Ex-Liverpool Mayor’s corruption trial pushed back to 2027
Joe Anderson will have to wait a further six months for his day in court to address bribery charges against him, as will the city’s former deputy leader Derek Hatton, and former assistant director Andrew Barr. Anderson, Hatton, and Barr all deny any wrongdoing.
The charges were levied against the trio in March after Merseyside Police’s multi-year Operation Aloft investigation. The large-scale operation, which began in 2019, examined the ethicality of the awarding of commercial contracts by Liverpool City Council between 2010 and 2020. Anderson was Liverpool’s first elected mayor, holding the office from 2012 to 2021.
The group had been set to appear before court in October 2026. That date has now been pushed back to 5 April 2027. The trial is expected to last 15 weeks.
Anderson is accused of either requesting or accepting a bribe for improper actions between 9 February 2019 and 28 July 2020. He is also charged with one count of misconduct in public office, which stems from allegedly granting special access to himself for commercial reasons to benefit his son David’s company Safety Support Consultants. The final charge, one of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office, states that he sent or arranged the sending of threatening letters to himself.
Barr is also charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct. Hatton is charged with counselling his wife to provide confidential city council information to business contacts.
Hatton’s wife, Sonjia, will also be on trial on 5 April – as will Anderson’s son, David.
There are 12 total charged in relation to Operation Aloft. Among those are Liverpool City Council’s former director of regeneration Nick Kavanagh and developer Paul Flanagan of the Flanagan Group. They are due to stand trial on 23 February.
Phillipa Cook, Julian Flanagan, Adam McLean, James Shalliker are also accused and will be in court at that time.
A twelfth defendant, Alex Croft, is to stand trial in July 2026.
All charged as a result of Operation Aloft have pled their innocence.
Whatever the merits of the case, it seems grossly unfair to have dragged this out for so many years. Mayor Anderson was arrested in 2020, for heaven’s sake. I thought Britain was better than this.
By Anonymous
5 April 2027, that’s 8 years to get to court, nothing happens smoothly in Liverpool.
Do we think any work might’ve started by then on the Baltic Station, Festival Gardens, Hemisphere Building, Liverpool Waters North Docks, Cruise Terminal and Hotels, King’s Dock, and so on.
By Anonymous
Liverpool Waters will look the same in 2027.
By Tom
The UK barely functions. As Anonymous says below, whatever the merits let them have it out and for better or worse move on
By Tannoy
And 2037
By Anonymous
Festival Gardens will never happen until they accept it will not deliver any return on investment.
By Merseyanon
Well the longer its spun out the more memories fade
By Anonymous