Liberal Democrat councillor Mark Kenyon has received a formal warning after being caught secretly recording a private meeting during last year’s leadership battle at Oldham Council.

CCTV footage from May 2024 showed Kenyon holding his phone to his ear outside council leader Arooj Shah’s office while negotiations took place inside between Shah and a group of independent councillors. The recording, which captured discussions about forming an alliance to oust the Labour leader, was later posted online.

Independent councillor Marc Hince, who was involved in the negotiations, told the LDRS the leak left him “concerned for his and his family’s welfare” after receiving online death threats and abuse. The meeting had drawn criticism for including then-chief executive Harry Catherall, though the council maintained he attended as a mediator.

The Liberal Democrats suspended Kenyon in May 2024 following the complaint but have now lifted the suspension after an internal investigation. The party determined Kenyon, who represents Saddleworth West and Lees, had “received punishment enough” despite admitting to wrongdoing and sharing the recording with a non-member. Four other Lib Dem councillors present in the adjacent room were cleared of wrongdoing.

An Oldham Labour spokesperson condemned the party’s response: “What happened that day in May last year was scandalous, it was one of the biggest displays of contempt and deceit we’ve ever come across in politics, and we can’t pretend that recording private meetings of political opponents and releasing them to the public is normal.”

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