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| Labour police commissioner candidate forced to quit over conviction | Labour police commissioner candidate forced to quit over conviction |
| (5 months later) | |
| Labour is facing the embarrassment of having to withdraw from the Northamptonshire police and crime commissioner election in two weeks time after its candidate was forced to quit on Monday. | Labour is facing the embarrassment of having to withdraw from the Northamptonshire police and crime commissioner election in two weeks time after its candidate was forced to quit on Monday. |
| The party has launched an inquiry into the suspension of Lee Barron, a regional secretary of the Communications Workers Union, as its official candidate after it emerged he had been arrested and fined £20 for willfully obstructing the police during a pub incident 22 years ago. | The party has launched an inquiry into the suspension of Lee Barron, a regional secretary of the Communications Workers Union, as its official candidate after it emerged he had been arrested and fined £20 for willfully obstructing the police during a pub incident 22 years ago. |
| The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, is hoping for a high-profile Commons byelection victory in the Northamptonshire constituency of Corby but now faces the prospect of not contesting the county's police commissioner job. Nominations closed on 19 October. | The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, is hoping for a high-profile Commons byelection victory in the Northamptonshire constituency of Corby but now faces the prospect of not contesting the county's police commissioner job. Nominations closed on 19 October. |
| Barron is the third Labour candidate to be forced to quit the police commissioner contests because of a minor conviction in their youth. He has been a magistrate for the past 10 years and in a statement said: "I was a young lad at the time. I don't think society takes a view that if you do something wrong you should be punished for the rest of your life. That night was a sea change for me. From that moment on I pledged I'd never get into trouble again and that's why I have been a magistrate for 10 years." | Barron is the third Labour candidate to be forced to quit the police commissioner contests because of a minor conviction in their youth. He has been a magistrate for the past 10 years and in a statement said: "I was a young lad at the time. I don't think society takes a view that if you do something wrong you should be punished for the rest of your life. That night was a sea change for me. From that moment on I pledged I'd never get into trouble again and that's why I have been a magistrate for 10 years." |
| Barron said he was arrested when trouble flared as he was watching an England football match in a Northampton pub in 1990. A friend was arrested and Barron, aged 19, at the time tried to intercede. He was himself arrested and fined £20 for obstruction. | Barron said he was arrested when trouble flared as he was watching an England football match in a Northampton pub in 1990. A friend was arrested and Barron, aged 19, at the time tried to intercede. He was himself arrested and fined £20 for obstruction. |
| A Labour spokesman said: "We are disappointed to learn from Lee today that he has a previous conviction which bars him from standing as a candidate. He has been suspended with immediate effect and we have withdrawn our support pending an investigation." | A Labour spokesman said: "We are disappointed to learn from Lee today that he has a previous conviction which bars him from standing as a candidate. He has been suspended with immediate effect and we have withdrawn our support pending an investigation." |
| Several candidates have been caught out by changes to the rules governing the kind of convictions that debar police commissioner candidates. The original legislation specified that only those which carried a custodial sentence would count but this was widened to all convictions, a move which had the support of Labour. | Several candidates have been caught out by changes to the rules governing the kind of convictions that debar police commissioner candidates. The original legislation specified that only those which carried a custodial sentence would count but this was widened to all convictions, a move which had the support of Labour. |
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