Councillor suspended over homophobic slur allegation

Councillor Steve Fritchley is the Labour leader of Bolsover District Council

A council leader has been suspended by the Labour Party over allegations he "repeatedly used" a homophobic slur against a general election candidate.

Bolsover Conservative candidate, Mark Fletcher, has alleged district council leader Steve Fritchley used the derogatory term about him while meeting a resident.

Mr Fritchley has been administratively suspended by Labour pending a formal investigation, the BBC understands.

The BBC has contacted Mr Fritchley for comment.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Fletcher said he was only alerted to the allegations after he posted a leaflet through the door of a resident, who was said to have witnessed the comments.

Mr Fletcher added the resident put the allegations in writing, which formed part of a letter published by Mr Fletcher on his Facebook page.

The candidate alleged Mr Fritchley used the slur a number of times and said: "That's what we call him here."

"My sexuality is neither a secret nor is it relevant to my job. This is not the 1950s," Mr Fletcher said.

Bolsover District Council is investigating following a formal complaint

Jim Fieldsend, the council's monitoring officer, said: "This complaint will be processed in accordance with the council's procedure for dealing with complaints against councillors to determine whether there has been a breach of the code of conduct."

Karen Hanson, the council's chief executive officer, added: "The council takes all complaints about councillors' conduct very seriously and there will be a thorough and robust independent investigation."

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.