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An army colonel and former member of parliament has taken aim at a retired Bracknell teacher with mobility problems during a national television interview.
He also made comments on a retired senior police officer whose wife is terminally ill with dementia, making inaccurate comments about them both.
Colonel James De Ville Sunderland, who represented Bracknell from 2019 to 2024, made the remarks on Talk while discussing the case of former councillor Naheed Ejaz.
He sought to link retired teacher and climate campaigner Mary Temperton to Ejaz, who was recently convicted of perverting the course of justice at Winchester Crown Court and her son Diwan Khan who was convicted of child rape.
In November 2024, before Ejaz had been arrested or connected to her son’s crimes, Cllr Temperton and fellow councillor Roy Bailey organised a small fundraiser among Labour members. They believed Ejaz was in financial difficulty and unable to cover food and bills.
Ejaz’s son, Diwan Khan, was later convicted of raping a 15-year-old after feeding her vodka and MDMA. Ejaz was found guilty of concealing evidence when police attempted to arrest him.
At the time, Cllr Temperton was leader of Bracknell Forest Council, while Cllr Bailey, a former police officer, was known for his work supporting children with special educational needs.
Councillor Bailey is in his late 70s and has a wife in the final stages of dementia in a care home – councillor Temperton is older and has trouble walking after a hip replacement.
Speaking on Talk, Col De Ville Sunderland, a former officer who lost his parliamentary seat by 784 votes and has since returned to the army, gave an incorrect account of events.
He said: “When they were arrested for the subsequent offences in 2025… Bracknell Labour organised a whip-round… to help support the mother and her paedophile son.”
The fundraising, however, took place months earlier, before Ejaz had been arrested and before the rape allegation against her son was known to cllrs Temperton and Bailey.
A member of the Labour Party close to cllr Temperton said members acted in good faith.
They said: “When somebody in the Labour Party needs financial help, we give it to them because we are compassionate. People who care, respond. If there’s somebody in need – that’s what Labour Party people do.”
During the same interview, Col De Ville Sunderland referred to cllr Bailey as “executive member for young people”, highlighting the former police officer’s role in developing SEND services in Bracknell.
He said: “We’ve learned that the former council leader Mary Temperton and the executive member for young people – you couldn’t write it – who allegedly organised the fundraiser, have now been suspended by Labour.”
Cllrs Temperton and Bailey have since been suspended by the Labour Party – but not from the council – for allegedly breaking Labour party rules, and are fighting to be reinstated.
Presenter Peter Cardwell expressed disbelief.
He said: “The council member for young people was organising this whip-round. It just defies belief, doesn’t it?”
Both councillors have been approached for comment.
