Paedophile Labour councillor who was joined on the campaign trail by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves before his crimes came to light in an undercover sting gets suspended sentence

• e-mail

A paedophile Labour councillor who was joined on the campaign trail by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves before he was caught in an undercover sting has avoided jail. 

Liron Velleman, 30, used the alias 'Tim Graham 95' to send sexual messages and nude photographs on an online chatroom and Snapchat to a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl named Kaylee.

The British-Israeli father-of-one struck up a conversation with the girl at the start of December 2024 on messaging service Chatib.

Prosecutor Edmund Blackman said despite being told from the start she was 13, Velleman 'maintained an interest in her' and moved the chat to Snapchat where 'it became sexual quite quickly'.

In message exchanges between December 3 and 10, 2024, the former Hope Not Hate activist and member of the Jewish Labour Movement stripped down to his underwear and pressured the girl to send pictures of herself in her underwear.

He demanded the child show him her bra and her school uniform, asked if she was a virgin and if she was home alone.

The depraved messages continued over the course of several days, during which Velleman talked about sex acts before sending a video of his penis, Mr Blackman said.

Velleman, of North Finchley, was elected as a Labour councillor for Barnet's Whetstone ward in 2022 but resigned from the role with no explanation in April 2025, which is now understood to have been after his arrest for child sex offences.

Paedophile Liron Velleman, 30, used the alias 'Tim Graham 95' to send sexual messages and nude photographs on an online chatroom and Snapchat to a police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl named Kaylee 

Chancellor Rachel Reeves (far right, pictured next to Velleman) campaigned for him as recently as 2022, highlighting him as 'brilliant'

Labour immediately suspended Velleman when it was notified of his arrest. 

In February, he pleaded guilty having been charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court on Friday supported by his parents, he was handed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for the next 15 months and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for the next 10 years.

Judge James Lofthouse also ordered him to carry out 180 hours of community service and 20 rehabilitation days as part of his suspended prison sentence.

He will be under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next 10 years, and must also pay £150 in costs and a £187 victim surcharge.

During sentencing, Judge James Lofthouse told Velleman: 'You know you have no one to blame for the disintegration of your personal and professional life but yourself.

'This is where your reckless, vile and frankly devious interest in children has led you.'

After his guilty plea in February, The Daily Mail revealed Velleman had been joined on the campaign trail by Keir Starmer and eight ministers. 

Sir Keir has deleted a social media post showing he campaigned for Velleman to be elected as a councillor in 2018.

The then-shadow Brexit secretary tagged him in an X post seen by the Mail that said: 'Great to campaign with you [Velleman] – you deserve to win. Good luck!'

Photographs show four now Cabinet ministers campaigning for Velleman in 2022, when he was elected in Barnet, north London. 

Then shadow chancellor Ms Reeves described him as 'brilliant' at a Labour Friends of Israel event that November. 

And in April that year, Shabana Mahmood shared a picture on X of her with Velleman with the comment: 'Brilliant to be out campaigning in Whetstone ward in Barnet yesterday for [Velleman].'

The Home Secretary, Chancellor, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, courts minister Sarah Sackman KC, victims minister Alex Davies-Jones, employment minister Diana Johnson and school standards minister Georgia Gould all also campaigned for him that year.

In message exchanges between December 3 and 10, 2024, Velleman (pictured) stripped down to his underwear and pressured the girl to send pictures of herself in her underwear 

Velleman, 30 (second from left), who quit his role as a councillor with no explanation in April last year, has also been pictured with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (fourth from right)

None were ministers at the time but some were in the shadow cabinet, including Sir Keir and Ms Reeves. Velleman, 30, who quit his role as a councillor with no explanation in April last year, has also been pictured with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

There is no suggestion the PM, Sir Sadiq or any minister knew of the offences when they endorsed him.

In February, Labour condemned his 'sickening crime' and said 'nobody could be aware of his future conduct'.

But Tory MP Jack Rankin said: 'Starmer pledged to tackle violence against women and girls, yet sex offenders threaten to be the defining issue of his premiership.' 

In a statement released in January, advocacy group Hope Not Hate, where Velleman worked as a junior employee until early 2023, said: 'HOPE not hate fully condemn these heinous crimes and believe that he should rightfully be punished under the full force of the law.'

It added: 'HOPE not hate has had no contact with Velleman since before his arrest.'

According to a now deleted biographical profile on Holocaust education program Echoes and Reflection's website, Velleman's grandfather was a Holocaust survivor from Poland.

It goes on to say Velleman 'grew up in a Jewish and Zionist household, attended Jewish primary and secondary schools, and was an active member of New North London Synagogue'.

He studied at the University of Leeds where he gained a degree in politics in 2016.

During his time at university, Velleman became 'very involved' in the Jewish Society and the Union of Jewish Students.

In 2017, he spoke out about anti-Semitism at British universities, telling MPs: 'A number of campuses have Holocaust denial literature posted on university noticeboards. We have swastikas drawn on cars – this is not something I expected in 2017.

'We need a serious conversations about what the swastika is. It's either being seen as a casual symbol of fun which is pretty horrifying, or people are using it as a legitimate way to attack people.'