Local government minister Jim McMahon has hinted he will push ahead with handing councils the power to suspend councillors before they have been convicted. 

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, McMahon said: ‘We have examples where councillors can be on police bail for sexual assaults, and during police bail they can attend council meetings and attend the premises. That clearly would not be acceptable to most members of the public, but the current regime allows that and that cannot be allowed to stand.'