Rogue Officers or Rogue Culture? Hartlepool Council’s Data Questions Deepen as it Dodges Yet another Investigation..

The Alleged 'Data Breach' was not Investigated by the Local Government Ombudsman, despite claims the council official misused the local residents data.

Nothing Learned Since 2021? New Data Allegations Haunt Hartlepool Council, as Another Resident has their Personal Information Stolen by a 'Rogue' Employee...

14th Jan 2026

The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has refused to investigate serious allegations that an officer employed by Hartlepool Borough Council misused a resident’s personal data.

The complaint alleged that a council officer took screenshots of a woman’s private social media account without her consent and then shared those images with a third party, accompanied by defamatory and inaccurate information about the individual.

The complainant, referred to by the Ombudsman as Mrs X, maintained that the officer’s actions amounted to a data breach and formally requested disciplinary action, including the suspension of the officer involved. Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the Ombudsman declined to pursue the matter. As a result, there will be no independent investigation into how Hartlepool Borough Council handled the complaint, nor any scrutiny of whether internal safeguards failed.

Echoes of a Previous Scandal That Exposed a Culture of Silence at HBC

Its not the first incident of a persons social media information being used by an 'Obsessive' HBC Employee

For many local residents, this case will feel deeply familiar.

In 2021, a separate incident was reportedly uncovered in which a member of the public discovered that their social media photographs had been unlawfully distributed to at least twelve Hartlepool Borough Council staff members. Those images were said to have been circulated via what was described as the council’s “employee protection register.”

That episode attracted widespread criticism after it emerged that the information shared about the individual was false. The incident exposed what was widely described as a rogue council employee acting with a twisted agenda, and raised profound concerns about how personal data was being gathered, stored, and circulated internally.

The council official responsible came under significant scrutiny from regulators.

However, it was widely reported at the time that the individual was shielded from disciplinary action, following intervention from the council’s Chief Executive, Denise McGuckin, who is due to stand down from Hartlepool Borough Council later this year.

The affair raised serious questions not only about data protection failures, but about senior leadership complacency and an apparent willingness to cover up serious misconduct by council officials.

Multiple Allegations, The Same Disturbing Pattern

Following the 2021 revelations, it's been claimed that numerous other individuals came forward with similar accounts, alleging that their personal information or social media content had also been monitored, copied, and circulated internally by Hartlepool Borough Council staff.

Those individuals described what they believed to be an unhealthy and obsessive fixation by certain council employees on specific members of the public.

Taken together, these cases suggest not isolated lapses, but a potential pattern of predatory behaviour by HBC officials— where residents’ online activity is actively surveilled, harvested, and then shared within the council often without consent, oversight, or consequence.

Yet once again, there will be no public findings, no examination of internal records, and no explanation as to whether lessons were learned from earlier controversies.

'Predatory' Behaviour by HBC Officials Must Be Confronted, Not Ignored..

While the latest complaint has reportedly been redirected to the Information Commissioner's Office, this offers little reassurance to residents concerned about toxic behaviour, internal discipline, and safeguarding failures within what many already regard as one of Teesside’s most dysfunctional councils.

The refusal to investigate leaves Hartlepool Borough Council unchallenged once again, despite allegations that closely mirror a previous scandal involving false information, internal circulation of personal data, and defamatory statements made about local residents.

For a council already struggling with public trust — and facing the departure of a senior figure said to be central to its toxic work culture — the message to residents is deeply troubling:even when allegations are serious, repeated, and historically grounded, accountability at Hartlepool Borough Council remains elusive.

Unless decisive action is taken, those at the centre of these allegations appear free to continue what many residents now fear is predatory and obsessive behaviour, unchecked and unchallenged.