MAYOR'S DRUG OFFENCES RETURN TO HAUNT HIM

The mayor of Chippenham could be fighting for his political future after
fellow councillors discovered he is a convicted drug smuggler. Cllr Ross
Henning, who was handed the chains of office in May, was jailed for two
years in 1987 for his part in a massive cocaine smuggling ring, thought to
be worth about UKP 500,000.

Now at least one of his colleagues on North Wiltshire District Council,
where Cllr Henning is a member of the Liberal Demorcrat's ruling executive,
is refusing to work with him after his shameful past was made public in a
national Sunday newspaper.

Retired military and Metropolitan officer Cllr John Ireland (Con, Calne
Lickhill) is stunned by the revelations. "I am horrified that a man who has
this kind of background should be in office," he said.

"In my opinion, smuggling Class A drugs is only one step down from
attempted murder, and I won't have anything more to do with him."

Cllr Alison Bucknell (Con, Lyneham) added: "Somebody with a past like this
is not fit to hold a high-profile public position.

"I feel very strongly because I spend a lot of time trying to educate young
people about the dangers of drugs."

The Mail on Sunday reported that Mr Henning, now 50, was arrested in 1986
after customs officers caught his college friend Paul Copeland red-handed
at Heathrow Airport with 5.5lb of cocaine hidden inside a statue in a suitcase.

They discovered Copeland had had parcels delivered from south America to
Cllr Henning's grandparents' house in Park Lane, Chippenham.

At his arrest, Cllr Hennings told Customs officers: "I allowed him to use
the house with two Bolivian friends.

"They manufactured cocaine which was sold to friends in London."

He also admitted taking cocaine and being sent the drug in film canisters
from Bolivia during 1982 and 1983.

At the time of his arrest, Cllr Henning, who is Chippenham born and bred,
was a Wiltshire county councillor, leader of the SDP in the town and a
governor at Hardenhuish School.

He was sentenced to two years at Islewood Crown Court in 1987.

Following his release from prison, the self-employed builder stayed away
from politics until 1995 when he was elected to Chippenham Town Council as
a Liberal Democrat.

He was elected to North Wiltshire District Council in 2003 after winning
the Chippenham Park seat in a close-run contest with Peter Gash and is now
executive member for car parks/decriminilisation.

Cllr Henning told the Mail on Sunday: "I don't want to say anything which
might undermine the position of the mayor's office.

"I have never hidden my past but it is not something I want to talk about
while I am serving as mayor."

At the time of his arrest, his wife Brenda was a committed anti-drugs
campaigner and worked on the Bath Area Drugs Advisory Committee.

Cllr Henning continued: "The Home Secretary and every political party says
offenders should be given the opportunity to rehabilitate.

"The people know me for who I am, and not a phase I went through."

North Wiltshire MP James Gray supported the view.

He said: "He was obviously very foolish but I think he should have said, 'I
have served my time in prison for a disgraceful offence', and made a virtue
out of it by using his position to speak out against drugs."