CIMA's Margaret May guilty of misconduct

EX-CIMA council member Margaret May has been found guilty of misconduct in a long-running case focused on procedure and disputes in the institute’s inner circle.

May “failed to act with integrity and professionalism” when sending an email that she “did not honestly believe” accurately reflected the outcome of an executive committee meeting held in February 2010.

In a separate charge, she was found not guilty of misconduct for sending an email raising concerns about chief executive Charles Tilley’s non-executive directorship of Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) and the tribunal panel said council members should be free to raise such issues without fear of reprisal.

However, May was found guilty of misconduct for disseminating a private and confidential letter from Tilley, in which he responded to her email about his GOSH non-executive directorship.

May declined to comment on the verdict apart from to confirm: “We will definitely be appealing the decision.”

A member of CIMA for more than 30 years, she has so far spent £41,000 fighting to clear her name and might face further costs imposed by the institute.

The scale of these is as yet unknown, but her lawyer Garrett Bryne, said an early CIMA estimate put the bill at £67,000, of which £63,000 was counsel fees.

“That is what we were told earlier this year, who knows what the costs are now?” he continued.

May resigned from the CIMA council in June 2011 and has stepped down from her portfolio of four non-executive directorships and might resign from three more if further appeals are unsuccessful.

An independent barrister will chair an appeal panel, which could be welcomed by the respondent, who has suggested she has not received a fair hearing.

May’s defence touches on “politics” at the institute and her lawyer accused CIMA committee members of “wanting to advance their own agenda at the expense of others”.

The panel is currently considering sanctions and costs.

More to follow