Alex Catt faces a disciplinary hearing later this month into messages he posted on X at the height of the 'Nazigate' affair involving fellow Green Norwich City councillor Charlie Caine.

In them, councillor Catt said his Labour opponents - who had raised concerns about his colleague's behaviour - had fuelled "a transphobic hate campaign".

Norwich City Hall (Image: Steve Adams)

Councillor Caine, who is a transman, had been accused of shouting "Nazis" at women holding a silent vigil for Afghan women in the centre of Norwich, because the event was organised by a group which had previously raised concerns about the impact of gender ideology on women and girls.

Labour lodged a complaint with Jan Robinson, City Hall's monitoring officer, saying councillor Catt's allegations of transphobia were "slanderous" and breached the authority's code of conduct.

It sparked a 10-month investigation, which will culminate in a standards committee hearing on January 20, at which the councillor could be sanctioned in numerous ways, such as being forced to make a public apology or to undertake training.

He has accused the council of wasting time and money by pursuing the issue and said it was not a matter for the standards committee.

He is the first councillor to face such a hearing in at least five years and the move has been met with incredulity by many at City Hall.

Jan Robinson, monitoring officer at Norwich City Council (Image: Facebook/Jan Robinson)

Ms Robinson, who is the council's main legal advisor and is responsible for reviewing conduct, has previously declined to bring standards hearings against other councillors accused of wrongdoing.

No disciplinary action was taken by Ms Robinson, who earns £82,000 as head of legal and governance at City Hall, against councillor Caine after independent legal advisors ruled the politician had not been acting as a councillor when the alleged comments were made.

The affair later turned to farce after it emerged the Greens would also not investigate councillor Caine as the politician had not actually joined the party in the first place.

Ms Robinson faced further questions over her judgement after she sent an astonishing........

© Norwich Evening News