On Wednesday 5th August, the mayor of Luton submitted his resignation after a video emerged online where he was seen breaking lockdown rules and enjoying a garden party, just days after warnings about spikes of coronavirus in his town.
Labour Cllr Tahir Malik had attended a garden party with at least twelve other people in July despite government rules allowing no more than six people or two households to meet at any one time. The former Mayor issued an apology for "attending this gathering which was in breach of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions" and said he regretted his actions.
Luton Borough Council had investigated the scope of the video which showed that the mayor had been ignoring social distancing rules. This video emerged after Public Health England (PHE) warned about a spike of coronavirus cases in the town, designating it an "area of intervention".
The Mayor said, "Once again I regret my actions which were below the standard of my position and would like to sincerely apologise to the people of Luton for attending this gathering which was in breach of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. There is no excuse for what I did – I should have known better and I accept full responsibility for my actions."
The Labour mayor, who was appointed to his role in May last year, said he was planning to wait for the investigation to conclude, but decided "the best thing I could do for the town was resign from my position with immediate effect".
The three councillors who attended the party released a statement at the time, saying they thought it "was going to be a small socially-distanced gathering, in line with the government guidelines".
Malik will be replaced by a new mayor following a council meeting on September 29.
