Belfast-based Jennifer Maguire, Managing Director of public relations consultancy Core Communications, has been expelled from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations for unprofessional behaviour.
Maguire is on public record as having fabricated evidence, lied and acted vindictively, aggressively and unreasonably at two employment tribunals in 2008 and 2009. At a hearing in London on 20 October 2011, the CIPR's Professional Practices Committee imposed its most severe penalty on her for breaching the Code of Conduct which members of the Institute agree to uphold.
Maguire had been a prominent member of the CIPR in Northern Ireland, acting as voluntary chair of the regional committee and gaining three awards for her work between 2006 and 2009. She allowed her membership of the CIPR to lapse around the time when the formal complaint was made against her.
In the case of Jennifer Maguire, the CIPR itself took the rare step of making the complaint against one of its own members.
Phil Morgan, CIPR Director of Policy and Communications, explains:
Complaints are normally made by individuals who feel some wrong has been done to them or to others. But Jennifer Maguire has had a high profile in Northern Ireland, and the allegations were serious, so we decided it was in the public interest for the CIPR itself to act as the complainant. This way, everyone can see that we act firmly and impartially to uphold standards of professional conduct among our members.
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations is the only professional body for public relations to hold a royal charter, which includes a duty to set and enforce high standards of professional behaviour.
Phil Morgan says:
Members renew their commitment to the Code of Conduct every year when they renew their membership. It is a guarantee to the organisations which hire them that they will act ethically and professionally at all times.
Maguire entered no defence against the complaint and did not attend the hearing.
ENDS
For more information, contact Phil Morgan on 07794 265678 or email philm@cipr.co.uk.
About the CIPR
The CIPR is the professional body for PR practitioners in the UK. With 9,500 members involved in all aspects of PR, it is the largest body of its type in Europe. The CIPR advances the PR profession in the UK by making its members accountable through a code of conduct, developing policies, representing its members and raising standards through education and training.
