Barnard Castle A COUNCIL has apologised to residents and the former deputy town clerk, whom it was judged to have unfairly dismissed amid “moral disapproval” of her personal relationship with a councillor. The atmosphere between staff at Barnard Castle Town Council began to turn sour in 2017 after it emerged that Jane Woodward had grown close to then councillor Roger Peat, whose wife Rosemary was in a home with Alzheimer’s. Mrs Woodward found herself the subject of gossip and anonymous letters, which were referred to police, and was branded a gold-digger. In 2019 Mr Peat resigned from the authority and Mrs Woodward was later dismissed from her post after the council cited “an irretrievable breakdown in relationships between her and her co-workers and councillors”.
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