A property developer told a senior council officer that her 'email felt like a gun to his head' after she asked him to pay money that he owed to the city.
Liverpool businessman Elliot Lawless was arrested on December 18, 2019 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, bribery and corruption. The developer has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and has successfully challenged the legality of the warrants used by police to search his home and office.
Now a legal document submitted to the High Court as part of his judicial review has revealed that Mr Lawless made a reference to a 'gun to his head' during an email exchange with senior council officer Claire Slinger about Section 106 money - this is money that is paid by a developer to benefit the local community.
READ MORE: Liverpool Council completed land deal with developer after he was arrested in corruption probe
Mr Lawless's reply to Ms Slinger read: "Your email reads like a gun is being put to my head. Just so everybody is aware, I am doing this redevelopment because I was asked to. I am being charged £1.5m for the properties, once you add the development cost to this, there won't be much left in the pot."
Ms Slinger left the local authority earlier this year. It is not clear if Ms Slinger responded to Mr Lawler's email. The email from August 2017 was revealed in a witness statement by Michael Murphy, a partner at solicitors Hill Dickinson. The statement formed part of the submission in relation to Mr Lawless's judicial review into his arrest.
Mr Murphy stated that Mr Lawless sent the email during negotiations with the council in relation Percy Place on Percy Street in Liverpool 8.
In 2020 the ECHO obtained a copy of a high court judgement which followed a judicial review into Mr Lawless's arrest. The document revealed that Mr Lawless was arrested in relation to two sites he bought from the council in the city's Georgian quarter.
The sites were 40-50 Percy Street/53-57 Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool L8, and 68 Falkner Street, Liverpool L7. The judgement said that there was an allegation of an "an improperly preferential basis."
Mr Lawless has so far declined to say how much he paid for both sites. When Mr Lawless was arrested police seized £337,342 in cash and 10,442.10 Euros.
However, following the judicial review application, Mr Lawless secured the acceptance of Merseyside Police the search warrant used on December 18 was to be quashed and the entry of those addresses, searches of them and the seizures that followed were unlawful.
Mr Justice Robin Knowles, provided a summary of the investigation in the judgement. It read: "Merseyside Police’s Economic Crime Unit is conducting an investigation into the sale by Liverpool City Council, and its officials, of land and building property in the Liverpool city area.
"The investigation is focused on the purchase by the claimant’s entities of two properties from Liverpool City Council, 40-50 Percy Street/53-57 Upper Parliament Street, Liverpool L8, and 68 Falkner Street, Liverpool L7, on what is alleged to be an improperly preferential basis."
The ECHO approached Mr Lawless for comment on this story. A spokesperson for Liverpool council said: "We have no comment to make on this due to ongoing legal matters."
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