Ex-mayor will 'fight' to clear name

FORMER mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson is one of 12 people charged as part of an investigation into council corruption.

- 

The 67-year-old was charged along with Derek Hatton, 77, who was deputy leader of Liverpool City Council in the 1980s, and a former director and assistant director at the local authority.

Anderson, who was first arrested in December 2020, has been charged with bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, Merseyside Police said on Friday.

In a statement posted on social media site X, he said: "I am innocent of charges and will fight to clear my name."

Anderson, of Knotty Ash, Liverpool, was elected mayor of the city from the time the role was created in 2012 until 2021, when he did not stand for re-election after his suspension by the Labour Party.

His son David Anderson, 37, of Wavertree, is charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, police said.