PCC asks for information over councillor sex claim

A police commissioner has made a plea for new information after a councillor admitted he had been accused of having sex with an underage girl.

Danielle Stone, Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC), was speaking after Matthew Binley, now a North Northamptonshire councillor, told party colleagues the allegation stemmed from 2009 while he was serving with the county's police force.

His admission to colleagues was first reported in the NN Journal.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Mr Binley "categorically" denied that he had admitted to a criminal offence.

It is understood Mr Binley, 41, was responding to questions put to him by members of the council's Conservative group on 5 February at a meeting held to decide his future after the allegations had resurfaced.

He was expelled from the group and now sits as as an independent.

The leader of the Conservative group, Jason Smithers, subsequently confirmed he had made a referral to the police in relation to the matter.

The NN Journal reported that it was not alleged that any offence had taken place while Binley was on duty.

He has also been suspended by the wider Conservative Party.

The matter was investigated at the time but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) declined to bring charges due to "insufficient evidence".

In a recent statement, Northamptonshire Police said: "No new evidence has surfaced to pursue further any of the allegations against Mr Binley."

Labour PFCC Stone said: "If anyone has any new information about this situation that they did not disclose at the time, I urge them, please, to come forward to the police and make it known."

Stone said she had discussed the situation with the new chief constable, Ivan Balhatchet, adding: "I know that Northamptonshire Police has looked into everything that has been raised."

Binley, the son of the late Conservative MP for Northampton South, Brian Binley, had previously put the matter down to a "error of judgement".

He resigned from the force shortly after the CPS declined to prosecute.

A separate investigation by the force's Professional Standards Department was then dropped.

The law has since changed to ensure such inquiries continue to their conclusion, even after the officer in question has left.

Binley, who has represented Wellingborough's Brickhill and Queensway ward at the Conservative-run council since 2021, previously said: "I am much older and wiser than I was 16 years ago".

In a new statement, he said: "These allegations were fully investigated at the time by the relevant authorities, who concluded there was no case to answer.

"Any suggestion that I knowingly acted improperly overlooks important details that were considered at the time. The conclusions reached by the authorities were based on a fair and thorough assessment of all relevant details.

"I have full confidence in the integrity of the police and CPS, both in their initial handling of this matter and in their recent review, which reaffirmed their original conclusions" he said.

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