The Adjudication Panel for England was an independent judicial tribunal set up under the Local Government Act 2000.
The Panel was a non-departmental public body which ruled on complaints referred to it by the Standards Board for England.
The suspension attracted criticism from the media,[4] and from across the political spectrum including former mayoral candidates Steve Norris (Conservative) and Simon Hughes (Lib Dem) and was subject to a critical motion in the London Assembly[5] proposed by Damian Hockney (One London) and seconded by Darren Johnson (Green).
[7] In May 2005, the Panel found City of Westminster councillor Paul Dimoldenberg had breached the Council's code of conduct by leaking documents relating to Dame Shirley Porter, but imposed no penalty as Cllr Dimoldenberg was acting as a whistleblower and had not gained personally financially or politically.
[8] In January 2006, the Panel cleared five councillors from the London Borough of Islington from allegations of conspiracy concerning the appointment of the Council's Chief Executive.