Derek Osbourne has twice served as council leader
The leader of Kingston Council has resigned after being arrested for possessing indecent images of children.
Derek Osbourne, who has twice served as council leader, was arrested on Tuesday morning and taken to a South London police station. He has been bailed until August.
In a statement, acting leader Councillor Liz Green said the Liberal Democrats were ‘deeply shocked’.
Osbourne was first elected leader from 1997-98, and then again from 2003.
Leader of the Conservative Opposition, Councillor Howard Jones, said: “This has come as a tremendous shock after the recent scandal surrounding the Children’s Safeguarding issue.
“A person who has been entrusted for years by the people of Kingston and the Liberal Democrat Party that he led, with the most important community leadership role has had to step down quite rightly whilst this serious and very nasty allegation is investigated by the police.”
Follow us @SW_Londoner
