Labour suspends high-profile councillor

Coun Steve Bayes, who is Vice Chair of the board of Hull City of Culture 2017 and whose visitor destination portfolio includes regeneration projects such as the new Hull Venue was suspended late on Friday.

Party officials declined to give reasons for his suspension and fellow councillors were tight-lipped.

Council leader Steve Brady said he would be replacing Coun Bayes in the interim on the Hull 2017 board.

A nurse at Hull Royal Infirmary, Coun Bayes spent nearly five years on the Co-operative Group Board – including as deputy chair – but was voted off in a shake-up in 2014, as the Group prepared to announce losses of more than £2bn.

He was first elected in 1985 to Humberside County Council and represents Orchard Park and Greenwood ward.