Cencizham Cerit, Conservative Council Candidate - Electoral Fraud

Cencizham Cerit

A landlord who stood as a Conservative councillor in a local election has been found guilty of electoral fraud.

Cencizham Cerit, 47, of Primrose Drive, Ashford, stood for election to Ashford Borough Council in November 2011.

Canterbury Crown Court heard Cerit delivered 200 postal vote applications to the council containing false or forged signatures.

The postal applications were not accepted and Cerit lost the election by 87 votes.

The landlord, who owns 60 properties in the Ashford area, was also found guilty of submitting his nomination paper knowing it contained false signatures.

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Former Tory Mayor Stephen Holmes Jailed for Child Porn

Stephen Holmes

A well-liked former mayor was jailed today (Friday) after secretly amassing a huge collection of child pornography on his computer.

Stephen Holmes, 61, who had served as Dacorum Mayor, was also a school governor.

At the time of his arrest earlier this year, he was a Conservative councillor on Dacorum Borough Council and Herts County Council, where he had held a post as deputy cabinet member for children’s services.

But today his reputation lay in shreds as he was sent to prison for 10 months.

St Albans Crown Court heard how over 16 years and while he was held in high esteem by his local community he began collecting indecent images of children.

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Conservative Councillor David Stephenson - Sick in the head

David Stephenson - Sick in the head

A senior Derbyshire councillor has lost his cabinet position after making a "poor joke" about two Manchester police officers who were shot dead last week.

PC Fiona Bone and PC Nicola Hughes were killed in Mottram last Tuesday.

David Stephenson was removed by Erewash Borough Council leader Chris Corbett for his remarks about scoring points for killing police officers.

Mr Stephenson said: "What I did was undoubtedly tactless - it was a poor joke and I apologise."

However the Conservative councillor said he believed his punishment was harsh.

Mr Stephenson made the comments in front of the wife of a sergeant with Nottinghamshire Police.

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Tory Councillor Chris Boothby Charged With Benefit Fraud

Chris Boothby - Conservative

A HINCKLEY councillor has been charged with benefit fraud and will appear in court later this month.

Cllr Chris Boothby, who represents Ratby, Bagworth and Thornton on Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council, is alleged to have claimed more than £1,500 in benefits, including jobseeker’s allowance, while working as a bus driver for Leicester City Council.

He has also been suspended from the Conservative party - at least until the case is concluded.

Cllr Boothby, from Ratby, is being prosecuted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) who accuse him of claiming £949 in jobseeker’s allowance, as well as £560 in housing benefit, while still getting behind the wheel of a bus to work. It is also alleged that he was claiming unemployment benefit for his wife, Tina, while she was working in a pub in Markfield.

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John Jenkins: Tweets

Councillor John Jenkins (Conservative)

Llanelli councillor John Jenkins faces an Ombudsman investigation over alleged offensive tweeting.

Councillor John Jenkins, who represents the Elli ward of the town, has been reported to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for a series of tweets he made on his personal Twitter account.

The tweets, posted over the last few months, made reference to a sex toy, joked about paedophilia and referred to a well-known footballer as a "budding pervert".

But Councillor Jenkins has refused to apologise for what he has labelled as a "smear campaign" against him.

A report which appeared in the press yesterday made reference to a tweet from Councillor John Jenkins which addressed a friend, Jessica Harries.

"You'd have to be pretty thin-skinned to be offended by a tweet of harmless banter between friends."

Miss Harries has also stepped forward to defend the councillor.

She said: "John Jenkins and I have been friends for over five years now.

"We have worked together and also socialised. Never have I once been offended by anything that he has said.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous and petty that someone has gone through John's tweets to find something to have against him and then taken a private inside joke and turned into something more.

"It seems that nobody understands playful banter anymore.

"In no way was I offended by John's tweet."

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Brian Silvester: UPDATE

Brian Silvester (Tory)

Chesire East councillor Brian Silvester could face prison after he admitted putting vulnerable lives at risk at his Crewe home.

Appearing at South Cheshire Magistrates Court in Crewe on Monday (July 24), Cllr Silvester and his brother Colin pleaded guilty to a total of 11 fire safety breaches in relation to the building they rent out as bedsits on Crewe Road in Shavington.

They also admitted a charge levelled by the council of failing to obtain a licence for a house of multiple occupation.

After hearing the case, magistrates decided their sentencing powers were insufficient for the gravity of the crime, saying it ‘did not fall outside the custody threshold’.

The 60-year-old former mayor of Crewe and Nantwich was sent to crown court for sentencing.

In January this year the Chronicle revealed that Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service had closed down the Willaston ward councillor’s property with immediate effect, as there was an ‘imminent risk of serious personal injury’. Tenants were forced to move into temporary accommodation while a catalogue of serious failings were rectified.

On Monday, prosecutor Chris Green told the court that one fire officer believed it ‘undoubtedly had the poorest standard of fire safety he’d ever seen in his 10 years of service’.

Loose wiring, holes in the ceilings and roof, and combustible materials in corridors meant a fire could have easily started at any time, and would have spread rapidly.

Insufficient exit routes, broken smoke detectors and fire extinguishers that hadn’t been serviced for almost 20 years meant it would have been almost impossible to escape a blaze unharmed. Any escape routes would most likely have been engulfed in flames within minutes.

Mr Green said: “This is a very serious case. The layout of the building itself, which was split into 10 bedsits, was extremely hazardous and any fire was likely to be so advanced before discovery that escape would be impossible.

“Going into a tenant’s bedsit would provide little or no resistance to fire. There were no seals or fire protection on the doors and the mains electrics were badly wired.

“If the fire started in one bedsit, there was no means of alerting anyone else as there were no inter-connective alarms. Many of the tenants were vulnerable due to age and disability, meaning there was a greater risk to such occupants.

“The breach was long-standing and in interview the Silvesters revealed some tenants had been living there for 34 years or more.

“The risks in this case were obvious. Getting a risk assessment done isn’t rocket science.”

Cllr Silvester, a former Cheshire East deputy council leader, was warned by the fire service that all tenants had to be re-homed until the problems were rectified – but it was later discovered tenants were still living there.

Mr Green added: “Efforts were made by the Silvesters to mask the fact the notice had been breached. Tenants were asked to make sure their cars weren’t present so it looked like no-one was still living there after the notice had been served.

“That is a serious aggravating feature and demonstrates an indifferent attitude to the level of risk.”

Referring the case to crown court for sentencing, chairman of the bench Stewart Cockburn said: “We’ve considered the facts placed before us very carefully. The breaches created a very serious risk to the safety of tenants and as owners of the property for at least 11 years you should have been aware of the fire regulations. You didn’t take sufficient steps to enforce the prohibition order for the safety of tenants.

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Richard Vallery-Peters: Fraud

Richard Vallery-Peters (Tory)

Former Tory councillor Richard Vallery-Peters has been arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation just weeks after he met the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

Richard Vallery-Peters, who lost his Hastings Borough Council seat in May, was arrested at his home in Ashburnham Road on Monday morning.

The 47-year-old former Navy rating was quizzed by detectives and later released on police bail.

His arrest relates to the wearing of military medals.

Sussex Police spokesman Andy Freeman said: “On Monday morning, police arrested a 47-year-old man from Hastings.

“He was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation. He was given police bail until August 6.”

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Michael Mills: Fraud

Michael Mills (Tory)

Michael Mills, 64, a member of Holywell town council in Flintshire at the time, was caught after a tip-off. He used her pension card 110 times.

Mills said he had been in a "state of shock" after the death of his wife.

But magistrates said they were extremely serious offences, which he knew were wrong.

Mills admitted 14 fraud charges at an earlier hearing.

Defending solicitor Brian Cross said when Mills came to understand that what he had done in an emotional state was wrong, he did not have the courage to report it and buried his head in the sand.

"He is genuinely remorseful," Mr Cross told Flintshire magistrates, sitting in Mold.

Mills, a retired miner from Greenfield, told the court his "head just went" after the death in 2010 of his wife of 42 years, Brenda.

He added: "I was walking around - as if I had had a nervous breakdown for more than a couple of months."

There were emotional scenes when he was handcuffed and led away to the cells.

Prosecutor Tony Newnes said that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) received anonymous information that he was continuing to claim his dead wife's benefits.

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Pervez Choudhry: Must wear tag

Pervez Choudhry (Tory)

Pervez Choudhry, of Tuns Lane, Slough, had married his second wife in Pakistan but was still legally married to his first "arranged" wife.

Choudhry, 54, admitted bigamy at a previous hearing.

He was given a community order with a nighttime curfew, ordered to pay £5,500 to his second wife and fined £750.

Wheelchair-bound Choudhry married his first wife in 1986 and the pair had three children, the court heard.

He said this was an arranged marriage after his family had decided he would wed his first cousin when he was aged 11.

They separated in 2007 but remained legally married, it was heard.

In October 2008 he met his second wife Dr Zabina Shahian but "untruthfully" told her he had been legally divorced, Judge Ian Grainger said.

Two months later the pair married in Pakistan, but she left him over concerns his first marriage may not have legally ended and hired a private detective to investigate.

Choudhry, who vowed to take his case to the Court of Appeal, claimed the religious ceremony in Pakistan was not recognised under UK law.

He told BBC News after the hearing: "I had no intention of deceiving anybody. I was simply trying to create a family unit."

His second wife Dr Shahian said: "I was very devastated [when I found out he was still married].

"My life has been at a standstill. When I met him I took him at face value."

Choudhry defected to the Tories in 2009 after being elected as the Labour candidate for Central Ward.

He was arrested and charged with one count of bigamy in August 2010.

He was suspended from the Conservative Party pending the investigation and stood as an independent, but lost his seat at the election earlier this month.

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Rosemary Dickson: misconduct

Rosemary Dickson (Tory)

An investigation will consider allegations of misconduct against a councillor in relation to the Cherkley Court planning application.

Earlier this month councillors granted planning permission for a private members' golf course and luxury hotel at the 19th century estate near Leatherhead.

But following a meeting of the standards committee of Mole Valley District Council, Councillor Rosemary Dickson (Con, Leatherhead South) will be investigated over claims she breached the council's code of conduct.

Council officers recommended refusal of the application, but Mrs Dickson proposed a motion to reject that recommendation at a meeting on April 4, then voted in favour of the final planning application on May 2.

A report from a meeting of the standards committee states: "The complainants allege that Councillor Dickson has breached the rules relating to the declaration of interests and that she was biased/predetermined."

The report, from a meeting on April 30, lists seven issues including: the fact Mrs Dickson's husband's second cousin Joel Cadbury is a director of developer Longshot; her relationship with Longshot's PR advisor Nick Kilby; and allegations of lobbying in favour of the plans.

It also notes that she tabled the motion to reject the advice of council officers; stated in an e-mail to Cherkley Campaign founder Kristina Kenworthy that she did not want to lose her right to vote; and did not fully represent her constituents' views.

A minor point was noted that she lives in Givons Grove, where the residents' company that owns the estate's roads has entered into contracts with Longshot.

The report adds: "When the seven separate complaints were taken as a whole, there was reasonable enough doubt to indicate misconduct and a breach of the council's code of conduct." Mrs Dickson, who retained her council seat at the elections on May 3 with an increased majority, refutes the claims.

She said: "I think it is absolutely appalling that people are able to throw out unfounded allegations without any proof or evidence and I have to go through this."

She said she has never spoken to Mr Cadbury, never overtly lobbied in favour of the application, her e-mail to Mrs Kenworthy was taken out of context and has represented the views of the "silent majority" of constituents.

She added: "I have said all along I didn't really mind about the votes so much, but I did mind very much about my reputation which is being dragged through the mud here."

The committee also considered several complaints about Councillor David Sharland (also Con, Leatherhead South) but decided not to investigate as, though he "demonstrated a predisposition towards the application", his views were not "predetermined".

People are being urged to demand an inquiry into the Cherkley Court application.

The National Planning Casework Unit is considering the issue.

The Cherkley Campaign, Mickleham Parish Council, Friends of Box Hill, Leatherhead Residents’ Association and the Campaign to Protect Rural England are asking residents to demand an inquiry.

The unit’s address is 5 St Philip’s Place, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2PW, or e-mail npcu@communities.gsi.gov.uk

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Sandy Ezekiel: Fraud

Sandy Ezekiel (Conservative)

Former town hall leader Sandy Ezekiel has been accused of fraud and misconduct in a public office will not be suspended from sitting on the council.

Cllr Sandy Ezekiel, who represents the Clitonville East ward for the Conservative Party on Thanet District Council, was charged this week with fraud by abuse of position.

The 59-year-old – real name Maurice –of Crow Hill, Broadstairs, was also charged with misconduct in a public office.

Officers from the Serious Economic Crime Unit of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate also charged 64-year-old Philip Emanuel, of Laleham Gardens, Margate, with aiding and abetting fraud by abuse of position.

Despite the criminal investigation, a council spokeswoman said the authority would not be suspending Cllr Ezekiel from his elected position.

“This is an outstanding criminal matter that is being dealt with by the police,” she said.

Shadow Tory leader Cllr Robert Bayford said no decision had yet been made on whether Cllr Ezekiel would be suspended from the party.

“We haven’t addressed that yet; it’s something the Conservative group in Thanet and the Conservative Party will have to review,” he said.

Police say the alleged offences are related to a property in King Street, Margate, between September 2009 and February 2011.

Senior Crown Prosecutor with the CPS South East Complex Casework Unit Ken Goss said he advised Kent Police to charge the two men.

“It is alleged one of the men improperly used privileged Thanet District Council information in relation to the purchase of two properties,” he said.

“This decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”

Both men have been bailed to attend Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 8.

Cllr Ezekiel, who was arrested in November, was first elected onto Thanet District Council for the Tory party on May 1, 1999.

The carpet trader became council leader on May 22, 2003, and stepped down on May 13, 2010. He held onto his seat in last year’s elections winning the majority of the votes.

He remains councillor for the Cliftonville East ward and sits on the Joint Transportation Board.

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Brian Silvester - Multiple convictions

Brian Silvester (Tory Councillor)

Cllr Silvester, a former deputy council leader, is to be prosecuted by his own authority for failing to obtain a licence for a house of multiple occupation.

But now the councillor of 35 years standing will face a joint prosecution by the council and the fire service in relation to the building he rents out as bedsits at his home in Shavington House Farm on Crewe Road, Shavington.

In January the building was shut down by the fire service after it was declared a fire safety risk.

A prohibition notice was served against the flats, forbidding them to be used for sleeping and living accommodation while the safety issues were rectified.

And now, after months of investigation, the fire service has decided to prosecute.

As the council and the fire service share the same legal team, the original court date has been pushed back to accommodate both charges.

Cllr Silvester, who is being prosecuted alongside his brother Colin, will now appear at South Cheshire Magistrates Court to face the charges next month.

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Pervez Choudhry - Bigamy

Pervez Choudry (Tory at time of the charge)

The former leader of the Conservative party on Slough Borough Council has pleaded guilty to bigamy.

Councillor Pervez Choudhry, of Tuns Lane, Slough, was arrested and charged with one count of bigamy in August 2010.

The 53-year-old defected to the Tories in 2009 after being elected as the Labour candidate for Central Ward, but is now an independent councillor.

Mr Choudhry will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday 18 May.

His term of office runs until 3 May.

Mr Choudry said he was unable to comment because it was a "sub judice matter" but that "this case has no bearing or will have no bearing on my standing as a councillor".

Slough Borough Council said it was a "private matter".

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George Lord: Sexual Assault (Sentencing)

George Lord (Conservative)

Former Worcestershire County Council leader George Lord has been jailed for four years for a series of sexual assaults.

The 79-year old was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court this morning (Tuesday).

It was reported last month how Lord had pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on a girl in the 1970s when he was a lay minister of a church in Droitwich and performed a number of sexual acts on the teenager.

He had already been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old in the council chamber at Worcestershire County Council in 2010.

Lord was told he will spend at least half of his four year sentence in jail.

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Peter Cruddas: Cash for Access

Peter Cruddas (Tory party co-treasurer)

Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has resigned after being filmed apparently offering access to Prime Minister David Cameron in return for donations of £250,000 a year.

The senior Tory fundraiser told undercover reporters pretending to be business representatives that 'things will open up for you' if they donated that amount of money to the Tories.

In a meeting secretly recorded by The Sunday Times, he said: 'It will be awesome for your business.'

Mr Cruddas said he only took up the post at the beginning of the month and was 'keen to meet anyone potentially interested in donating'.

He said he had not consulted any politicians or senior party officials before the recorded conversation.

Mr Cruddas told the undercover reporters that 'premier league' donors - those giving £250,000 a year - could lobby Mr Cameron directly and their views were 'fed in' to Downing Street. He said there was no point in 'scratching around' with donations of £10,000.

According to The Sunday Times, he believed that any prospective donations from the reporters - pretending to be wealth fund executives - would come from Liechtenstein and would be ineligible under election law.

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George Lord: Sexual Assault

George Lord (Tory) former head of Worcestershire County Council

Disgraced ex-Tory council leader George Lord on Thursday admitted molesting a teenage girl more than 30 years ago and groping another junior member of staff in the town hall while he was in office.

Dr George Lord, 79, former head of Worcestershire County Council, assaulted the girl – aged either 14 or 15 – between 1977 and 1979 while he was a church preacher.

Lord, from Bromsgrove, Worcs., had already been convicted of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old girl in the council chamber while he was leader in 2010.

Reporting restrictions have only just been lifted to allow the media to report on the latest case.

A previous hearing was told Lord assaulted the girl by ”touching her bottom and vagina” without her consent.

Lord on Thursday pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault at Birmingham Crown Court.

Lord, wearing a dark shirt and grey tie, stared straight ahead during the 10-minute hearing.

He admitted indecently assaulting a 14 or 15-year-old girl between September 1977 and 1979.

Lord was remanded into custody for pre-sentence reports and was warned he faces a prison sentence.

Judge Nigel Godsmark QC told him: “You have pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault".

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Christine Channon: Drunk driving

Christine Channon (Tory cllr)

Conservative Christine Channon – portfolio holder for education and schools at Devon County Council – has been charged with driving under the influence of excess alcohol.

Channon, of Cricket Field Lane, Budleigh Salterton, was breathalysed by police officers following an alleged collision with a parked car.

The alleged incident took place on Saturday, February 25, at 6.40pm. Police were alerted by a member of the public.

Channon, who represents Budleigh Salterton, was subsequently arrested following a roadside breath test.

A police spokesman said: "The arrest followed a roadside breath test which was undertaken following a minor road traffic collision with the suspect's vehicle and a parked car."

She will appear at Exeter Magistrates' Court today, charged with driving with excess alcohol. The reading taken was 61mcg in 100ml of breath, police said. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Channon is one of Devon's best known councillors. She is chair of the county's Children's Trust Board, the Devon Local Admissions Forum and is the Teachers Joint Consultative chair. She is also on the Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education.

The councillor has since been banned from driving for 14 months by Exeter magistrates and must take a driving rehabilitation course.

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Geoff Wiseman: bullying

Geoff Wiseman

Tory councillor Geoff Wisman has been suspended after allegations of bullying and intimidation.

Complaints were made against Geoff Wiseman, the councillor for Middle Rasen, dating back to late April 2010 when he is believed to have repeatedly sworn at one officer at Lincolnshire County Council and called her a liar.

On July 1, 2010, Mr Wiseman is then said to have used inappropriate language and expletives towards other officers at the county council at a meeting of the Lincolnshire Performance Management Group.

Complaints have also been made regarding inappropriate and intimidating incidents from within the district council, bringing his office into disrepute.

Mr Wiseman also threatened to "string up" a monitoring officer at the district council who was involved in the investigation of his conduct.

The decision to suspend Mr Wiseman was made by the West Lindsey District Council standards committee, after a meeting which Mr Wiseman attended.

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Penny Jackman: Assault

Penny Jackman (tory)

A town hall by-election ended in violence when a 72-year-old candidate was slapped by a Conservative councillor.

UKIP member Mike Beggs was attending the count at Lymington Town Hall when he was struck by Tory Penny Jackman, a member of the district council and the New Forest National Park Authority.

Mr Beggs, of Lymington, said the blow broke the four-tooth bridge in his upper left jaw and had caused him sleepless nights.

Cllr Jackman took exception to Mr Beggs's election leaflets, which mentioned the controversial attempt by the town council to evict Lymington cricket Club from the town centre ground it has occupied for 175 years.

The leaflets cited one meeting at which Cllr Jackman clashed with the cricketers and told a fellow councillor: “Let's shut the buggers down.”

Mr Beggs said he was subjected to a “tirade” of abuse by Cllr Jackman at the count and was suddenly slapped in the face.

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Roger Keeble & Alan Braid: Failure to represent the community

Alan braid (Tory)

Alan Braid has made zero inquiries or report any sort of problem within his constituency, meaning he has failed to represent his constituents. 

Roger Keeble (Independent)

Roger Keeble has also made zero inquiries or report any sort of problem within his constituency, meaning he has also failed to represent his constituents.

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