavon’s code of conduct numerous times.
At Monday’s monthly town council meeting, Coun Emma Nishigaki accepted she ‘caused extreme hurt and upset’ with her actions.
It followed a district council report in May, which upheld a series of complaints from three members of the public and a formal censure motion by the town council in June, requiring her to apologise and undertake training.
One of the complainants, Helena Stephenson, called for a public apology after the 18-page document revealed that Coun Nishigaki discussed intimate and personal details relating to the death of Ms Stephenson’s brother in a private Facebook group.
The unfounded claims implied fellow town councillor John Campbell-Muir had bullied the man, who died from a drug-related overdose in March 2022, to take his own life. The other complaints involved allegations about a town centre business being unclean.
Prior to her apology, however, she reiterated that she still refuted much of the content in the Wychavon report and alleged she has been bullied and ostracised since joining the Evesham Town Council in 2023.
Councillor Nishigaki speaks at Monday’s Evesham Town Council meeting. Picture Evesham Town Council
Coun Nishigaki added: “Regardless of my mental state and frustrations, I acknowledge that the video referred to [in monitoring officers report] caused extreme hurt and upset to Helena Stephenson. For this I apologise unreservedly.”
Directing her apology to Coun Campbell-Muir and his partner Coun Sharon Hemming, who were present at the town hall, she added: “I also offer genuine and heartfelt apologies to Sharon Hemming and to John Campbell-Muir.”
She said it was never her intention to suggest Paul Stephenson had killed himself due to Coun Campbell-Muir, and stated: “I do not believe this to be true.
“However, as this is how it was interpreted, I can only repeat my sincere, deep, and unreserved apology. I truly hope they can accept this public apology as a closure to this issue.”
Regarding the complaint from Iconic Boutique she said: “I was attempting to show that not all dirt or detritus can be attributed to the council and that businesses should take care of their own doorways.”
She said it was never her intention to imply that the business or any others operating there were dirty inside.
“I accept they felt targeted by me and for this I apologise to the owners and staff,” she added.
In June, Coun Nishigaki told the Observer she ‘did not recognise the legitimacy of the [investigation] process’ by Wychavon and was making a complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO).
The Observer understands a report by LGSCO on its conclusion to that complaint is expected to be published shortly.
READ MORE: Accusations fly as councillor breaches of code of conduct
READ MORE: ‘Town deserves better’ – complainant speaks out about councillors ‘appalling’ conduct breaches
Councillor Emma Nishigaki’s apology in full:
“Regardless of my mental state and frustrations, I acknowledge that the video referred to [in monitoring officers report] caused extreme hurt and upset to Helena Stephenson. For this I apologise unreservedly.
“I also offer genuine and heartfelt apologies to Sharon Hemming and to John Campbell-Muir. I was trying to highlight through analogy how online bullying can push vulnerable people to dark places.
“I should have had the foresight to realise that this post may have been shared. It was never my intention to suggest that the gentleman concerned had killed himself due to John Campbell-Muir, I do not believe this to be true.
“However, as this is how it was interpreted I can only repeat my sincere, deep, and unreserved apology. I truly hope that they can accept this public apology as a closure to this issue.
“With regards to the complaint from Iconic Boutique. This was part of a long video highlighting dirt and neglect in the town.
“I was attempting to show that not all dirt or detritus can be attributed to the council and that businesses should take care of their own doorways.
“It was never my intention to imply that their business or any other business operating inside, specifically Artisan at Iconic, was dirty inside.
“I accept that they felt targeted by me and for this I apologise to the owners and staff.”
Watch Monday’s town council meeting on YouTube here.
