Daniel Barwell: Ex-councillor wanted in US writes apology in jail

Daniel Barwell had represented Doncaster council's Wheatley Hills & Intake ward since May 2021

A former councillor wanted in the US on drugs charges has penned a letter from prison apologising to residents in the town he once represented.

Labour's Daniel Barwell resigned from Doncaster Council in February after his arrest on suspicion of planning to import "magic mushrooms" into the US.

An extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in May will decide if he will stand trial in Ohio.

In his letter, Mr Barwell said he "should be a better role model".

He was arrested on 2 February at his home in Intake, Doncaster, by the Metropolitan Police's National Extradition Unit after an Interpol Red Notice was issued at the request of the US authorities.

Mr Barwell was denied bail when he appeared before Westminster magistrates on 10 February. District Judge Nina Tempia said there were substantial grounds to believe he would fail to attend court for the extradition hearing.

Mr Barwell was allegedly recruited to a criminal organisation in May 2016 as a "shipper" from the UK.

It is alleged he "conspired to import psilocybin, a psychedelic drug, into the USA, selling over 3,000kg of the substance, some of which was shipped to the southern district of Ohio".

At the hearing, Mr Barwell's barrister Malcolm Hawkes said his client denied the allegations and there was "very limited evidence" against him.

Details of Mr Barwell's handwritten letter were posted on social media

Mr Barwell, who was elected in May 2021, resigned his Wheatley Hills & Intake seat after his arrest and a by-election took place on 31 March, with Labour's Yetunde Elebuibon holding the ward.

In his letter, published by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Barwell said he had "always wanted the best for the estate" and apologised to "everyone on the Clay Lane community Facebook page".

He wrote: "I should be a better role model, one they deserve, and I wholeheartedly mean to make up for my time away ten-fold."

'Shame of situation'

He also said he wanted to thank those residents who had supported him on social media.

"In a world where actions and character seem to be judged together, it brought a tear to my eye to see and hear good things said about me... to forget the shame of the situation I'm in," he said.