Ergin Erbil cleared over misleading golf club video

Ergin Erbil, former leader of Enfield Council, has been cleared of breaching the council’s code of conduct following the posting of a misleading video on social media. The decision was made by Enfield Council's councillor conduct committee on 10th October.

The video, published on 22nd February while Cllr Erbil was campaigning for re-election, falsely stated that Crews Hill Golf Club was not within the Green Belt and had only 20 members. The golf club has since confirmed it has over 400 members and is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, a designation protecting undeveloped land around London.

Video removal and lack of apology

Following the video's publication, Cllr Erbil initially refused to remove the post or apologise. The video was eventually taken down in March, approximately two weeks after its initial posting. Cllr Erbil stated at the time that the volume of complaints from a small number of golf course users risked becoming a distraction from more important issues.

The internal review by Terry Osborne, director of law and governance, found that Cllr Erbil had not intended to spread misinformation. This decision was subsequently challenged by members of the public.

Challenges to the decision

Matt Burn, representing the campaign group Better Homes Enfield, attended the committee meeting and argued that residents may have been misled by the claims. He stated that the monitoring officer's report acknowledged errors but suggested they were acceptable because the councillor believed the statements. Mr Burn questioned how this was consistent with the code's requirement for councillors to preserve public confidence and trust.

In a written statement to the committee, Cllr Erbil maintained he had acted in good faith and did not set out to mislead residents, stating the comments reflected his genuinely held views about Enfield's housing crisis.

Chris Dey, chair of the committee, confirmed the decision was unanimous. "We have considered very carefully whether Cllr Erbil breached any part of the member code of conduct and we are satisfied that he did not," Cllr Dey stated. The committee noted "reflection" and subsequent "adjustments" made to the video, but no comment was issued regarding the period the post remained online after inaccuracies were highlighted.

What happens next

Cllr Erbil remains leader of the Labour opposition group on Enfield Council. The Labour group lost its majority on the council in the May election.