A FORMER cabinet member has been suspended from St Helens Labour group, it can be revealed.

Councillors were informed at Monday's Labour group meeting that Moss Bank councillor John Fulham, who served as St Helens Council’s cabinet member for growth for three years until May 2018, has been suspended. 

While Cllr Fulham has been suspended from the Labour group, he is still an active member of the Labour Party.

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This means he will be banned from Labour group meetings and excluded from any group correspondence, while an internal investigation takes place.

Cllr Fulham can challenge the suspension with the regional arm of the party.

It is understood that Cllr Fulham’s suspension is linked to the WhatsApp investigation launched by Labour North West last year.

The investigation centred on the content and leaking of private WhatsApp conversations, which culminated in the resignation of Barrie Grunewald as leader of the council in April 2018.

In January, Labour ordered all of the councillors involved in the probe to apologise for their behaviour.

However, Cllr Fulham has yet to do this, which is what has led to his suspension from the group.

In his defence, Cllr Fulham said he has sent numerous emails outlining his position to the regional arm of the party, but claims he is yet to receive a response.

Cllr Fulham said: “The party hasn’t responded to any of my emails or complaints.

“Once it does, I’ll be happy to draw a line under it.”

St Helens Star:

The WhatsApp saga has rumbled on now for almost 18 months.

The incident in question saw Cllr Fulham obtain screenshots from a private WhatsApp group formed by a group of backbench Labour councillors.

Cllr Fulham passed on these screenshots, which contained derogatory comments about senior Labour councillors, to Cllr Grunewald, who arranged for hard copies to be distributed to Labour councillors’ pigeonholes.

Merseyside Police were then notified of a possible data breach by the council, which led to the resignation of Cllr Grunewald.

Cllr Grunewald was also suspended from the Labour party, although this was reinstated in June 2018 when it was confirmed that no police charges would be brought against him.

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Labour’s investigation into the matter concluded in January, with all of the councillors involved ordered to write a letter of apology.

Following Cllr Fulham’s suspension from the St Helens Labour group, Labour North West said it cannot comment on individuals as procedures are confidential.

Labour North West added that it must also uphold its legal responsibilities for data protection.