Son of former mayor facing jail for dealing mephedrone and ket

He called him ‘a total idiot’


A drug dealing mayor’s son is facing jail for selling former legal high mephedrone and ket. 

Christopher Backhouse, 25, whose dad is the former mayor of Scarborough admitted dealing the Class B drugs.

The Tory borough councillor said he “certainly didn’t condone” his son’s behaviour but would support him “as a father” and was trying to put him “on the right path”.

Christopher (left) admitted dealing miaow miaow and was accompanied by his former mayor dad

Andrew Backhouse told the Daily Mail his son had been “a total idiot” but he had stood by him and accompanied him to his court hearings because “at the end of the day he is my son”.

He added: “As parents, we do go through the rough and the tough, along with the smooth.

“You can try to instill all the virtues in the world but young people will be young people – and some more than others will try things they shouldn’t.

“I believe if someone has done wrong you have got to get it sorted and you have got to move on – but I’m not going to protect him.

“He is 25 years old, he should have known better.

“This is a consequence of his actions and he will have to pay the price – whatever that may be.”

Ex-mayor Andrew said he and his wife Susan knew nothing about their son’s dealing – although they suspected he was dabbling in drugs – until police knocked on their door in January.

“I sat there and I thought, ‘what am I doing here?’

“I certainly don’t condone anything he’s done, we don’t agree with it – drugs are certainly not part of our world whatsoever.

“But at the end of the day he is my son. We are not going to wash our hands of him and let him sink into the mire he has created.

“You should be there when children fall and scuff their knees to pick them up and help them back on their path. You have to drag them through it.”

Dad Andrew in his mayor chains

He said his son was living at the family home, was clean of drugs, had changed his circle of friends and had a permanent job.

Andrew said: “He’s trying to turn his life around. He has now seen the ramifications of his stupidness.

“As parents we are gutted, but that doesn’t stop me being a parent and that won’t stop me being there for him at every step of the way.”

Dealer Christopher, from Burniston North Yorkshire, said outside court that he had turned to drugs during a “hard time” and ended up dealing to afford his habit.

He added: “This is something I deeply regret and would not be involved in again. It was a bad period of my life, sucked in with the wrong people and out of character.”

Christopher pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply the drug along with co-accused George Baker-Davis and Samuel Swift, both 19, at York Crown Court on Friday.

He also admitted supplying another Class B drug, ketamine, during a five-day period in January.

Judge Peter Benson told the defendants to expect a custodial sentence but ordered pre-sentence reports to consider their young ages and lack of previous convictions.

All three were bailed to await sentencing on September 1.