London Labour activists charged over Croydon candidate selection irregularities

Four London Labour activists have been charged in connection to allegations of irregularities for a candidate selection process for the general election.

Joel Bodmer, 40, Shila Bodmer, 41, former Southend councillor Gabriel Leroy, 24 and former Croydon councillor Carole Bonner, 69, have been charged with conspiracy and computer misuse over allegations that a Labour Party database was manipulated to increase a candidate’s chances of selection for the Croydon East constituency.

Joel Bodmer, a Unison organiser and vice-chair of London TULO, who had stood for selection as Labour’s candidate in the constituency, has also been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to allegedly altering phone records.

It is understood that all four defendants have been administratively suspended from the Labour Party pending the outcome of an investigation.

The selection process for Labour’s candidate for Croydon East was abandoned in November 2023 amid allegations that personal details of members on a party database had been altered without authorisation. The selection process was re-run four months later, but Joel Bodmer withdrew from the contest.

Natasha Irons was later selected as Labour’s candidate and was subsequently elected as the MP for Croydon East at the general election.

Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.

“We have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police Service as it has carried out its investigation.

“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.

“It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

A spokesperson for the Labour Party said: “These are incredibly serious charges. When complaints were first raised with the Labour Party, we conducted a thorough internal investigation and we referred the matter to the police as soon as potential criminal wrongdoing was identified. We cannot comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.”

All four defendants will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 19.

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