A former councillor who was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice has been jailed for 12 months.
Ashley Farrall, 43, who represented Macclesfield Central on Cheshire East Council, was last month cleared of strangling his partner after a row at their home while watching television.
But the Chester Crown Court jury found him guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice because, in the weeks after the argument and while he was on bail, he gave his partner a phone on which they could communicate, and they met up and they discussed whether she would withdraw her statement.
His bail conditions had meant he was not allowed to have any contact with her.
The trial heard an argument had broken out between Farrall and his partner – who had both been drinking beer and wine – while they watched Married At First Sight.
While on bail after his arrest on suspicion of strangling his partner, he met her several times, including at Poynton Pool in Cheshire and near her mother’s house in North Wales.
His partner told the court she had wanted Farrall to plead guilty and “admit to what he had done”.
He refused and told the court he had “always maintained he was not guilty”, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.
Farrall resigned his seat on Cheshire East Council on Friday.
