Investigation launches into potential sanctions against Hartlepool Councillor guilty of assault

An investigation will take place into what measures can be taken against a Hartlepool councillor who was convicted of assaulting a woman last month.

Councillor Gordon Cranney was re-elected to the Seaton ward in the May local elections - just a week after he pleaded guilty to assault by beating at Teesside Magistrates Court.

He was subsequently suspended by the Conservative Party and later resigned from the group, leaving him sitting as an independent councillor.

At Hartlepool Borough Council's annual meeting on Tuesday, Labour's Councillor Jonathan Brash called for local authority legal chiefs to explore sanctions they can impose on Cllr Cranney in a "timely and as fast as possible manner".

The motion was unanimously backed by all councillors in the chamber, including Councillor Cranney, who said he would "see what happens" with the outcome of the investigation.

Councillor Brash said: "We cannot allow such behaviour to go unchallenged and the reality is we have a criminal in our midst.

"We have someone convicted of a crime of violence against women, this cannot go unchallenged by this body, it will never go unchallenged by this body.

"Being elected to public office has integrity and it has standards and we will not stand by while someone denigrates those."

The deputy leader of the Labour group said the Government's response to the Committee on Standards in Public Life showed there are several actions potentially available to the local authority.

He said these could include the councillor being barred from attendance at committee meetings, and any public representative role, including ward surgeries.

He added councils have "in rare instances, it was accepted by the government, the power to bar a councillor from all council premises".

The motion will now go to the council audit and governance committee to investigate what sanctions could be implemented.

At the meeting, there were further calls for Councillor Cranney's resignation, including from Seaton ward representative Councillor Sue Little, who believes residents should be allowed to make their decision on his fate in a by-election.

Earlier this week, posting on social media, Councillor Cranney confirmed he intends to stay on as an independent councillor and would "help everyone where needed, no matter what".

Speaking after the annual council meeting he added he would "see what happens" with the investigation, adding he voted in favour of it.