Alex Catt, a Norwich City councillor, faced the standards committee this week over messages he posted on X at the height of the affair, in which a fellow Green was accused of shouting "Nazis" at women holding a silent vigil in the city centre.

In the posts, councillor Catt branded Labour "a rotten and insidious institution" and claimed the party was "fuelling a transphobic hate campaign" by raising concerns about the behaviour of colleague Charlie Caine, who is a transman, a biological female who identifies as a man.

Alex Catt will stand down as the Sewell councillor after next week's election (Image: Green Party)

Labour lodged a formal complaint, calling the allegations "slanderous" and a breach of the council's code of conduct - triggering a year-long investigation before the case finally came before the standards committee at 2.30pm on Wednesday.

The hearing was held behind closed doors after the council used its right to exclude the press and public from proceedings.

The verdict is now unlikely to be released before voters go to the polls next Thursday, by which time he will no longer be a councillor as he is standing down.

The standards hearing is the first of its kind at Norwich City Hall in at least five years, and had originally been due to be held in January but was postponed by the council.

The hearing was held in a City Hall boardroom on Wednesday afternoon (Image: Henry Durand)

If found to have breached the code of conduct, councillor Catt could face sanctions ranging from a formal public apology to mandatory training.

Councillor Catt has been approached for comment following the hearing but is yet to respond.

In January, he defended his posts and refused to back down.

"It is important that politicians are able to speak up on matters like this, which is what I did," he said. "I stand by my actions."

Green councillor Charlie Caine (Image: Supplied)

The affair has its roots in an incident in February last year when councillor Caine was accused of shouting "Nazis" at women holding a silent vigil in support of Afghan women.

The group involved in the vigil has previously spoken out about what it sees as the threat to women and girls posed by gender ideology.

City Hall's monitoring officer, Jan Robinson, declined to investigate the incident, after independent legal advisors ruled the politician had not been acting as a councillor when the alleged comments were made.

The Greens also declined to act after it emerged the councillor had never actually joined the party despite being elected under its banner, meaning no disciplinary action could be taken.

Councillor Catt is standing down as a candidate at next week's Norwich City Council elections, while councillor Caine's seat is not among the 13 of the 39 seats up for grabs.

WHAT DID COUNCILLOR CATT SAY?

Councillor Catt - who stepped down as leader of the City Hall Green group in October, while under investigation - wrote the messages on X last March, while the Nazigate scandal was in the headlines.

In one, he said Labour was "truly a rotten and insidious institution nationally and locally".

The Labour Party truly is a rotten and insidious institution. Nationally and locally. — Cllr Alex Catt (@CllrAlexCatt) March 29, 2025

The Labour Party truly is a rotten and insidious institution. Nationally and locally.

— Cllr Alex Catt (@CllrAlexCatt) March 29, 2025

Shortly after, he added a further comment beneath the original post.

He said: "For context, Norwich Labour Party and Labour Party East are fuelling a transphobic hate campaign against a councillor in Norwich and are spreading lies about a councillor who had to step down due to her disability to try and do this.

"Absolutely vile behaviour."

Screenshots of the posts made by Alex Catt, which triggered a complaint (Image: X (Twitter))

The post was a reference to the Nazigate scandal, during which Norwich Labour Party and Labour Party East shared news reports about the affair through 'sponsored' posts on social media.

The councillor was also taking aim at Labour over its repeated questions about the poor attendance record of Green councillors at council meetings.

The other councillor referenced was Gillian Francis, a Green, who had left her post earlier in the year due to ill health.

Screenshots of the posts made by Alex Catt, which triggered a complaint (Image: X (Twitter))

Screenshots of the posts made by Alex Catt, which triggered a complaint (Image: X (Twitter))

In a subsequent post, councillor Catt also criticised Norwich City Council for not flying the trans flag at City Hall on the Trans Day of Visibility.

However, he had got the wrong date - and the flag was flown the following day.

© Norwich Evening News