A Labour MP’s husband and ex-mayor who claimed he was a Royal Marine despite not finishing his training has been urged to quit his council position.
Greg Brackenridge, 54, an ex-Labour councillor is now an independent on Wolverhampton City Council, told coworkers and voters he served in 45 Commando.
But the ex-Wolverhampton mayor, who claimed to have worked alongside the British Army’s traditional Nepalese Gurkha soldiers in the unit, did not pass out.
A council report has now found the former firefighter breached the local authority’s code of conduct after he repeatedly exaggerated and ‘cultivated the impression’ of a military past for ‘personal aggrandisement and political gain’.
And his wife Sureena Brackenridge, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, is also now facing calls to speak up about what she knew of his ‘stolen valour’.
It comes after the ex-Wolverhampton mayor, who won her seat in July last year, claimed on election campaign leaflets her husband earned and wore the green beret.
Mr Brackenridge was found to have repeatedly refused to engage with the council’s inquiry into his behaviour, despite several requests to do so.
The 56-page ‘strictly private and confidential’ report summarising its findings also contained comments from veterans expressing their outrage at his conduct.
Greg Brackenridge (pictured, as Mayor of Wolverhampton, visiting a local boxing club in 2021), 54, who sits as an independent on Wolverhampton City Council, repeatedly told coworkers and voters he served in 45 Commando
His wife Sureena Brackenridge (pictured at the Labour Party conference in 2023), the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East and also ex-Wolverhampton mayor, is also now facing calls to speak up about what she knew of his ‘stolen valour’
One wrote: ‘There are a huge amount of extremely offended, angry and upset people both in the military veterans community, fire service and general public.’
The Wednesfield South representative has previously been pictured on council business sporting a badge for Iraq War veterans and a Royal Marines Corps tie.
The councillor had also said in ‘election literature’ it was a ‘privilege’ to serve in the role – ‘and in my previous careers, firstly with the Royal Marines and as a local firefighter with the West Midlands Fire Service’.
He had ‘given the impression’ he served as a Marine when chairing the council’s armed forces covenant board.
And another example of his pretence as a ‘Commando and Gulf War veteran’ came when he unveiled the statue of a Sikh soldier in Wolverhampton in September 2021.
Mr Brackenridge claimed at the event to have served as a Royal Marine after leaving school, which he said saw him work with people of all backgrounds, including Sikhs and Gurkhas.
The council’s report found he gave the impression at the unveiling his military service was ‘considerable and something other than short-lived’.
But he later confessed he never completed his 32-week training course, leaving after 30 weeks in an ‘honourable discharge’ due to ‘personal family reasons’ in 1988 and only achieving the rank of recruit.
The Wednesfield South representative has previously been pictured on council business sporting a badge (pictured) for Iraq War veterans and a Royal Marines Corps tie
The council’s report concluded he ‘did not have the right to be called Marine Brackenridge’ or claim to have toured with 45 Commando.
It said he showed ‘disrespect and dishonour’ to genuine servicemen and women and their families with this ‘betrayal of trust’ and ‘act of deception for personal and political gain’.
Mr Brackenridge was found to have brought disrepute on the council and his position.
He was suspended from the Labour Party in October last year – but brought back into the fold four months later with a ‘formal warning over his conduct’.
The politician was then suspended from the party again in July after the council’s investigation.
A recent full council meeting – which Mr Brackenridge was absent from – saw representatives across parties lambast him for ‘water[ing] down’ an apology they had asked him to sign.
Labour councillor Rita Potter, who presented the local authority’s findings, said it did not accept his revised apology.
The council has no ability to suspend him, she said.
Mr Brackenridge (pictured) was found to have brought disrepute on the council and his position in his breach of the local authority’s code of conduct
But her party colleague Linda Leach said he should ‘do the right thing’ and step down independently: ‘I wish he’d have stepped down really but he didn’t.’
It is understood he has written to the leader of the local authority to communicate intentions to do so in May 2026.
Council leader and fellow Labour representative Stephen Simkins said Mr Brackenridge had ‘let the city down’.
He called for a change to the law so any councillors who break the rules can be more severely penalised.
Conservative councillor Wendy Dalton also called for the disgraced councillor to resign.
She read out a statement from a veteran who said he ‘let himself, his peers, his family and his service down’ and asked that he ‘do the right thing’.
Local Conservative leader Simon Bennett, part of the council subcommittee which investigated the ex-mayor, said his revisions to the apology raised questions about his ‘transparency’.
Mr Brackenridge – who is also the Chair of the West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority – told BirminghamLive in October last year he stood by his right to use the term ‘former Royal Marine’.
The councillor added, of the end of his military career: ‘This was devastating, as I loved what I was doing, as any young lad would.
‘I find it incredible anyone would attack people who join the military and want to serve their country.
‘I have served as a firefighter, now retired, and councillor to continue to serve my community.
‘What’s concerning is the apparent attempts to illegally access my service records with the MoD – a clear breach of GDPR. This is deeply troubling.
‘I am formally requesting the MoD investigates these matters, and I’m in discussions with lawyers about the next steps.’
A source previously told The Sun: ‘Until you pass out, you’re still a recruit, you’re not really a Royal Marine.’
Mr Brackenridge said late last year he had been the target of threatening messages following rumours online about his military service.
He believed they were intended to ‘intimidate’ him into stepping down.
Posts on Facebook read: ‘This chap talks of dignity and respect whilst misleading everyone by suggesting he served as a Royal Marine. He didn’t.
‘Never got out of training. Disgusting stolen valour.’
The council previously said: ‘Where any allegations are made against a councillor, they will be dealt with through the council’s Code of Conduct process.’
Mr and Mrs Brackenridge and Wolverhampton City Council have been contacted for comment.
The couple’s son Ciaran Brackenridge is a Labour councillor for the same ward as his father.
