Former Kingston Council leader Derek Osbourne has appeared in court this morning charged with possessing thousands of indecent images of children.
Mr Osbourne arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court alone this morning, holding a copy of Stephen King's The Stand.
The charges include possessing 50 images at level 5 – the most extreme category possible – as well as having 868 images of sexual activity involving children.
Another charge involved having 152 images of bestiality.
The former Liberal Democrat council leader spoke only to confirm his name, address and age.
He was given conditional bail and surrendered his passport.
He was also ordered not to have unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16.
He will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on September 20.
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