Labour councillor Lord Mayor John Thomas walked out of a charity event organised by Islamic Relief after allegedly being told that he could not sit with his female partner.
Islamic Relief has stated that they wish to issue an apology to Thomas for what they are asserting was a misunderstanding. Martin Cottingham of Islamic Relief said to the Leicester Mercury: “None of the Charity Week organisers told the Lord Mayor he could not sit with his partner, and if anyone else at the event did then they were mistaken (…) What happened was a complete one-off, an unfortunate misunderstanding for which I want to apologise to the Lord Mayor on behalf of Islamic Relief and Charity Week, and we will apologise to him in writing this week (…) Islamic Relief has a long and positive history over many years of events that engage successfully not only with the local Muslim population but also with representatives of other faiths and with the wider civic community in Leicester.”
