Northumberland Reform councillor Barry Elliott pictured arriving at the Civil Court at Newcastle Civic Centre. (Image: ChronicleLive)

A North East councillor has been ordered to pay almost £40,000 worth of debts to the council he sits on. Barry Elliott, a Reform UK councillor, appeared in court on Tuesday in relation to tens of thousands of pounds worth of business rates and council tax arrears to Northumberland County Council , dating between 2020 and 2025.

Coun Elliott, a property developer who was elected in the Newsham ward in Blyth earlier this year, had applied to Newcastle’s Civil & Family Courts to have a statutory demand served against him by the council set aside. The Reform UK councillor told the hearing he was not seeking to avoid paying due taxes but alleged that s

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