A FORMER mayor is suing her own council in a row over breastfeeding her son.

Councillor Dr Pauleen Lane was banned from using the mayoral car for her first month in office at Trafford Council because she wanted to breastfeed her baby and he would be with her at all times, Salford County Court heard.

For some engagements Mrs Lane even had to follow the civic car - which was carrying an attendant and the mayor's chain of office - in her Daihatsu car with baby Oscar on board.

Mrs Lane gave birth to Oscar two months before she became mayor. She decided to breastfeed her son for the first 12 months of his life.

Mr Gavin Millar, QC for Mrs Lane, said that normal arrangements were for the civic car to collect the mayor from their home or work and take them to various functions.

He claimed that during Mrs Lane's first month as mayor these arrangements were denied to her.

Mr Millar said that during the following six months to the end of 2005 she was only permitted access to this service when she found or paid for a second adult to accompany her in the car.

Sometimes the deputy mayoress was able to travel but often she could not.

The court heard how just one day into her office Mrs Lane, along with mayors from across Greater Manchester, were attending an event organised by church leaders.

Bishop of Hulme, Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, told the court of his "horror" when he saw the way Mrs Lane was treated when she attended the annual reception at Bishops Palace, Worsley Hall.

In a statement he said: "I was shocked when I saw Pauleen Lane arrive in her own car, a small vehicle that looked out of place in the line of mayoral civic vehicles.

"I then noticed that the civic vehicle for Trafford Council had also arrived with the two attendants but obviously separate from Mrs Lane. It then emerged that she had driven herself and her new baby to the event and the civic vehicle had just brought the civic chain.

"I watched the spectacle of Mrs Lane struggling to get herself , the baby, and associated baby paraphernalia out of her little car as the two attendants ceremoniously removed the mayoral chain from the large civic vehicle.

Embarrassing

"The spectacle struck me as most embarrassing for the mayor."

He said Mrs Lane explained how one of the attendants had complained to his boss about not wanting to be seen as a babysitter and he understood the attendants disapproved of her breastfeeding her son between mayoral duties.

Mr Millar said that by law Mrs Lane was entitled to six months maternity leave as an employee of Manchester University, which would enable her to breastfeed her son.

But there was no parallel entitlement in law to cover her while carrying out her civic duties as an elected representative.

Mrs Lane, who became Trafford's youngest ever first citizen in June 2005 at the age of 40, fought back tears as she explained her decision to breastfeed her son.

She said she wanted Oscar to be with her at all times so she could feed him in the way she believed best.

Paul Gilroy, QC for Trafford Council, said the milk could have been expressed using a pump and given to someone else to feed her son and it would not have interfered with her mayoral duties.

Mrs Lane said: "I attempted to express milk and found it terribly difficult. I was never able to express it in the type of quantity that would have been suitable."

She told the court that in November 2004 she had a meeting with the leader of the council Susan Williams to discuss her position as mayor.

She said that Coun Williams raised a number of points including the concern of the mayoral attendants Peter Garde and Stuart Mann. She said: "Some of these related to their concern about driving a baby in the car and being 'seen as nannies' particularly by other mayoral attendants in Greater Manchester.

Delay

"She suggested I delay becoming mayor for a year but after discussion we agreed that was not appropriate as a baby is actually easier to manage at engagements than a toddler."

She said at the meeting she explained that she intended to breastfeed her son and Mrs Williams replied "get him back on the bottle as soon as possible."

Just before she became mayor Mrs Lane was passed a note by a council officer. It said her son should not travel in the mayoral car and if she was looking after him she should not wear the mayoral chains.

She then attended a meeting on 31 May 2005 - the day before she was due to become mayor - with several councillors including the leader, in the hope the situation could be resolved, but it wasn't.

Mr Gilroy said that as well as her role as mayor, Mrs Lane served on several other bodies including English Partnerships, where she was deputy chairman, the Audit Commission, North West Development Agency, and the Institution of Civil Engineers. She was awarded a CBE in 2005 for services to local government.

He asked whether she took her son to appointments when working for the organisations.

She said she did take her son with her, adding: "I would leave the meeting, feed him, and come back - all of the bodies concerned facilitated this. There was no problem."

Mr Miller told the court she was claiming sex discrimination because she would not have received such treatment if she had been a male mayor and she was alleging her less favourable treatment was on the grounds of her sex.

Trafford Council deny sex discrimination and the case is expected to last four days.

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