'I'm not resigning'... councillor caught drink driving refuses to step down
30.03.2024 - 18:01
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A councillor who appeared before a court after being caught drink driving says he won't resign. Matt Bryan, an independent Cheshire West and Chester councillor, was hauled before magistrates this week after pleading guilty to drink driving.
He was found to be four times over the legal limit, after his Audi A3 was stopped by police on Eastgate Street in Chester in August last year. Coun Bryan has come under fire from political opponents, with a Conservative politician claiming he is "not a fit and proper person to continue to hold public office", Cheshire Live reports.
READ MORE: Councillor 'really ashamed' after stumbling out of Audi when police pulled him over
But Coun Bryan, who has represented the Upton ward as an independent since the Labour whip was withdrawn in September, said he would not be resigning. He was handed a non-custodial sentence during a hearing at Chester Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.
Coun Lynn Gibbon, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council's Conservative group, called Coun Bryan's behaviour "disgraceful" and called on him to "do the decent thing and resign so that residents in the Upton ward can elect a councillor who will put them first and not indulge in serious criminal behaviour".
But in response Coun Bryan said it was “rich of the Tories to ask me to resign when you look at the state of their party”.
He added: "I wasn’t driving dangerously. I was over the limit. There were mitigating circumstances, and the court has understood that. Justice will do its bit; I’ll do some unpaid work, which I do anyway." Coun Bryan added: "I’m not resigning.”
In a statement, Coun Gibbon said: “Cllr Matt Bryan has been handed a substantial sentence for his disgraceful behaviour. When details of this case