Ministers are considering changing the law to force politicians convicted of sex crimes from office after a former aide to Wes Streeting admitted flashing a terrified teenage schoolgirl.
Sam Gould, 33, was fired as a constituency caseworker by the Health Secretary and expelled by Labour after he pleaded guilty to two charges of indecent exposure on Monday.
But he is refusing to step down as a councillor on Redbridge Council in east London, despite the court hearing he followed a girl aged 13 down the street after she saw him committing a sex act in a car.
Mr Streeting has called on Gould, who stood unsuccessfully to be a Labour MP in Romford in 2015, to quit his role as a councillor for Hainault.
But there is currently no legal way to force him out of a role in which he receives an allowance of £10,138 a year from the taxpayer.
Now Deputy Prime Minister and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner is considering changing the law after a meeting with the Health Secretary, the Sun reported.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, which she runs, said: ‘Councillors committing serious misconduct must be held to account.
‘This government is taking robust action with new plans being drawn up to introduce powers of suspension for serious code of conduct breaches.’
Mr Streeting said in a statement: ‘There are no words to express my horror that a mother and her daughter have been put through this ordeal, and will have to deal with the trauma of it for some time to come.
‘As soon as I was made aware of his arrest he was suspended, and as soon as the guilty plea was entered I took immediate steps to sack him through official HR processes.
‘There are no excuses for his appalling behaviour. I am calling for him again to resign as a Redbridge councillor immediately.’
The girl had been on her way to meet a group of friends on Saturday when she saw the 33-year-old performing a sex act, The Sun reported.
She immediately ran away upon seeing the Labour councillor, who then followed her into a cul-de-sac in Romford, East London.
She then began banging on doors desperately seeking help before a passing motorist came to her aid.
The driver also noted down the offender’s registration number, which meant police were able to track Gould down and arrest him later that day.
He was charged with two separate counts of indecent exposure – the second relating to another incident involving a 25-year-old woman in Hornchurch last month.
Gould appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ on Monday where he pleaded guilty to both counts. He has been released on bail and is due to be sentenced at the same court on April 7.
Redbridge Council leader, Cllr Kam Rai, added ‘Unfortunately there is no process for his suspension from the council … following the inexcusable betrayal of his residents, the council, and our wider community, it is only right that Gould immediately resign as a councillor and face justice.’