A Labour Party secretary and former council candidate has been suspended after secretly filming men urinating in Centrale shopping centre's toilets.

David Christison, ward secretary for West Thornton who also stood for Waddon in 2010, last week admitted videoing and photographing men least 30 times for sexual gratification between 2010 and last year.

The 44-year-old, of Dunheved Road South, Thornton Heath, pleaded guilty to two counts of observing a person doing a private act at Croydon Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

National party officials wrote to Christison, who also sits on a panel that allocates Government funding to community groups in West Thornton, to inform him of the suspension of both his membership and secretary position at the weekend.

The suspension will remain in place while a disciplinary panel investigates and decides whether to take futher action, which could include expulsion from the party.

It is understood Christison's party colleagues were unaware of the charges against him and he did not declare his involvement in criminal proceedings in his application, submitted in spring last year, to again stand for council in May 2014.

He failed to make the party's preliminary list of candidates for the upcoming election.

Coun Tony Newman, leader of Croydon Labour, said he was "shocked and disappointed" at the revelations.

He added: "It is very sad and I am acutely aware that there are also victims to his crime."

Christison was caught in April 2013 after a member of the public reported him behaving suspiciously to a Centrale security guard.

Staff called the police, who inspected Christison's mobile phone and found a video of a man urinating in a urinal.

Officers who searched Christison's home found laptops with 29 similar videos dating back to 2011.

He will return to Croydon Magistrates' Court on March 20 for sentencing and was granted bail on the condition he does not use Centrale's public toilets.

Christison made headlines in 2010 by taking Croydon Council to court after losing the election.

He complained poor organisation led to long queues at the Waddon polling station and left dozens of people unable to vote, but gave up on the High Court battle due to lack of funds.

Since 2012, Christison has sat on the West Thornton's Community First funding panel, which assesses and recommends bids from not-for-profit groups for Government funding.

It is not known if he remains in that role following his conviction.

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