A PROSPECTIVE Labour councillor who was stood down over an “obscene podcast” has been reselected.

Daniel Cowan gave up on plans to become a councillor last year following revelations he took part in a “comedy” podcast which allegedly contained obscenities and racial slurs.

He will stand for St Laurence ward in the May local elections.

A police investigation was launched in December following complaints from the Tory Party in Southend over Mr Cowan’s involvement in the Goonersphere Podcast - which is put together by fans of Arsenal Football Club.

The “obscene” podcast, which was publicly available until February, allegedly contained racial, homophobic and misogynist material along with references to sexual activity with the elderly.

The investigation was later dropped after police reviewed the material and concluded no crime had been committed.

The Southend Labour Group said the prospective councillor regretted his action and had now put the past behind him.

Leader, Ian Gilbert, said: “When this issue came to light David apologised and stood down from being a candidate in Blenheim ward. Since then things have moved on.

“He realises what he published in the past was inappropriate.

“He paid the penalty of not being candidate in Blenheim which we went on to win. He has apologised and is now able to stand for another ward.”

Father-of-one, Mr Cowan, 31, of Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, said: “I understand now how easily the line between humour and offensiveness is crossed and I’ve apologised for any upset caused by the podcast I once featured on.

“I’ve paid the price for my actions and now hope to put it behind me and focus on delivering for the people of St Laurence and wider Southend.”

Mr Cowan said he was now concentrating on working on issues affecting St Laurence ward. He added: “From my conversations with people over the last couple of weeks, there is a feeling of neglect in the area and people feel they haven’t been represented for a long time. People are concerned about roads and expansion of the airport.”

Following the investigation, a police spokesman said: “We were made aware of a blog via a third party, who outlined concerns that it contained offensive material. We reviewed the online content, and have found that no offences have been committed.”

The spokesman” added: “Although some may have concerns over the tone of the content, and the language used, no criminal offences have been identified.”