Labour councillor charged over child grooming allegations

Fife councillor David Graham has been suspended from the party while investigations are ongoing.
David Graham is expected to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court (PA)
PA Archive
Paul Cargill29 August 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A Scottish Labour councillor has been arrested and charged over allegations of child grooming.

Councillor David Graham, who represents Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss on Fife Council, has been suspended from the party while investigations are ongoing, the PA News Agency understands.

He has also stood down from his council appointments for the time being, according to the local authority.

Graham was the council’s spokesperson for health and social care and a member of the NHS Fife board.

Councillor Graham was charged with an offence and has been suspended by the Labour party

Lindsay Thompson, Fife Council

He is expected to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court in connection with the alleged offence at a later date.

Scottish Labour said, as an active investigation was ongoing, it would make no formal comment on the matter.

Fife Council’s head of legal and democratic services, Lindsay Thomson, said: “Councillor Graham was charged with an offence and has been suspended by the Labour party.

“He has stepped down from his council appointments pending the outcome of the investigation. No further comment can be made by the council during a live police investigation.”

A spokesperson for NHS Fife added: “NHS Fife is aware of a Police Scotland matter involving a local Fife councillor. We are unable to comment further on an ongoing police investigation.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A 41-year-old man has been arrested and charged in relation to grooming offences following an investigation in Fife.

“He has been released on an undertaking to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court at a later date.

“Further inquiries are ongoing.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Sign up you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy notice .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in