A LEADING Liberal Democrat councillor in Liverpool attempted to smear a rival by distributing a leaflet attacking her husband and suggesting she was a lap dancer, a court heard yesterday.

Cllr Steve Hurst, a firefighter, who is accused of breaking election law, was allegedly wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap while said to be distributing the leaflets.

The day before the local elections in May 2007, leaflets were posted through letterboxes on the Woodlands estate, in the Belle Vale ward.

The pink leaflets titled “Walton Scab” attacked Labour councillor Pauline Walton, who was not up for election, and her husband, Keith, who is also a firefighter. The leaflet claimed Mr Walton had “scabbed” during the firefighters’ strike, and that he was unpopular at his private golf club (Lee Park, where Cllr Hurst is also a member).

It also stated: “Your Labour councillor leaves meetings early to go to lap dancing (or line dancing – I’m not sure which) classes.

“Don’t vote for scabs, vote for a real socialist party, vote TUSP [The United Socialist Party].”

Cllr Hurst, executive member for corporate performance and ward councillor for Wavertree, is accused of breaching section 110 of the Representation of the People Act on May 2 – the day before the local elections last year. The section requires election publicity material to include an imprint detailing the name and address of the printer and publisher of the material.

He denies the charge, but if found guilty, faces a fine of up to £5,000.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard how Mr Walton had been at home in Egremont Lawn, Belle Vale, on May 2, last year when he received a call from a resident in nearby Ridsdale Lawn, saying she had received an “offensive” pink leaflet.

Mr Walton said after collecting the leaflet from Edith Turner’s home, he decided to confront TUSP’s election agent, Jim Wilson, who also lived on the estate. Mr Wilson denied being involved and told Mr Walton he would report it to the police.

Karen Davies, of nearby Appleby Lawn, called round at the Walton household soon after and said she too had had the pink “TUSP” leaflet, the court was told.

Mr Walton said soon after he left with his son Ben, 23, to look for the person posting the leaflets, and were joined by older son Lee Walton, 26, who was just arriving home from work.

Mike Gregory, for the prosecution, said they found Cllr Hurst in Selside Walk where Mr Walton took a photo of him on his mobile phone.

“He had in his hands yellow leaflets folded over, and as he got close to the door, he was taking out pink leaflets from the middle and posting them through the letterbox,” said Ben Walton.

The Waltons claim that after they were spotted by Cllr Hurst, he “lunged towards” Keith Walton and tried to grab the camera phone.

Lee Walton said: “My dad shouted out ‘I’ve got you now Hursty.”

Lee Walton said he got Cllr Hurst in a headlock to protect his father, while Ben Walton grabbed Cllr Hurst’s hands down by his waist, the court heard.

After a brief scuffle Cllr Hurst wriggled free of the pair and ran off down the road.

The court heard his baseball cap, a sunglass lens, and some leaflets – a number of yellow Lib-Dem fliers and some pink TUSP leaflets – were left at the scene.

“Mr Hurst scuttled off and shouted some abuse to my dad calling him a scab b------d,” Lee Walton told the court.

He denied the only reason he grabbed hold of Cllr Hurst was to get the leaflets from him.

When defence barrister Janet Reaney put to him that there were pink Lib-Dem leaflets among those that fell on the ground, he said he did not know.

Ms Davies told the court she had seen a man wearing a baseball cap and between 5ft 6ins and 5ft 9ins tall walk down her path and deliver a leaflet to her door – a pink TUSP leaflet.

Linda Murray, of Selside Walk, also told the court how she had seen a man in a baseball cap deliver a pink leaflet with a “personal attack” on Pauline Walton and her husband.

She said she noticed him because “he had a baseball cap and I thought it was one of the smackheads”.

She said she left her house to confront the man, but then saw the Waltons “legging” it past and heard a commotion round the corner.

In the following day’s election, Labour’s Janet Kent won the Belle Vale seat with 1,639 votes, beating the sitting Lib-Dem councillor Ian Phillips by just 134 votes.

The case in front of District Judge Richard Clancy was being watched by an observer from the local government ethics watchdog the Standards Board for England.

The case continues

davidbartlett