Hackney mayor Philip Glanville steps aside after arrested councillor photo

Hackney mayor Philip Glanville (right) attended a party with Tom Dewey (left) despite knowing he had been arrested

Hackney's mayor will temporarily step aside after a photo showed him at a social event with an ex-councillor arrested over child abuse images.

Philip Glanville made the announcement on Monday after he was suspended by the Labour Party on Friday.

Statutory Deputy Mayor of Hackney Anntoinette Bramble will assume temporary leadership of the council.

Mr Glanville says he is taking "a leave of absence" to support the Labour investigation process.

The council's interim chief executive Dawn Carter-McDonald told residents it was "business as usual".

Residents have scheduled a protest to take place on Wednesday calling on Mr Glanville to resign from the £85,000-a -year role.

Mr Glanville was suspended from the Labour Party after a photo posted on social media showed him at a Eurovision party with former Hackney councillor Tom Dewey.

Dewey was arrested on 29 April 2022 over child abuse images, and the photo shows him with Mr Glanville at a Eurovision party on 14 May the same year.

Dewey later admitted three counts of possessing indecent images of children. Five of the images were in the most serious category A, 41 in category B and 203 in category C.

He was given a suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

When he was suspended by the Labour Party last week, Mr Glanville said he had not known of the "full extent" of the allegations against Dewey.

Philip Glanville has been a councillor in Hackney for 10 years

But he said being with Dewey at the event was "an error of judgement for which I wholeheartedly apologise".

On Monday evening, Mr Glanville, who was first elected as mayor in a by-election in 2016, announced he was "taking a leave of absence to support the Labour investigation process and to allow the council to continue to serve the residents of Hackney during this period".

Council's interim chief executive Ms Carter-McDonald said: "I would like to reassure the people of Hackney that business continues at the council, and we remain resolute in providing the highest standard of services for the borough."

Statutory Deputy Mayor Ms Bramble, of the Labour Party, added: "I will make sure the council maintains its focus on continuing to serve the people of Hackney to make sure the borough is a fairer, safer, greener and healthier place for everyone.

"Together we will continue to provide the services residents need."

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