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Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson bailed in fraud investigation

The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has been released on bail after being detained as part of a fraud investigation.

Anderson was arrested with four other men from the city as part of an investigation into building and development contracts in Liverpool.

Police interviewed the mayor, who has led Liverpool for a decade, on Friday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation. He was suspended from the Labour party following the arrest.

Merseyside police confirmed on Saturday morning that all five of the men had been “released on conditional bail, pending further inquiries”.

A council spokeswoman said: “Liverpool city council is cooperating with Merseyside police in relation to its ongoing investigation. We do not comment on matters relating to individuals.”

The others arrested were a 72-year-old man from Aigburth, on suspicion of witness intimidation; a 33-year-old man from West Derby, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation; a 46-year-old man from Ainsdale, on suspicion of conspiracy to commit bribery and witness intimidation; and a 25-year-old man from Ormskirk, on suspicion of witness intimidation.

A former social worker and publican, Anderson has been a councillor in Liverpool for 22 years and leader of the Labour group since 2003. He has been mayor since 2012. .

He stood to become the Labour candidate for metro mayor of the Liverpool city region in 2016, but was beaten by the then Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who currently holds the post. . He secured the Labour party selection last year to run to be mayor of the city for a third term in May’s delayed elections.

Anderson’s eldest brother, Bill, died in October after contracting coronavirus. The mayor has spent most of 2020 shielding at home because of underlying health conditions.