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REDBRIDGE LABOUR Councillor Sam Gould, who represented Hainult ward, has resigned from the Council – after admitting two counts of indecent exposure at a hearing at Barkingside Magistrates Court last week.
Gould, from Hornchurch, had earlier been sacked from his role as assistant to Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North and Secretary of State for Health & Social Care. Streeting said that there were “no words to express his horror” after hearing that Gould had exposed himself to a mother and her daughter. As soon as he heard that Grould had been arrested, Streeting ensured that Gould was suspended from his post. When Gould pleaded guilty to the charges, Streeting asked for his contract to be terminated.
Labour in Redbridge took a similarly stern line. Kam Rai, Leader of Redbridge Council, said he was “shocked and appalled” by what he termed the “inexcusable betrayal of his (Gould’s) residents”. Gould’s suspension from work was followed quickly by his suspension from the Labour Party.
However, Redbridge Council has found it harder to take action. Cllr Rai revealed that there is no procedure for a councillor to be suspended from the council following an arrest for an offence of this nature. Wes Streeting MP called publicly on Gould to stand down from the Council voluntarily and shortly after the hearing that is what Gould did.
Cllr Rai welcomed the news of Gould’s resignation and the news that the Government is now planning to amend the Criminal Justice Bill to allow councillors who commit serious crimes to be removed from office.
Gould was bailed after the hearing last week and will return to the court on 7th April for sentencing. A by-election will be held in Hainult ward to fill the vacancy left by Gould’s resignation, and details of the election are expected to be announced shortly.
●Gould’s conviction comes four years after Redbridge Labour Councillor for Loxford Ward was convicted of electoral fraud. He was jailed for 17 months and ordered to pay Redbridge Council £18,000 in expenses he had received as a councillor, plus £10,000 towards the cost of the by-election held to replace him.
●A month after he was elected as the new Labouor MP for Ilford South, former Redbridge Council Leader Jas Athwal told the BBC he was “shocked” and “profoundly sorry” following revalations that there was black mould and rat infestations in some or all of the 15 properties he owned and rented out.
●Read more about it:
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