Suspended councillor expelled by Tory group

A Conservative councillor has confirmed his expulsion from his party group following historical but undisclosed allegations.

Matt Binley would not be drawn on the specific reason but confirmed they related to a criminal inquiry into himself when he was serving police constable in 2009.

His expulsion took place at a special meeting of North Northamptonshire Council's Conservative group on Wednesday night that followed his suspension from the same group on the unitary local authority.

Binley told the BBC the allegations "were fully investigated by the proper authorities and no further action was taken" at the time.

Northamptonshire Police confirmed Binley had been suspended from the force in 2009 and was allowed to resign soon afterwards.

It said he was investigated following allegations made against him but the Crown Prosecution Service had deemed there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Binley with any criminal offence.

"A police misconduct investigation was then launched into the same matters by our Professional Standards Department and Mr Binley was suspended," the force said in a statement.

Binley, 41, who has represented Wellingborough's the Brickhill and Queensway ward at the Conservative-run council since 2021, said "we all make errors in judgement, but it is how we learn from them that is really important and I can certainly say I am much older and wiser than I was 16 years ago".

Binley's resignation "was permitted in accordance with the law/policing regulations at that time" the police statement continued.

The law changed in 2017 so that if an officer retires or resigns during an investigation, misconduct procedures will be still be followed to their conclusion.

In his statement, the Binley said: "I am of course extremely disappointed with the outcome and I intend to appeal [against] the decision. I'm also disappointed that the media were aware of this before I was".

He continued: "It is exactly this type of infighting and leaks that need to be stopped within politics.

"It does nothing but undermine the public's trust and confidence in public servants.

"After all, I feel what is forgotten far too often is the purpose of being in public office is to serve the residents that elected us and to stop playing political games".

The council leader, Jason Smithers, confirmed Binley's expulsion.

In a statement, he said: "This decision, reached after thorough consideration by the group, brings the internal disciplinary process to a close.

He added there would be "no further comment regarding this specific case".

The Conservatives confirmed he had also been suspended from the wider party pending investigation.

Since his suspension, Binley has been sitting as an Independent member of the council. He had been the council's executive member for highways, travel and assets.

Other members of the Conservative group referred the BBC's inquiries to Mr Smithers.

Matt Binley's father was the former Conservative MP for Northampton South, Brian Binley.

The MP stood down in 2015 and died in December 2020.

Matt Binley was jailed for four months in 2011 for lying in a drink-drive case.

He crashed his car while two-and-a-half times over the legal alcohol limit after attending a wedding before going on to a nightclub.

His mother, Jacqueline, had made a statement claiming she was the one driving and received a suspended prison sentence and was ordered to do community work.

In 2008, the BBC also reported that while a police constable, he had been removed from duties after an allegation he assaulted a taxi driver while off duty.

Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.