[ad_1]
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson was arrested as part of a fraud investigation and suspended from the Labor Party.
Anderson, who has run Liverpool for a decade, was one of five men arrested in Merseyside on Friday in an investigation into construction and development contracts in the city. He is being interviewed by the police on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and intimidation of witnesses.
Merseyside police have not named any of the arrested men, but multiple sources have told the Guardian that the 62-year-old mayor is one of those arrested.
A spokeswoman for Liverpool City Council said: “Liverpool City Council is cooperating with the Merseyside Police in connection with their ongoing investigation. We don’t comment on people-related matters. “
The others arrested are: a 72-year-old man from Aigburth, on suspicion of witness intimidation; a 33-year-old West Derby man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and intimidation of witnesses; a 46-year-old Ainsdale man on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and intimidation of witnesses; and a 25-year-old man from Ormskirk, on suspicion of witness intimidation.
Sources said Anderson had been suspended from the Labor Party in light of his arrest. A former social worker and innkeeper, he has run the city since 2010 and been mayor since 2012. He has been a Liverpool councilor for 22 years and leader of the Labor group since 2003.
He unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the Liverpool city region, a position won by former Labor MP Steve Rotheram, and to be MP for Liverpool Walton in 2017.
Last year he won the Labor Party selection to run for mayor of the city for a third term in the delayed elections in May.
Anderson’s older brother Bill died in October after contracting coronavirus. The mayor has spent most of 2020 protecting at home due to underlying health issues.
