Warrington council leader denies election fraud

Warrington Council leader Russell Bowden is due to appear at crown court in January

A council leader has appeared in court accused of election fraud.

Russell Bowden, Labour leader of Warrington Borough Council, has denied a charge of giving a false address on his nomination papers as a candidate in local elections.

The 52-year-old also faces three charges of providing false information to a registration officer, but did not enter a plea to those charges.

He was bailed until 28 January for a first hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.

Mr Bowden, who was first elected as a councillor in 2010 and became leader in 2018, appeared in court via video-link along with his solicitor Tanveer Qureshi.

District Judge Nicholas Sanders said the alleged offences are "either way" matters and could be dealt with at the magistrates' court or before a jury at the crown court.

Mr Bowden elected to have a crown court jury trial for the offences.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]