A former East London Labour councillor has denied sexually assaulting a woman at a party. Daniel Lee-Phakoe entered a plea of not guilty to a single count of sexual assault at the Old Bailey on Monday, May 20. The 37-year-old, of Libra Road in Plaistow, stood in the dock of Court 4 wearing jeans and a blue and white checked shirt as he was arraigned by the court clerk.
Mr Lee-Phakoe is accused of sexually touching a woman without her consent, and without reasonable belief she had consented, at a social function in 2023. Asked ‘Do you plead guilty or not guilty’, Mr Lee-Phakoe said ‘Not guilty’.
At the Old Bailey, defence counsel Tim Bass said Mr Lee-Phakoe accepted he was present at the party, but denied the alleged ‘bottom pinching’ incident. Mr Lee-Phakoe was bailed ahead of a trial in early January of next year, and smiled as he left the court building with rolled-up sleeves, holding a blue plastic bag and water bottle.
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At the hearing, prosecutor Patricia Deighan confirmed administrative details with the court ahead of a three-day trial, scheduled to fall in a two-week period starting January 6 2025. Judge Vanessa Baraitser told Mr Lee-Phakoe she could not tell him the exact date, other than it will be called for trial at some point in early January and that he should make himself available.
Ahead of his first appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in April, City of London Police posted on X to say Mr Lee-Phakoe had been charged with sexual assault following his arrest after a social function in Devonshire Square on May 5 2023.
Mr Lee-Phakoe resigned from his Plaistow North seat on October 17 last year, citing ‘personal reasons’ in a post made on Newham Labour’s website. At the time a Newham Labour spokesperson also said there were ‘fake articles being disseminated into WhatsApp groups’ and urged residents to be ‘vigilant’ of fake news and divisive politics.
Mr Lee-Phakoe’s resignation of the seat, which he held since 2018, triggered a by-election won by Sophia Naqvi for Newham Independents on November 23 last year. Cllr Naqvi beat Labour’s candidate by more than 500 votes, having left the party only a few weeks earlier due to Keir Starmer’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
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