A THIRD Bolton councillor has admitted being summonsed to court for not paying his council tax on time.

The town's UKIP chairman Paul Richardson failed to pay the tax on time twice in the past two years.

The 70-year-old came forward yesterday after The Bolton News emailed every councillor in the borough to ask if they had been summonsed to court over council tax.

The Little Lever and Darcy Lever said he would not apologise but offered a detailed explanation for his failures to pay on time — centring on his difficult personal financial situation.

He said: “Financial difficulties faced by householders may be many and varied and can be experienced by councillors as much as anyone else.

“It could be argued that councillors should be beyond reproach in the management of their affairs — but being a councillor doesn’t prevent the car blowing up or having to pay for the funeral of a relative or any of the many things that blow a hole in the family budget.

“There has been no attempt to cover up my situation, indeed I am sure that several people in the Town Hall were fully aware of it.”

Opposition leader accuses Cllr Richardson and UKIP of 'staggering hypocrisy' over council tax summons

Cllr Richardson has detailed the specific financial circumstances of himself and his wife — which began after they invested £25,000 in the Village Tea Room in Little Lever back in 2007.

After two years of success running the venue — he said the business dwindled following the financial crash and the couple tried to keep it afloat with overdrafts and credit cards.

He added: “Eventually, servicing these debts which totalled some £40,000 became an impossibility, forcing the sale of the business and entering into a debt management plan.”

Cllr Richardson made the admission in the wake of a landmark three-year legal battle by The Bolton News to name Labour councillor Ismail Ibrahim, who twice failed to pay his tax on time.

Prior to that judgement, Tory councillor Mudasir Dean had already admitted that he had previously received a summons for a failure to pay on time.

Cllr Richardson, who was elected in 2014, said he and his wife were still “looking over a financial cliff” before he became Bolton’s first UKIP councillor in 2014, adding that a failure to become a councillor would have led to him seeking employment at the age of 67.

He said his councillor allowance and his wife’s job have allowed the pair to become more financially stable — but that individual crises including car and boiler faults led to the payment of other bills, including council tax, falling backwards.

The couple live in a Little Lever property which falls into Band C on the council tax scale — requiring payment of £1,366.49 per year.

He added: “Regarding the Councillor’s Code of Conduct and the payment of council tax, the only requirement is that there must be no outstanding amount at the time of the budget meeting in February and on both occasions my council tax was cleared by that point.

“I make no apologies for being financially embarrassed or strapped for cash — nor do I blame anyone else for that situation — I do however empathise with all the other citizens who are in similar or even worse circumstances.

“The logical conclusion to some of the commentators in the case of Cllr Ibrahim — and to no doubt myself — is that nobody should be elected unless their financial circumstances are beyond any difficulties.

“But I do not equate lack of money to lack of morality and in the final analysis I must be judged by how well I represent my constituents.”

Bolton UKIP leader Cllr Sean Hornby said his colleague had not set a good example.

He said: “While I understand councillors can have the same financial problems from time to time as anyone else we have to set an example when it comes to council tax.

“The council don't necessarily go down the court summons route for the sake of a few days being late — there is a set period of time and letters sent before a summons is issued.

“We the council cannot expect others across the borough to pay their council tax if we are not paying ours and have to be summonsed to court.”

He added: “As soon as I was made aware of this matter I spoke with Cllr Richardson who agreed to speak to The Bolton News about it — unlike the Labour group who hid the identity of the Labour councillor for three years.

“Had it not been for the determination of The Bolton News and the solicitors they used, they would have still been concealing the identity of the Labour councillor in question.”