Councillor suspended after foul-mouthed pub rant

South Ribble Councillor Caleb Tomlinson was caught on bodycam swearing and being aggressive to two doormen at a Preston pub who said his partner was too drunk to re-enter. At one point he showed his councillor’s badge and said he’d have the pub shut down - even though he has no jurisdiction in Preston.

Last week he admitted his behaviour was “very unwise” and said it was a “silly mistake” to mention he was a councillor.

An official complaint has been lodged with South Ribble Council’s standards department, prompting the Labour Party to suspend Coun Tomlinson, who represents Bamber Bridge and is a licencing committee member, while an investigation is completed.

Coun Paul Foster, South Ribble Labour leader, said: “Councillor Caleb Tomlinson is suspended by the South Ribble Labour Party whilst the investigation into a complaint is carried out by the local authority.

“Furthermore, he has been removed from the Licensing Committee with immediate effect.

“A position in public office should be treated with the utmost respect and in the Labour group we take our roles very seriously to serve the residents of South Ribble.”

Coun Tomlinson will have to sit as an Independent with no party affiliation at full council meetings until the Standards Committee has investigated whether his behaviour has brought South Ribble Borough Council into disrepute.

He will not be allowed to sit with fellow Labour members, or even attend their group meetings.

There has been strong public outcry at the incident leading to the suspension, with many claiming it was an an abuse of his power as a councillor.

Writing on lep.co.uk, The Concerns of an Olympian wrote: “He has broken the Councillors code of conduct, he should resign himself and not await any enquiry or complaints procedures . He has abused what he sees as a position of power.”

Runner 2 wrote: “Disgusting absolutely disgusting”.

Chubby Brown wrote: “Respect to the door staff for acting in an orderly manner.”