A sitting Liverpool councillor swore at a 14-year-old girl after she put a Lib Dem leaflet criticising him through his letter box.
David Cummings, who represents Wavertree for Labour, kicked off at the teenager as she was campaigning for the Lib Dems on May 3, 2021. He was later convicted of verbally abusing her after a trial last week. It is the 57-year-old’s second conviction while a sitting councillor and follows a criminal damage conviction back in 2020 for wrecking a neighbour’s CCTV camera.
Sefton Magistrates’ Court heard last week that the girl was delivering Lib Dem leaflets with her dad in the run up to the local elections, which saw a third of Liverpool’s 90 council seats up for election in addition to elections for the mayor, metro mayor and the region’s police and crime commissioner. Cummings was not up for re-election that year but was referenced on a leaflet being distributed by the Lib Dems during their campaign. The ECHO understands the leaflets referred to Cummings’ criminal damage conviction.
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Cummings found the leaflet shortly after the girl posted it through his letterbox. He then went out of his house and was verbally abusive, swearing at her and telling her to get rid of the leaflets. The girl told her father, who was delivering leaflets on the opposite side of the road, and he reported it to the police.
The CPS later charged Cummings with using threatening words likely to cause harassment or distress. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted at the end of last week. He was fined £96, ordered to pay £600 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
Speaking after the conclusion of the trial, CPS Mersey Cheshire's Ian Sheridan said Cummings' constituents had a right to expect better from their councillors. Mr Sheridan, a senior crown prosecutor, said: “This was a verbal assault on a young girl for no reason. The information in the leaflet was already in the public domain.
“Whatever his feelings about the information being aired again, he had no right to threaten this victim in this way. His behaviour veered into criminality and he has been found guilty of the offence he was charged with. The role of a councillor is a position of trust and Mr Cummings has a public role which demands decent behaviour. He has betrayed the trust of the people who voted for him and their expectations of their local representative.”
