Ex-DUP councillor William Walker barred from office after conviction for child sex offences

Former Newry Mourne and Down District Councillor William Walker was convicted of two charges of attempted sexual communication with a child in June 2023.

He had asked two girls to send him photos of themselves in school uniforms - but the fake profiles had actually been created by so-called paedophile hunters.

The 61-year-old was a DUP councillor in Killyleagh when he committed the offences in 2022.

Now the Local Government Commissioner for standards has barred him from serving as a councillor for five years.

Margaret Kelly oversaw an adjudication hearing on Friday 24 May.

She ruled that Mr Walker had breached the Local Government Code of Conduct for Councillors by bringing his position as councillor and his council into disrepute.

Mr Walker avoided jail when he was sentenced for the offences in June 2023.

A court imposed on him a 100 hours Community Service Order, a three year Probation Order and a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

In a statement, the commissioner said that when interviewed as part of an investigation by the Deputy Commissioner, the former councillor acknowledged he had not only let himself down, but also his colleagues within the council.

At the adjudication, Ms Kelly said it was beyond doubt that a member of the public, knowing all of the relevant facts in this case, would reasonably consider that the former councillor’s conduct was such that it brought his position as a councillor into disrepute.

She said that although his criminal behaviour was not linked directly to his position as a councillor, she was also satisfied that his actions had brought the council into disrepute.

Stating that Mr Walker had shown he was not fit for public office, she believed it was appropriate to apply the maximum sanction available to her, which was to disqualify him from holding the position of councillor for five years.

Mr Walker, who had served as as chairman of the former Down District Council, moved to Blackpool after his conviction.

He was suspended by the party after his arrest in March 2022 and later resigned.