Labour activists in court amid vote rigging claims

Four Labour activists have appeared in court for the first time after being charged in connection with claims that a party database was manipulated to help fix a candidate selection.

Joel Bodmer, 40, his wife Shila Bodmer, 41, former Southend councillor Gabriel Leroy, 24, and former Croydon councillor Carole Bonner, 69, appeared only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses.

Joel Bodmer, who stood for selection as Labour's candidate for the Croydon East constituency, has been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to allegedly altering phone records.

The process to select Labour's candidate for the parliamentary seat was abandoned in November 2023 amid alleged irregularities, and re-run four months later without Bodmer taking part.

Shila Bodmer, Leroy and Bonner have been charged with conspiracy to commit an offence under the Criminal Law Act and the Computer Misuse Act.

The chief magistrate, Judge Paul Goldspring, told the defendants to appear at Southwark Crown Court for a pre-trial hearing in June.

All four have been suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of an investigation.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: "These are incredibly serious charges.

"When complaints were first raised with the Labour Party we conducted a thorough internal investigation and we referred the matter to the police as soon as potential criminal wrongdoing was identified.

"We cannot comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing."

Bodmer is a regional organiser for the UK's largest trade union, Unison.

A spokesperson for Unison said: "Joel Bodmer is an employee of the union and is currently on unpaid leave."

Last month, when the four were charged, Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division said: "Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.

"We have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police Service as it has carried out its investigation.

"We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.

"It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings."

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