A BOLTON election candidate is being investigated by the Labour Party after failing to declare that he was struck off as a solicitor for theft.

Darren Whitehead is the party’s candidate for Hulton in this week’s elections, but it has emerged that during his selection process, he failed to inform Labour chiefs of his criminal convictions dating back to when he was working as a solicitor in Bolton in the late 1990s.

Mr Whitehead, aged 47, who was an assistant solicitor at Fieldings Porter in Silverwell Street, was convicted of one offence of theft and four offences of false accounting in 1999.

A year later, he was struck off the roll of solicitors by the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal — bringing an end to his legal career.

The Labour Party said it was “unaware” of the issue when Mr Whitehead was selected and is now investigating the matter.

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 means that Mr Whitehead is not required to disclose his convictions in situations such as job applications or obtaining insurance.

However, during the Labour Party’s candidate selection process, prospective candidates are asked to disclose any personal or financial matters that could embarrass the party.

Mr Whitehead admits that he was “naive” to think that enough time had passed since his offences to mean they would not be relevant or worthy of mention.

Recounting his story, he said: “Seventeen years ago I was struck off as a solicitor. I had admitted to one offence of the theft of £50 and several offences of relatively small amounts of money between client amounts and the office account at the firm where I was employed as a junior solicitor. From the outset, I cooperated fully with the Law Society, my former employer and the police.

“The immediate consequences of my mistakes were the loss of my career and a deep sense of shame and personal responsibility for what I had done. These events were 17 years ago, but I still regret what I did and in no way have I ever attempted to justify it. The actions I undertook were a breach of trust, for which the penalty imposed by the Law Society was appropriate, and I learned a very hard lesson in honesty and personal responsibility.”

Mr Whitehead said the experience has helped him to value how important it is to help others and he went on to train as a counsellor and volunteered at a GP practice, as well as with a group supporting lawyers with personal and professional issues.

He is currently a trustee at Bolton children’s charity Homestart.

Asked why he did not inform the Labour Party of the offences during the selection process, Mr Whitehead said: “There was no question of conscious concealment – I naively assumed that with it being 17 years ago it did not need to be mentioned.

“I recognise that I should have fully disclosed these offences to the Labour Party at the time that I was seeking nomination for the local elections and I regret any embarrassment that I may have caused to the party.”

He added: “All lives include mistakes and I feel that my experiences have contributed to myself becoming a better, more rounded person, who is able to understand the day-to-day pressures that many of us face.”

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The Labour Party was unaware of this issue when Mr Whitehead was selected and this matter will now be investigated.”

Under Electoral Commission guidance, Mr Whitehead’s offences do not disqualify him from standing for election for the council and his name will remain on the ballot paper on Thursday.

His fellow candidates in the ward are Derek Bullock (Conservative), Joan Johnson (Ukip), David Cooper (Liberal Democrat) and James Tomkinson (Green).