WDC knew of child porn cllr's arrest (From Bucks Free Press)

WDC knew of child porn cllr Bob Bate's arrest - but were 'powerless' to sack him

9:00am Thursday 5th July 2012 in Politics By Simon Farr

WDC knew of child porn cllr's arrest - but were 'powerless' to sack him

COUNCIL bosses were told perverted former councillor Bob Bate had been arrested days after police raided his home – but they were powerless to suspend or sack him.

Wycombe District Council revealed to the Free Press this week that senior officials knew back in May last year that Bate had been arrested.

But, as the council has “no power” to take action against an elected cllr until they are jailed for three months or more, Bate was able to continue as ward member for Hazlemere South for almost five months.

The disgraced former Hazlemere Parish Council chairman - who was also still a parish cllr when he was arrested on May 10, 2011, after a tip off by the BFP - was caged for three years last month after pleading guilty to 27 counts relating to child and animal porn.

More than 5,000 pornographic images of children and animals - described by a judge and the investigating officer in the case as the ‘worst they’d seen’ - were found in organised files on Bate’s computer.

WDC says is now looking to see if it can alter or toughen up its code of conduct for cllrs in the wake of the Bate case and government requirements for local authorities to look at their code of conducts.

A move backed by the leader of the opposition, Liberal Democrat Cllr Trevor Snaith. He said: “I support fully the tightening up of the accord to ensure something like this doesn’t slip through again.”

The WDC statement in full reads:

“Police made the council aware in May 2011 of Mr Bate's arrest, with the assurance that they would take every step to mitigate any potential risk and with the condition that it was kept in absolute confidence so as not to prejudice any investigation.

“The council understood that at the time of his arrest, Mr Bate had not been formally charged with any offence.

“Mr Bate resigned from the council on 30 September, giving his reasons as ill health. We were later notified by the police that Mr Bate had been formally charged.

“The council has no power to suspend a councillor on the basis of an arrest or a charge.

“A councillor who has received a conviction and a prison sentence of three months or more (without the option of a fine) is automatically disqualified from being a councillor.

“This also applies to someone who wishes to stand as a councillor.

“As of 1 July 2012, the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) has placed a requirement on all local councils to review their code of conduct for councillors.

“The council is now reviewing the councillor code of conduct to see which parts, if any, can be strengthened or amended, within the parameters set by the CLG and within the law.”

Click on the links to read about our previous stories on the case.