Convicted Hartlepool councillor censured after assault

Gordon Cranney met the then prime minster Boris Johnson in May, just days after being convicted of assault

A councillor convicted of assault has been censured after rejecting renewed calls for him to resign.

Gordon Cranney was re-elected to Hartlepool Council's Seaton ward earlier this year just days after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman.

Councillors have now unanimously agreed to censure him for "bringing the authority into disrepute".

Last week, Mr Cranney said he was "disappointed" their inquiry focused on issues beyond his conviction.

He is sitting as an Independent having resigned from the Conservative Party after being suspended following his conviction, which he had not told colleagues about.

The report into Mr Cranney went before the full council on Thursday and raised concerns over his conduct, including social media misuse, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

'No excuse'

The council will also write to Hartlepool's MP, Conservative Jill Mortimer, and lobby the government to change legislation to allow local authorities to dismiss a councillor where they have been convicted of violence.

The sanctions added to those already imposed by the council's audit and governance committee, which included restricting Mr Cranney's access to council premises for the remainder of his term.

Independent councillor Leisa Smith described Mr Cranney's failure to inform the council of his conviction as "unacceptable".

She said: "There could be no excuse for the offence his actions have caused and the reputational damage of the role of councillor and council itself."

The scrutiny committee had asked him to consider resigning - a plea echoed by some councillors at Thursday's meeting.

Speaking last week, Mr Cranney admitted he had thought about quitting but "won't be considering it anymore" as he had "more and more people" coming to him for help around Hartlepool.

He added he was "disappointed" in how the inquiry had focused on issues beyond his conviction, although full council heard he had "accepted the findings of the investigation".

Hartlepool Borough Council is politically controlled by a Conservative and Independent Union coalition.