A CANDIDATE in the Hartlepool Parliamentary by-election is a registered sex offender, it has emerged. 

Christopher Killick, an independent candidate on the ballot for May 6, admitted he was convicted in London for voyeurism last year.

He has vowed to continue with his bid to be elected MP in Hartlepool, adding it has always been an ambition of his.

Former shop assistant Mr Killick, 41, said: “I’m here, I’ve been sentenced in court, I’m not barred. 

“I do want to emphasise that I am actually here to campaign politically. My goal is purely to help this country.

“It was inevitable it would come out so I’m just playing it as it comes really, I don’t know how it’s going to pan out.

“The question is now, whether I’ll be accepted.”

Mr Killick was convicted last year following a five-year campaign by the victim.

He  recorded a 62-second clip of Emily Hunt in an east London hotel in 2015, the BBC reported last year. 

Mr Killick, who recently moved to Hartlepool, expressed his remorse for committing the offence.

He said: “It was a complete regret and a big mistake. I’ve always maintained that it was a big mistake and I want to say I’m sorry.

“It’s all a learning experience.

“Although I didn’t talk about the offence on my election leaflet, I’m not trying to hide what happened.”

He claimed he would have disclosed the information eventually when he had finished preparing and distributing his election leaflets.

He considered waiting until he was no longer on the Sex Offenders’ Register in September 2025 to stand as an MP.

But he added: “Perhaps I would have gotten a better response. But I don’t know where I’d be in four and a half years, so I thought I might as well do it now.”

Mr Killick, who grew up in London, confirmed he had not declared the conviction on any election forms and did not tell anyone who nominated him as a candidate.

He said: “There’s nothing barring me, if I’d been to prison then I wouldn’t have been able to stand.

“I would have told them if it had come up or if I had been asked, I told them my name.

“I decided not to mention it to them to make it simpler or easier for me.”