The Tory opposition leader on Cheshire West and Chester Council is urging the Labour council leader to take action against a councillor found guilty of assaulting a bouncer.

Labour member Cllr Matt Bryan, 30, who represents Upton , had denied spitting at and kicking doorman David Keating at Kuckoo bar in Watergate Street, Chester, just after midnight on February 13 this year.

But Chester magistrates convicted Cllr Bryan, whose postal address is Cambrian Avenue, Vicars Cross , and sentenced him to 100 hours’ unpaid work.

He is now appealing.

Tory opposition leader Cllr Lynn Riley

Tory opposition leader Cllr Lynn Riley, who represents Frodsham , has written to Labour council leader Samantha Dixon concerned about the implications and urging her to persuade Cllr Bryan to resign. Labour runs the council with a knife-edge one-seat majority.

She said: “I write to express my grave concern about the reputational damage both the actions of Cllr Bryan and this verdict are having on Cheshire West and Chester Borough Council and to seek your urgent action and clarification on a number of points.”

Cllr Riley was also dismayed after it emerged during court proceedings that Cllr Bryan was convicted of drink driving in 2012 yet allowed to sit as deputy chairman of the licensing committee, a position he held at the time of the assault.

She asked: “Were you / the Labour group aware of this conviction when Cllr Bryan was appointed to serve on the licensing committee, indeed as its deputy chairman after May 2015? If you were aware, do you consider someone convicted of such an offence to be suitable to hold such an office?”

The Kuckoo bar in Watergate Street, Chester.

Cllr Bryan was suspended by the national Labour Party in February and has been unable to attend Labour group meetings. But Cllr Riley asked why action had not been taken locally and why Cllr Bryan was still listed on the CWaC website as being with the Labour Party.

She asked Cllr Dixon: “In light of the verdict this week, will you now suspend Cllr Bryan as a member of the Labour group and/or urge him to resign in order that the reputation of both your group and the council will not be further damaged?

“If you will not do the above, will you refer this matter to the council’s monitoring officer to urgently investigate this very serious situation and seek the resignation of Cllr Bryan should he be found to be in breach of the standards by which we all as councillors, elected to honour and respect the trust of the electorate, should be bound?”

CWaC leader Cllr Samantha Dixon
CWaC leader Cllr Samantha Dixon

Cllr Dixon responded: “I was not aware of Cllr Bryan’s previous conviction. Had I been, his name would not have been put forward for the position of deputy chair of the licensing committee. Following his arrest in February, he immediately tendered his resignation from the deputy chairmanship and from the licensing committee.

“Cllr Bryan has lodged an appeal against the decision of Chester Magistrates. In February 2016, his membership of the Labour Party was suspended pending investigation and remains so. This is a matter for the national Labour Party. Under such circumstances, the Labour Party requires that suspended councillors maintain their formal registration with the local authority in compliance with the national rules of the party.”

Cllr Dixon understood Cllr Riley had already contacted the council monitoring officer and anticipated she would receive a response to her questions around the code of conduct.

Cllr Matt Bryan pictured with anti-fracking protesters last month ahead of a trial which saw him acquitted of obstructing a police officer during the eviction of the anti-fracking camp at Upton in January.

Cllr Bryan, known for his staunch anti-fracking stance, commented: “I’m deeply saddened by the verdict. I am respectful of the decision but I will be appealing. I thought the CCTV footage was so strong that it would clear me but my legal team are getting the footage enhanced. I will continue supporting the residents of Upton.”