A serving male Oldham councillor who was arrested at his home in September after allegedly raping a woman has had his bail extended for a third time.

This means the councillor has been on bail for nearly seven months.

Under the Policing and Crime Act 2017, there was a time limit of 28 days for someone to remain on pre-charge bail, with one extension of up to three months available if authorised by a senior police officer.

Further extensions had to be authorised by magistrates.

In the Government’s 2017 announcement, it said these limits would bring ‘an end to the injustice of people being left to languish on very lengthy periods of pre-charge bail’.

Since late October 2022, the new Police Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 has meant police are now able to place suspects on bail for three months, which can be extended twice by senior police officers for a total period of nine months – with court approval required to extend beyond this.

The government has termed this reform ‘Kay’s Law,’ in memory of Kay Richardson who lost her life at the hands of her estranged husband while he was released under investigation, rather than on pre-charge bail.

However, this new framework only applies to those who were arrested after October 28, 2022.

The councillor was originally bailed by police on Thursday, September 8, 2022, before the reforms came in, and continues to serve as an elected councillor in the borough.

In January, Greater Manchester Police confirmed to The Oldham Times that the councillor, who has not been identified, would remain on bail "until March".

In response to requests for an update, a GMP media officer said the councillor ‘remains on bail.’

GMP was asked, but did not say when the bail had been extended or whether the force had applied to the magistrates for this extension, though it is likely the bail has now been extended until June.

The councillor has not been charged.

People on pre-charge bail may be required to fulfil certain conditions, such as returning to the police station at specified dates and times.

In September 2022, a spokesperson for GMP told the Local Democracy Reporting service: “A man was arrested on suspicion of rape and has been released on bail whilst enquiries continue.”

When contacted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in September, a spokesperson for Oldham Council said the authority could not comment on a "live police investigation".

The political party the councillor is a member of declined to comment when contacted about the arrest by the LDRS in September.