Lib Dem Councillor Assault allegation

A COUNCILLOR has been suspended by his party for an alleged assault - just days after returning to the UK from three months in India.

Police have spoken to Blackburn Liberal Democrat Coun Yusuf Sidat following an alleged incident involving a woman in Bradford on Sunday evening.

Coun Sidat, who represents Queen's Park ward on Blackburn with Darwen council, said the claims were his "private matter" and refused to comment.

advertisement

He has not been arrested and insisted he would stay on the council.

His party leader, Liberal Democrat David Foster, said Coun Sidat had been suspended "pending an investigations into allegations of inappropriate conduct that could bring the group into disrepute."

Coun Sidat recently faced calls to quit after it emerged he had been in India since December and had only turned up to half of his council meetings in the past year.

Labour councillors have now renewed calls for Coun Sidat to quit the town hall.

His suspension is the latest twist to the borough's political scene. The opposition Labour group now has 31 councillors compared to the Conservative, Lib Dem and For Darwen coalition's 30. So the council's three independent councillors, including Coun Sidat, hold the balance of power going into the May 1 elections.

But one of those three, Coun Arif Waghat, who represents Shear Brow, has indicated his support for the coalition, and Coun Sidat's vote would give it enough to hold power with mayor Coun Maureen McGarvey's casting vote.

Labour could technically try to grab control at next month's full council but this is thought to be unlikely.

Neither council officials nor party colleagues were able to contact Coun Sidat during his time in India. If he did resign, it is likely a by-election would take place after the May 1 elections.

Party leader David Foster said: "He has returned from India but an alleged incident has occurred since his return that gave us cause for concern."

His future in the party would be decided at a group meeting, Coun Foster added.

Coun Sidat said he had returned to the UK from India, where he had been caring for his ill mother, on Saturday.

He said: "I do not want to say anything about my private life.

"But I will try my best to give more time to my constituents. I will apologise and go to every house if I need to.

"Plenty of councillors go abroad three or four times a year. There are three councillors in Queen's Park ward so if people want to make contact they can go through them.

"Why should I resign? I have been elected for three years because I do good work for the people of Queen's Park."

Labour group leader Coun Kate Hollern said: "There are obviously personal issues that need resolving.

"He's had lengthy absences from the borough. He's been uncontactable and it's only fair to the residents of Queen's Park that he steps down."

Council leader Colin Rigby said: "It makes life interesting, but I really don't know anything about what's happened."

A Lancashire police spokeswoman said: "There has been an allegation of assault from outside Blackburn. Any criminal proceedings would take place through Bradford."

Source

Tags: Lib Dem, Assault

Lib Dem - Councillor on Fraud Charge

Linda Rhodes-Clayton

A LEEDS councillor claimed £8,000 in benefits illegally, a court heard.

Linda Rhodes-Clayton (Lib Dem, Hyde Park & Woodhouse) claimed the cash for more than a year after she was elected in June 2004, even though she was receiving up to £13,000 a year Leeds City Council allowance.

She allegedly swindled £5,298 in income support, £2,445 in housing benefit and £678 in council tax benefit between June 2004 and October 2005, despite strict rules banning councillors from claiming benefits.
The 55-year-old, of St Wilfrid's Avenue, Gipton, received a basic allowance of £9,576 in her first financial year as a councillor and £13,445 in her second.
Prosecuting, Laura Addy told Leeds magistrates that Rhodes-Clayton had failed to declare that she was a councillor on any benefit forms.
Rhodes-Clayton, who denies two counts of benefit fraud, was suspended from the Lib Dems in August last year.
The court heard her deception was uncovered in November 2005 when computers were searched for benefits claimants who were also on the council payroll.
She was interviewed by the DWP, but failed to attend a second interview in March 2006 and refused to take part in any further questioning.
The councillor, who says a parachute accident left her with leg and spine injuries, started claiming income support in 2003.

Tags: Councillors, fraud

Conserative - councillor Max Drury arrested

A CITY councillor has been arrested on suspicion of breaching an harassment order.

Cllr Max Drury, 60, of Clifford Drive, Chester, who represents Curzon & Westminster, was arrested on Sunday.

The incident is understood to relate to a dispute with a former employee of his company, Chester Mobility Ltd, based on the Sealand Industrial Estate which sells aids for the disabled.

A police spokeswoman said: “I can confirm that on March 2 we arrested a 60-year-old Chester man for breaching an harassment order.”

Source

UPDATE 25 May 2008

A Chester councillor denied harassing two people when he appeared in court.

Conservative councillor Max Drury, 60, of Clifford Drive, Lache Lane, Chester, denied harassment at a brief appearance at Chester, Ellesmere Port and Neston magistrates court.

During a 15-minute hearing in front of District Judge Nicholas Sanders Drury pleaded not guilty to harassing James and Joanne Meadows between February 25 and March 1.

A trial, expected to take a day, was set for July 31, to be presided over by Judge Saunders.

Drury struggled to hear because of an impairment and had to ask solicitors to repeat what they were saying.

When the trial date was being organised, Drury said: "I do not wish to inconvenience anybody but I'm worried about it."

Judge Sanders said he would take on the case because he did not know Drury as a councillor.

The judge said he lived in East Cheshire and would not have any prejudice towards the case.

Drury, who represents Curzon and Westminster ward on Chester City Council and was elected on May 1 to represent Overleigh divisional ward on the new Cheshire West and Chester Shadow Unitary Council, owns Chester Mobility Ltd, based on the Sealand Industrial Estate, which provides aids for disabled people.

Witnesses called for the trial include two workers from the company, Ken and Peter Griffin, James and Joanne Meadows and two police officers.

Drury was granted bail on the condition he does not communicate withi or contact James or Joanne Meadows unless it is by way of an accountant or solicitor.

He was also told not to go to Longfield Avenue, Upton.

Source

UPDATE 22 August 08

A CITY councillor who told police “I’m a councillor not a yobbo” is being investigated by Chester City Council following a complaint to the ethics and standards committee.

Deputy Labour group leader Bob Rudd has made an official complaint about Cllr Max Drury to head of legal services Charles Kerry, alleging the former Tory has brought the office of councillor into disrepute.

Cllr Drury was found guilty of harassing his former business partner, James Meadows, and Chester magistrates heard that when challenged about his conduct the councillor claimed he was above suspicion because of his position as councillor.

Mr Kerry has replied to Cllr Rudd to say he will “arrange to take this forward” and “confirm the process in due course”.

Cllr Drury, who represents Curzon and Westminster on Chester City Council and has been elected to serve on the new Cheshire West and Chester Council, is refusing to comment about the issue.

As he was being arrested by PC Lewis Jones for breaching a harassment order, Cllr Drury, said: “You are wrong, the chief constable will hear about this and you have done a wrongful arrest.”

When interviewed, he said: “I’m a councillor not a yobbo. I’m not going to intimidate myself.”

The court heard that on one occasion Cllr Drury, who has since resigned from the Conservative Party, turned up at the victim’s house and threatened: “My brothers from Wrexham are going to come down and kill you.”

Mr Meadows said he would call the police, to which he heard Cllr Drury respond: “I’m a councillor. They can’t touch me.”

A harassment order was served on Cllr Drury by police officers but he refused to read or to sign it. PC Mark Hughes said: “He said that as a councillor he should be treated differently to everybody else and that he was above suspicion.”

Cllr Drury was fined £350, told to pay costs of £600, ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and made subject to a two-year restraining order which means he cannot contact the Meadows.

Sentencing him, District Judge Nicholas Sanders said: “It’s been a matter of surprise to me that Mr Drury’s reaction was to resort to relying on his status as a councillor in this matter when in reality it had absolutely nothing to do with anything in this case.”

All councillors must follow the Code of Conduct, a binding set of guidelines instructing members to adhere to the highest standards in public office.

Source

Lib Dem Councillor - Second ban for drink driving

SHAMED councillor Tony Rounthwaite has been caught drink-driving again.

The Liberal Democrat who represents Jesmond North on Newcastle City Council was more than twice the limit when he was arrested last Thursday.

In 2006, he was marginally over the required level and banned.

Now he has been convicted of being over the limit for the second time in two years - this time without a driving licence.

Rounthwaite resisted calls for him to quit as a councillor after his previous court appearance.

But he is facing a further political storm following his conviction last Friday at North Tyneside magistrates’ court.

Coun Nick Forbes, leader of the opposition Labour group, said: “To commit an offence like this once is bad enough. To do it again shows a lack of respect for the law and a lack of regard for the consequences of his actions.

“If he doesn’t have the decency to resign, the Lib Dems should throw him out.’’

The 57-year-old, of Queen’s Road, Jesmond, was stopped on February 21 in Longbenton.

He appeared before North Shields magistrates the following day, where it was said he had 82 mgs of alcohol to 100 mls of breath - 35mgs is the legal limit.

Rounthwaite was convicted of drink driving and fined £200 with £43 costs.

Magistrates disqualified him from driving for three years and ordered him to complete a drink-driving rehabilitation course before 2010.

A police spokesman said: “He was convicted for driving above the limit and without a licence, fined £200 with costs, ordered to attend a drink drive rehabilitation course and disqualified from driving.”

Following his previous drink-drive offence, Rounthwaite, was forced to resign from three prominent posts.

He stepped down as the city council’s executive member for neighbourhood management and community, chairman of the Safe Newcastle Partnership and as a member of the Northumbria Police Authority.

His car was written-off in an accident eight days before May’s local elections.

Then he was driving along the A189 towards Blyth, and said a plastic bag blew on to his windscreen as he drove at about 60mph and he veered off the road.

No other vehicles were involved. Police also attended, and after the breath test proved borderline, he was asked to provide a blood sample at a police station.

He said at the time: “I’d had two glasses of wine. I certainly didn’t think I was over the limit or I wouldn’t have dreamed of driving.”

The resignations cut his income to just a quarter of his outgoings and a court was told then he may have to sell his home.

He refused to resign as a councillor and insisted it was business as usual .

Today Rounthwaite was unavailable for comment.

Coun John Shipley, the council’s Lib Dem leader, said: “Group officers have met and agreed to instigate disciplinary procedures and a hearing will be held.”

Tags:

Labour Officials guilty of vote rigging

A SECOND Labour party official has been found guilty of trying to rig an election.

Maqbool Hussein (52) had hoped to get himself elected in Peterborough's Central Ward in local elections in June 2004, by abusing the voting system.

But instead of getting into power, he succeeded only in getting himself into a mess.

The once prospective candidate, of Ledbury Road, Netherton, Peterborough, stood in the dock at King's Lynn Crown Court on Monday a shamed man.

Convicted of four counts of forgery by majority verdicts after a four-month trial, he was joined in the dock by disgraced former mayor Mohammed Choudhary who has already been found guilty of four counts of forgery.

Their attempts to rig the election have left their reputations in tatters.

The court has heard how detectives launched an investigation into the elections after people began complaining that they were unable to cast their votes when they went to a polling station.

Police were also suspicious about the high turnout of voters – 61.7 per cent.

While the sheer number of votes cast by post – 2,900 – seemed "out of all proportion" when compared to the rest of the city.

During the trial it was claimed police discovered the men had "hijacked" ballot papers, directing them to core addresses, in a botched attempt to rig the Central ward elections.

The pair were also said to have registered "away" postal votes.

Choudhary even used his own daughter's address, in Cobden Avenue, Millfield, for 15 postal voting forms to be directed to.

Hussein, and Choudhary, along with Tariq Mahmood, were accused of abusing the system whereby voters can choose an "away" address, instead of their usual home address, to cast their vote from, if they happen to be away from home on business, or on holiday, at the time of an election.

The court heard how the victims of the fraud fell into two categories – those who had not seen their ballot papers, and those who had handed over their papers to someone else.

Some voters were said to have given their papers to a third party because of cultural reasons – where the head of the family is in charge of the family's poll cards – literacy problems, those who did not understand English, and those who were unaware of how the voting process worked.

Hussein had denied eight counts of forgery during the trial, while Choudhary had also pleaded not guilty to the 10 charges he faced.

Jurors are still deliberating over further counts of forgery relating to Mahmood (40), of Clarence Road, Peterborough, who was Labour party secretary at the time of the elections.

He faces 14 counts of forgery.

Source

Tags: Vote rigging