Former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson will stand trial on corruption charges next year, following a police investigation into city council contracts.
Trial dates have been set for the former Labour politician, 67, and his co-defendants, including former politician Derek Hatton and an ex-director and assistant director of Liverpool City Council.
The men appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday.
Anderson, who was the city's elected mayor from 2012 to 2021, is charged with bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
He is alleged to have sent or arranged to have sent 'threatening letters' to himself.
The defendants were charged as part of Operation Aloft, launched by Merseyside Police to look into the awarding of commercial and business contracts from the council between 2010 and 2020.
Anderson, of Knotty Ash in Liverpool, is also accused of conspiring with his son David Anderson, 37, and the council's former assistant director of highways and planning Andrew Barr, 51, to arrange special access in a manner to benefit David Anderson and his company SSC.
He did not enter pleas to the charges on Friday.
Former Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson will stand trial on corruption charges next year, following a police investigation into city council contracts
Anderson, who was the city's elected mayor from 2012 to 2021, is alleged to have sent or arranged to have sent 'threatening letters' to himself
The former mayor (left) is charged with bribery, misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office
David Anderson, of Wavertree, Liverpool, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office.
Barr, of Ainsdale, Merseyside, did not enter pleas to the charges of conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and a count of bribery.
Hatton, of Aigburth, Liverpool, who was deputy council leader and part of Labour's militant faction in the 1980s, pleaded not guilty to offering a bribe.
The 77-year-old, wearing a pale blue suit, is also charged with counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office but did not enter a plea to the charge.
His wife Sonjia Hatton, 49, of Aigburth, did not enter a plea to a charge of misconduct in a public office.
She is accused of providing and seeking confidential council information over matters of commercial and business use to Mr Hatton's contacts and to his business dealings.
The five defendants are due to stand trial on October 5 2026, with the case expected to last 15 weeks.
The council's former head of regeneration Nick Kavanagh, 56, and Philippa Cook, 49, both of Mossley Hill, Liverpool, pleaded not guilty to two counts of accepting a bribe.
Anderson was charged following Operation Aloft, a Merseyside Police probe looking into the awarding of commercial and business contracts from the council between 2010 and 2020
Anderson and his co-defendants will stand trial on October 5 2026, with the case expected to last 15 weeks
The former mayor's son, David Anderson, has been charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office
Derek Hatton, 77, of Aigburth, Liverpool, who was deputy council leader, pleaded not guilty to offering a bribe. He was also charged with counselling or procuring misconduct in a public office but did not enter a plea to the charge. His wife Sonjia Hatton, 49, did not enter a plea to a charge of misconduct in a public office
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Ex-Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson and Derek Hatton appear in court to deny corruption charges
Julian Flanagan, 53, and Paul Flanagan, 71, both of Knowsley, who founded construction business The Flanagan Group, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to bribe.
They are alleged to have conspired with each other to bribe Kavanagh and Cook between November 2015 and September 2020 by giving them financial or other advantage, including building, decoration or maintenance work, in return for improper performance by Kavanagh in his employment by the council.
James Shalliker, 38, of Downholland, Lancashire, and Adam McClean, 54, of Woolton, are both alleged to have conspired with another man, Mark Doyle, to bribe Kavanagh and Cook with cash, the use of storage, vehicles or vehicle parts and building work.
Both pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to bribe.
A trial for the six defendants was fixed for February 23 next year and is expected to last around 12 weeks.
Honorary Recorder of Preston Judge Robert Altham granted all defendants bail.
Labour