Councillor Ewan Wilson likens his ousting from the Statutory Management Committee to something akin to the famous line by Hannibal Lector of the Silence of the Lambs movie.

Wilson said: “Revenge is a meal best served cold.”

Hamilton city councillors voted 8 to 4 today to remove Wilson from the Statutory Management Committee.

The motion was proposed by Councillor Gower, who is chairman of the committee, and presented at a council meeting signed by all members of the committee other than Wilson: Councillors Margaret Forsyth, Daphne Bell, Roger Hennebry, Pippa Mahood and Maria Westphal.

Councillor Peter Bos declared a conflict of interest and excused himself from the chamber.

Councillors Angela O’ Leary and Dave Macpherson questioned why there was not a process of mediation followed and were not happy with the severity of the discipline.

O’Leary called it using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Councillor Martin Gallagher was particularly concerned about the emphasis placed on a comment by Wilson to a licensing applicant in an email at the centre of the spate.

“Was Ewan Wilson’s comment wise or unwise?” he said “I suspect it was obviously a little unwise.

“In life and around this council table sometimes we take unwise actions. A $40,000,000 unwise action of which we now see nothing left could be regarded as a significant unwise action.”

See earlier story.