A DISGRACED councillor who attacked his wife was a 'dog of war' who spent years behind bars for mercenary activities, the Manchester Evening News can reveal today.
Peter Wright, a Lib Dem for 10 years in Tameside, was given a 23-week prison sentence yesterday for assaulting his partner of 17 years.
During a previous court hearing, at which Wright admitted his guilt, he was described by his solicitor as having led a `blameless life and devoted himself to the service of others'.
But the 56-year-old former paratrooper, who claimed to have once served with the American Army in Vietnam, was one of 13 men put on trial after the Angolan civil war in the 1970s. When he returned to Britain after serving eight years of the 16-year sentence he received a string of convictions for assaults - but went on to be a councillor.
The civil war in the African state broke out after the Portuguese withdrew from the country and rival liberation groups battled for power.
British and American mercenaries were attracted to the conflict by the promise of big earnings. When the war ended the victorious side put the mercenaries on trial, attracting massive global coverage.
Wright was sentenced to 16 years in prison by the People's Revolutionary Court in Angola in 1976. Four of the men, including two Britons,were executed. In 1984, after eight years of negotiation, the Foreign Office secured the release of seven British prisoners, including Wright, who at the time called himself Malcolm McIntyre - although his real name is Malcolm Wright.
A book about mercenaries in the Angolan conflict, called Fire Power, recounts how Malcolm McIntyre was a mercenary who worked as a medic.. It is understood that Wright believes that the Angolan sentence should not be seen as a conviction and regards himself as having been a prisoner of war.
After his release he received a conviction for assault in 1985. In 1988 he was convicted of a further three assaults and criminal damage.
Police records indicate Wright has nine previous convictions for 17 offences in total and has used three aliases.
It is understood that when initially interviewed by the probation service after assaulting his common-law wife, Wright denied he had any convictions and in August, when he pleaded guilty to the assault, the court was told he had no previous record. But he later admitted to his criminal past.
The court heard that Wright admitted assaulting Karen Wright, who is also a Lib Dem councillor, on New Year's Eve last year at their home in Elizabeth Avenue, Audenshaw. Prosecutor Brian Berlyne said that Wright had become angry when his wife washed his coat but forgot to dry it.
"He dragged his wife's hair and held her by the throat," said Mr Berlyne, who added that Mrs Wright claimed she had been subjected to mental and physical abuse throughout their 17-year relationship. Defending, Guy Rogers said Wright would be appealing against his sentence for the assault on his wife.
Wright is still a councillor although he has been suspended by the Lib Dems.
A Lib Dem official said: ."He did not reveal his previous criminal convictions when asked before becoming a candidate. We condemn utterly the actions for which Peter Wright has been found guilty and sentenced. The party will now expel him."
LOCAL government rules state that a person is barred from standing for election if they have been sentenced to more than three months in prison, including a suspended sentence, up to five years before an election.
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This is just typical of the Liberal Democrats in Greater Manchester. They'll take on any Tom, Dick or Jane to be a councillor or a member. Their national office should check the credibility of their councillors and the people of Greater Manchester should not waste their vote on Liberal Democrats.
A blameless life..how much blood has this man on his hands? Perhaps the perfect politician ?
No political party 10 years ago was in any position to check out anybody's criminal record. Every political party has had a situation where somebody turns out to have lied about their past. Political parties are made up of volunteers.
Even the latest systems using the CRB can fail if somebody is using an alias. Look at Ian Huntley for an example of that!
The fact is, he lied, he committed a terrible crime, he has been caught, convicted and will be punished.
well poor Peter and I wish everybody would stop picking on Liberal Democrats, so we have a few weak people as candidates, but we do try our best sometimes, well ok most times we are useless but we do try, and after all Peter was only trying to get a dry coat he shouldnt have beaten up his wife and daughter but dont blame us we only picked him as a candidate, when we made him the leader of our group on the council we should have checked but he was a bit intimidating
Any chance that he might be convicted of other offences..? The good people of Tameside voted for a person,with 3 aliases,who had the temerity to instruct his Soloicitor that he had no convictions...Surely some form must have been filled in by this individual to seek election,and be elected;perhaps the declaration therein was false.
How is it possible for this bloke to have sliped through the vetting system for Liberal candidates, he is a serial thug, mercenary, wife beater, a series of violent convictions. People close to him politically and socially must have known about his past. A representative of the people, not in my name
I just cant believe it. This guy was liberal leader on the council. surely he has committed an electoral offence. I thought anybody serving in prison and with criminal convictions was automatically barred from standing in an election let alone holding public office. will there now be an enquiry and will he resign his seat? or hold surgerys from his cell?
as i was one of peter writes and karen writes voter i allways alloud these people in to my home it just shows who can you trust. i belive you canr't judge a book by its cover, meaning that he came across as a really nice couple, but knowing what i know now i whish i never voted to elect him and her. i think his partner karen? should step down from the councill.
In response to some of the comments on here I would like to clarify a number of things.
I met Peter in 1989, after anything else he'd been involved in, so was completely unaware of his past.
Therefore, to say the Liberal Democrats must have known is ridiculous.
As for Mr Mawdsley's comment that i should resign my seat, I find this very hard to understand. The revelations of late regarding Peter were as much of a shock to me as they were to others. Also it was devastating for my children.
I have received dozens of calls from people in my ward pleading with me to stay and I have to say Mr Mawdsley's comment that i should resign, is the first from anybody. Is it now a crime to be a victim of domestic violence? I find this unbelievable.
This has been a very difficult time for me and my family but despite that i have continued to do my job as i will continue to do it for as long as my term lasts. If i decide to defend my seat it will then be up to the electorate to vote on whether they wish me to continue.
I do however, appreciate that there are some people who will see this as an opportunity to cause mischeif and people can be certain that I am prepared to take all comments on board and deal with them accordingly.