Worker suspended in media ban row

Council managers suspended Mr Board on Monday

A protest has been held after a union representative at Doncaster Council was suspended for talking to the media.

Unison branch secretary for Doncaster Jim Board was told on Monday he was being suspended for "failure to follow a reasonable management instruction".

It relates to an interview Mr Board gave to Channel 4 about the case of two brothers who attacked two children in Edlington, near Doncaster.

The council said it would not comment on individual cases.

'Inflammatory step'

Two brothers, aged 10 and 12, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent at a hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on 3 September.

The court was told they lured the victims, aged nine and 11, to a ravine before carrying out a brutal attack.

Employees at the authority's children services were told not to comment on the case because it may prejudice it.

Mr Board, a reintegration officer for children's services, did not speak to the media about the case until both of the boys had entered guilty pleas in court.

Doncaster Council workers and union officials gathered outside the town hall earlier in protest at Mr Board's suspension.

Robyn Symonds, regional organiser for Unison, said: "I think it's extremely regrettable that when we should be working together with the council for everyone's mutual benefit to try and resolve the difficulties in children's services that they've taken the inflammatory step of suspending Jim.

"That's going to go no where to helping the situation."