Labour Councillor Admits Paedophile Offences After High-Profile Campaign Backing
A Labour councillor who has pleaded guilty to being a paedophile was actively supported on the campaign trail by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and eight ministers, according to revelations by the Daily Mail. The Prime Minister previously described it as 'great' to back Liron Velleman, who this week admitted to child sex offences in court.
Senior Labour Figures Praised Velleman Before Crimes Emerged
Chancellor Rachel Reeves campaigned for Velleman as recently as 2022, publicly highlighting him as a 'brilliant' candidate. Sir Keir Starmer has since deleted a social media post from 2018 showing he campaigned for Velleman to be elected as a councillor. In the post, the then-shadow Brexit secretary tagged Velleman, writing: 'Great to campaign with you – you deserve to win. Good luck!'
Velleman, who worked for the anti-racism group Hope Not Hate and advised on the Online Safety Bill, sent online messages to someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl. He asked to see her in school uniform, inquired if she was 'home alone', sent a lewd video, and requested to see the girl in her underwear. These communications were actually with a police officer conducting a sting operation, as heard at Highbury Corner magistrates' court this week.
Multiple Ministers Involved in Campaign Efforts
Photographic evidence shows four current Cabinet ministers campaigning for Velleman in 2022, when he was elected in Barnet, north London. Then shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves described him as 'brilliant' at a Labour Friends of Israel event in November of that year. In April 2022, Shabana Mahmood shared a picture on social media with Velleman, commenting: 'Brilliant to be out campaigning in Whetstone ward in Barnet yesterday for [Velleman].'
The list of senior figures who campaigned for Velleman that year includes the Home Secretary, Chancellor, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, courts minister Sarah Sackman KC, victims minister Alex Davies-Jones, employment minister Diana Johnson, and school standards minister Georgia Gould. None held ministerial positions at the time, but some were in the shadow cabinet, including Sir Keir and Ms Reeves.
Labour Responds to the Scandal
Velleman, aged 30, resigned from his councillor role without explanation in April last year and has also been photographed with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. There is no suggestion that the Prime Minister, Sir Sadiq, or any minister knew of the offences when they endorsed him. Labour has condemned his 'sickening crime' and stated that 'nobody could be aware of his future conduct'.
However, Tory MP Jack Rankin criticised the situation, saying: 'Starmer pledged to tackle violence against women and girls, yet sex offenders threaten to be the defining issue of his premiership.'
Legal Proceedings and Broader Context
Velleman pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child to watch or look at an image of sexual activity. The offences were committed in December 2024, and he will be sentenced at a later date after prosecutors argued the case was too serious for magistrates' court.
This scandal emerges in the same week the Prime Minister faced a crisis over granting a peerage to former communications chief Matthew Doyle, despite knowing Doyle maintained a friendship with another Labour councillor charged with child sex offences. It is understood that Labour immediately suspended Velleman upon notification of his arrest, distancing the party from his actions while highlighting the lack of prior knowledge among its leaders.
