No charges for developer held in corruption probe

A total of 12 people have been charged as part of Operation Aloft, an investigation into alleged bribery in corruption linked to Liverpool City Council

A property developer who was arrested as part of an investigation into alleged bribery and corruption will not face criminal charges, police have said.

Elliot Lawless was arrested as part of Operation Aloft in 2019, an investigation that has since seen former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, ex-deputy council leader Derek Hatton, and 10 others charged with various offences.

The 12 are due to be tried in three separate trials next year. They deny the charges against them.

In an email seen by the BBC, Merseyside Police said that, after an "extensive investigation", the Crown Prosecution Service "advised there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr Lawless".

Mr Lawless, 38, was behind a number of large property developments in Liverpool and Manchester.

But in 2020 and 2021, a number of the schemes were placed into administration. Some of the blocks were completed but others remained unfinished.

Some investors are still in the process of taking legal action over the losses they said they made as a result of some projects not being completed.

He has always denied any wrongdoing.