LIVERPOOL Mayor Joe Anderson is facing calls to temporarily “step aside” from council business after it  was revealed that he had been interviewed under caution as part of a fraud investigation.

Mr Anderson said today he had attended the November interviews with Lancashire Police “voluntarily” and was offering officers his “full co-operation and assistance in their enquiries.”

But Richard Kemp, leader of Liverpool’s Liberal Democrats, said it would be “in the best interests of the city and indeed of Joe Anderson” if he were to take the “very reasonable action” of stepping away from business while the investigation continues.