Operation Aloft defendants bailed after court hearing
Former Mayor Joe Anderson pleaded not guilty to all three charges put to him and Liverpool City Council’s ex-regeneration director Nick Kavanagh pleaded not guilty to two counts of bribery. Their cases will be heard alongside those of the other 10 defendants at Preston Crown Court on 25 April.
The full list of defendants and charges can be found at the bottom of this article
Twelve defendants appeared at Preston Magistrates Court this morning having been charged earlier this month following the years’ long Operation Aloft investigation by Merseyside Police. The investigation was launched in 2019 to examine suspected corruption within Liverpool’s political and business spheres, in particular fraud related to building and development contracts.
Both Anderson and Kavanagh pleaded not guilty to accepting bribes, as did Phillipa Cook, who is charged with two counts of bribery.
Anderson also pleaded not guilty to two more charges; misconduct in a public office, and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
Andrew Barr, former assistant director at Liverpool City Council, and former deputy leader Derek Hatton pleaded not guilty to charges put to them.
Not all of the defendants were required to enter pleas at today’s hearing. Those that did plead not guilty while others indicated not guilt pleas. All 12 defendants were granted unconditional bail ahead of the next hearing in late April.
Full list of defendants and charges
- Joe Anderson – charged with one count of bribery, one count of misconduct in a public office, and one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office
- David Anderson, Joe Anderson’s son – charged with one count of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office
- Andrew Barr, former assistant director at Liverpool City Council – charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and one count of bribery
- Nicholas Kavanagh, former director of regeneration at Liverpool City Council – charged with two counts of bribery
- Paul Flanagan, head of developer Flanagan Group – charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery
- Derek Hatton, former deputy leader of the city council – charged with one count of bribery and one count of counsel or procure misconduct in a public office
- Phillipa Cook – charged with two counts of bribery
- Alex Croft – charged with one count of bribery
- Julian Flanagan – charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery
- Sonjia Hatton – charged with one count of misconduct in a public office
- Adam McLean – charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery
- James Shalliker – charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery
