A Liverpool City Councillor found guilty of threatening behaviour after swearing at a 14 year old has had an appeal against his conviction rejected.
David Cummings, a Labour member of Liverpool Council, was verbally abusive to the girl after seeing her and her dad delivering Liberal Democrat leaflets during a local election campaign in May 2021. The ECHO understands the leaflet made reference to Cummings’ previous conviction for criminal damage, received after he damaged a neighbour’s CCTV camera.
Cummings, a councillor for Wavertree, was initially convicted of using threatening words likely to cause fear or distress at Sefton Magistrates’ Court back in April. Records from Liverpool Crown Court indicate Cummings appeared on July 29 to appeal against his conviction against the 14 year old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
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The records state the girl and her dad, a witness in the case, had to attend court to provide further evidence against Cummings, who represented himself. A crown court judge and two magistrates, who did not hear the original trial, heard evidence and Cummings’ appeal was rejected.
He was handed a 12 month conditional discharge. A prosecution application for costs of £720 was rejected by the bench on the basis of Cumming’s “limited financial means”.
Speaking after Cummings' initial conviction in April, the Crown Prosecution Service's Ian Sheridan said: “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.”
The April conviction was the second Cummings has received while a sitting Liverpool Councillor. He was convicted of criminal damage in 2020 for wrecking a neighbour’s CCTV camera.
Cllr Cummings has been suspended by the party since 2019. The move came after a string of complaints from women within the party. He was also suspended from the Labour whip on Liverpool Council and has been sitting separately from his colleagues in the council chamber ever since.
In June 2019, Cllr Cummings was caught on film launching into an expletive-ridden rant about a fellow Labour politician, former European Parliament member Theresa Griffin. In the foul-mouthed rant, he labelled Ms Griffin a ' patronising little f*****g b***h.'
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