West Northamptonshire Council opposition groups call for leader to resign

Jonathan Nunn has been the leader of West Northamptonshire Council since it was formed in 2021

Opposition politicians have called for the resignation of a Conservative council leader.

West Northamptonshire Council's Labour group said new allegations of domestic violence had made Jonathan Nunn's position untenable.

The move follows an article about Mr Nunn in the latest edition of the current affairs magazine, Private Eye.

Mr Nunn said he regretted past mistakes but the current allegations of abuse were "unfounded".

In a statement, the Labour leader, Wendy Randall, said: "The Labour group now believe his position to be untenable and call for him to resign as leader as soon as possible."

The Labour group leader Wendy Randall said Mr Nunn's position as council leader was now untenable

Ms Randall added: "This ongoing situation has now reached a stage where it is becoming an obstructive distraction to officers, councillors and the public from the important work the council must undertake every day to improve the lives of our residents.

"The Conservative group must step up, realise the severity of the situation, and consider whether [it] can credibly continue to lead the council after this series of events which will seriously impact our reputation as a public authority tasked with protecting residents."

West Northamptonshire Liberal Democrats has added its voice to the calls for Mr Nunn to step down.

In a statement, it said: "If true, we express our disgust and lack of confidence in the council leader believing his position to be untenable. He should consider his position.

Three independent councillors have issued a statement calling for an investigation led by a barrister.

Conviction for assault

They said the leader should resign if the inquiry decided allegations against him were true.

The call for Mr Nunn's resignation comes three weeks after an independent councillor tried to raise an issue about the leader and called for him to stand down during a full council meeting.

In a statement, Mr Nunn said: "I have always been open and honest about the fact that 20 years ago I received a conviction for assault and a community order - I have spoken publicly about this before and this has also been a matter of public record for many years.

"Domestic abuse is never acceptable and I regret my past mistakes. This past behaviour is not something I am proud of, and in the many years that have since passed I have worked hard to make up for the past by trying to contribute something positive."

Mr Nunn added that an individual was seeking to discredit him and "this has included unfounded accusations of abuse through emails sent to many people and now to the media".

He said: "Due to the relentless and exhausting stream of attacks, I have therefore contacted the police who are actively investigating these issues."

Northamptonshire Police has confirmed that it has received a report of alleged harassment in February, which was being investigated and support was being provided to the complainant.