A PRESTWICH Conservative candidate was suspended by a London council after he gave a local newspaper a sack containing town hall electoral registration documents.

Shneur Odze, who is to fight in Sedgley on June 10, resigned as a member of Hackney Council in April, just one day before his two-month suspension was to begin.

Mr Odze was originally disciplined by Hackney Council's standards committee in October of last year after being found to be in breach of the code of conduct for councillors.

It was decided he should be suspended as a councillor for two months. But it was agreed the suspension be put on hold for up to six months while Mr Odze undertook a special training programme.

Later, the committee reviewed their decision and decided the suspension should come into force on April 27 because Mr Odze failed to complete the training. But on April 26, he resigned.

At the original standards hearing, the 23-year-old admitted he took the sack of documents from the town hall to the offices of the Hackney Gazette in October 2002. He claimed the items came into his possession via a staff member concerned with security in the run-up to an election.

Mr Odze expressed remorse for his actions. He denied, however, his conduct had brought Hackney Council into disrepute and asked for his assertion that security was lax to be taken into account in mitigation.

Speaking yesterday (Thurs May 20) Mr Odze, of Albert Avenue, said he had resigned to allow his by-election at Hackney Council to go ahead on June 10 to coincide with the local and European elections.

Commenting on the controversy surrounding his suspension, he went on: "The only mistake I made was handing the sack to the newspaper and not the chief executive. I was 21 and it was youthful inexperience."

Asked if the publicity might harm his chances of being elected in Sedgley, Mr Odze continued: "I have been chosen as a Conservative candidate. This sort of attention is not what I wanted. But it's played into my hands. I've had a good response from local people and I'm confident of getting elected."