December 18, 2009

Former Kilmaurs BNP council candidate pleads guilty to domestic abuse

A former council candidate for the far-right British National Party has appeared in court on domestic abuse charges.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, Thomas Sweeten, 43, of Glencairn Terrace, Kilmaurs, pleaded guilty to breaching the special bail condition barring him from communicating with his estranged wife.

The court heard that on November 20 – just three days after the bail order was imposed – he went to a house in Hurlford, where his wife Kirsty was. He also admitted committing a breach of the peace on the same occasion at the Hurlford property by repeatedly placing himself in front of his wife in a bid to prevent her escaping, thereby placing her in a state of fear and alarm.

Sentence was deferred until January 26 for social enquiry and community service reports. Sweeten, who had previously been remanded in custody, was released on bail.

The former publican was the sole BNP candidate in the elections for East Ayrshire Council in May 2007. He polled 86 first preference votes in the council’s Annick Ward. A native of Glasgow, he has lived in Kilmaurs for a number of years and was the licensee of the village’s Wheatsheaf pub before becoming a lorry driver.

Kilmarnock Standard

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