A councillor has admitted to receiving oral sex from an older man in a South Harrow public toilet.
Robert Benson, 41, of Brockleyside, Stanmore, who has represented Harrow Weald ward since May 2006, pleaded guilty today (Wednesday) at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court in south-west London to one charge of engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory.
Magistrates fined Benson £205 and court costs. The second man involved was a 56-year-old from South Woodford, Essex.
Harrow Council leader David Ashton (Conservative), who suspended Benson from the Tory group when he was charged by police a fortnight ago, has now asked the authority's standards committee to consider whether this incident may have been a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors.
Benson was similarly suspended as a governor at Cedars Manor School, Whittlesea Road, Harrow Weald, when the news broke.
The 41-year-old was arrested by Rayners Lane Safer Neighbourhood Team on suspicion of gross indecency at 3.45pm on Wednesday June 25 in Rayners Lane public toilets in Rayners Lane, South Harrow, along with the 56-year-old.
Both men were given police bail to return to a north London police station on July 8. When they did, Mr Benson was charged and the Essex man was cautioned.
Benson is a backbench councillor who sits on numerous committees, including the two planning ones.
He represents the borough on the Harrow Weald Common Board of Conservators, the London Accident Prevention Council and the London Councils' Transport and Environmental Committee, where he is the deputy chairman.
Between 1998 and 2002, Mr Benson sat on neighbouring Hillingdon Council as a Conservative for Northwood ward.