Lib Dems suspend Nazi fancy dress councillor

A Liberal Democrat councillor who dressed as a Nazi storm-trooper for a fancy dress bash has been suspended by red faced party chiefs.

Sean Aspey posed for pictures dressed as a storm-trooper and later posted them on his Facebook site.

His antics stirred up controversy on the small Conservative-controlled Porthcawl Town Council in south Wales, of which he is a member.

Now he is facing calls to resign and is accused of bringing the 19 member council into disrepute.

Local Lib Dem party chiefs suspended him temporarily while an internal inquiry into the affair is carried out.

Mr Aspey was at work and unavailable for comment today and all images of him appeared to have been removed from the website.

But the photographs, showing a grinning Nazi-uniformed Mr Aspey wearing a monocle, had already appeared in a number of newspapers.

The images were taken at a Porthcawl pub in March last year where Mr Aspey celebrated his 40th birthday with an 'Allo 'Allo-themed party.

The event took place two months before he was elected as a Liberal Democratic councillor.

Conservative council member David Deere said today: "I just feel that he needs to consider his position on Porthcawl Town Council.

"This is totally inappropriate behaviour and very offensive."

He said council members in general were "all quite appalled".

He added: "This is not the standard you expect of someone who holds public office. I think that the general feeling is that he has brought the council into disrepute."

Mike Clarke, chairman of the Bridgend branch of the Liberal Democrats, said: "We have taken the action of temporarily suspending Mr Aspey from the party pending an internal inquiry.

"We take any allegations of impropriety very seriously and the local party will be looking in greater detail at the situation and coming to a decision on Mr Aspey's future within the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

"Of course, we have to act in as fair a manner as possible and within the terms of our own constitution."