A Labour councillor has been suspended from the party after admitting taking cocaine while in charge of a vehicle.
South Gloucestershire Cllr Matt Palmer told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that he could not remember doing it but that he was suffering mental health problems and was taking heavy-duty prescription drugs.
Cllr Palmer, who represents the New Cheltenham ward, pleaded guilty at Bristol magistrates court on November 10, and is set to be sentenced on December 17. He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I was struggling with mental health for some time and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. I was found at the side of the road. I was in crisis. I don’t remember doing the cocaine. I was so drunk.
“It happened, and I can’t deny it happened. I was arrested in the early hours of a Wednesday morning in July. I can’t say a bad word about the Labour group – they did what they had to.”
Cllr Palmer said he would continue as an independent councillor.
A South Gloucestershire Labour spokesperson said: “The Labour group has withdrawn the whip from Cllr Matthew Palmer with immediate effect due to failure to disclose a court matter and misrepresentation to the group. Cllr Palmer remains an elected councillor, now sitting as an independent. The group takes the standards and integrity of its members very seriously.”
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service