Warrington Council leader denies lying about address

Russell Bowden denies giving an incorrect address to appear a more "local man"

A council leader accused of lying about his address for "political advantage" has told a court he had temporarily moved out due to marital problems.

Warrington Borough Council's Labour leader Russell Bowden denies giving a false statement in nomination papers ahead of the 2021 local elections by giving his estranged wife's address.

He denied giving the wrong address so voters would see him as a "local man".

Mr Bowden said he moved out for a short time to create "space" in his marriage.

The 53-year-old said he had left the home in Applecross Close, Birchwood, in June 2019 and was temporarily living more than six miles (9.5km) away, in Bewsey.

He told Liverpool Crown Court the split was down to his wife's mental health and he felt it was the "right thing to do".

He said: "I envisaged it being six to eight weeks just to create space for us to deal with some of our issues."

The court heard shortly after moving out he made a list of items he had taken from the property, including clothes, records, books and a knife set, and lodged it with his solicitor in anticipation of divorce proceedings.

Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, suggested he would not have made the list if he was moving out temporarily.

Mr Bowden said: "I felt the need to make this list even though I was moving into temporary accommodation."

He said a suggestion by a neighbour he had moved out in 2017 was "absolutely false".

Russell Bowden is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court

The jury was shown a print out of activities he had recorded on exercise tracker Strava in 2018 and 2019 which he said showed he was living at the Birchwood address.

Mr Bowden, who has been council leader since 2019, said the house had been put on the market in 2017 when the couple were "hellbent" on moving towards divorce, but they had taken it off the market a few months later.

The court heard Mr Bowden's car was registered to his new address, in Bewsey, with the DVLA.

He said: "I've probably got a record of speeding tickets and parking and what you need to do is provide an address where someone can send you the bill.

"I purely saw it as a contact address."

Asked why he considered the Birchwood address to be his home address at the time he filled in nomination forms on 6 April 2021, Mr Bowden said: "I still expected to return to that home by whatever means.

"My relationship was improving and I expected to return to my permanent home in due course."

The court heard Mr Bowden remained married and had since moved back in with his wife.

He denied including a home address within the ward he was seeking to be elected in would give him a political advantage.

He said: "It is ludicrous. I had lived in Birchwood for 25 years by that point.

"I'm very well known, I have represented people through my work as councillor for more than a decade and I was a local man."

The trial continues.

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