Senior councillor fined by his own authority

A senior councillor has been fined after being prosecuted by his own council.

Peter Geary, the deputy leader of the Conservative group on Milton Keynes City Council, pleaded guilty to criminal offences relating to farming records.

The farmer was fined a total of £609 and ordered to pay £5,000 towards the council's costs.

The Labour group on the authority have called for him to resign immediately.

Geary, 52, and from Emberton near Olney, originally faced four charges under regulations passed following the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) crisis in the 1980s.

BSE, otherwise known as mad cow disease, resulted in the slaughter of more than four million cattle and the deaths of 178 people from the human equivalent, CJD.

Geary pleaded guilty to failing to register new-born cattle and failing to apply animal ear tags within the legal time limit.

The other two charges were dropped by the prosecution.

He told the BBC: "The council could have dealt with this via a fixed penalty notice, which would have been far cheaper for everybody.

"But they chose not to do it, which is their prerogative, I suppose."

Geary added that he accepted he did not keep the records he should have kept.

A number of bullocks were destroyed after the offences came to light, but Geary said he had since learned that this was unnecessary.

A spokesperson for Milton Keynes City Council said: "No-one is above the law. These are serious offences, and the court's verdict reflects that. The regulations in place are there to protect animal and public health, including safeguarding against diseases such as BSE.

"We will not hesitate to take action where necessary, and this outcome demonstrates our commitment to enforcing these important safeguards and holding offenders to account."

A spokesperson for the Labour group on the council, which is run by a Liberal Democrat and Labour alliance, said: "Peter Geary is now a convicted criminal and he must resign his seat.

"His conviction of a criminal offence while sitting as a local councillor is totally incompatible with continuing to be an elected representative."

Geary told the BBC he had no intention of resigning and would stay on as deputy group leader and Conservative councillor.

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