A council leader who was today found not guilty of making a false statement in his nomination papers has said the case should never have gone to court as he criticised the Crown Prosecution Service.
Russell Bowden, 53, the Labour leader of Warrington Borough Council, listed his home address as a property in Applecross Close, Birchwood, ahead of the 2021 local elections, a trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard. The jury was told he had been living in a flat in Bewsey, in another council ward, since 2019.
Mr Bowden claimed he had moved out of the Birchwood home temporarily due to problems in his marriage and had always planned to return. On Tuesday, a jury found him not guilty after an hour and 45 minutes of deliberations.
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Speaking outside court, Mr Bowden said: "I have always had a clear conscience in relation to these unfounded allegations but today's outcome enables my name and reputation to remain intact.
"Sadly, there are those whose political motivations have led them to try and exploit this case in order to cast doubt on me as a person, attempting to undermine my leadership of Warrington Borough Council and our Labour-led council itself, regardless of the reputational damage and negative perception it causes to our town.
"It has been stressful and deeply upsetting for my family to have this hanging over me for almost two years.
"Throughout this case I have always maintained that my permanent home address was the same address that I had lived at for 27 years. The idea that my permanent home address would suddenly change because I moved out temporarily was and will remain entirely misconceived."
He criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for taking the case to court and added: "I have always maintained my innocence and today’s unanimous verdict by the jury demonstrates the truth of what I’ve been saying should never have been doubted.”
Opening the case last week, Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, said Mr Bowden had broken laws which 'underpin our very democracy' and had used the Birchwood address to gain a political advantage, because electors would consider him to be a 'local man' living in the ward.
The father of one, who had been a councillor since 2010, kept his seat in the 2021 election but an investigation was launched after concerns about whether the address he used was his current home, the trial heard.
The jury was told his car was registered to the Bewsey address and he was paying council tax there, while his wife was claiming a single person discount on council tax in Birchwood.
A letter sent to Mr Bowden by police in July 2020 was returned with the note “RTS not at this address”, the court heard. Mr Bowden, who became council leader in 2019, told the court he had moved out to “create space” in his relationship with his wife Beverley, who he said was having problems with her mental health.
He said he expected to return to the Birchwood address and remained on the electoral register there. The court heard Mr Bowden had moved back in shortly before his trial was due to start earlier this year. He told the jury it was “ludicrous” to claim he had used the address to try to gain a political advantage.
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