The Mayor of Luton and two councillors were pictured breaking lockdown rules by attending a party, just days before Luton was designated an ‘area of intervention’ by government health officials because of rising coronavirus cases.
Mayor Tahir Malik was pictured at the outdoor gathering for 12 people in a back garden on July 21, along with councillors Waheed Akbar and Asif Masood, along with around nine other men.
The three men have apologised for breaking the rules, but blamed ‘additional guests’ by making the initially small gathering too big.
The party was attended by over double the number of people allowed to gather under coronavirus laws.
Photos of the gathering were shared on Facebook, including one of the mayor wearing his mask hanging dangling below his chin, but not covering his nose and mouth.
Mayor Tahir Malik, pictured above standing at the end of the table, was photographed at the outdoor gathering on July 21 with councillors Waheed Akbar and Asif Masood, along with around nine other men
The rules breach has sparked anger among Luton locals who are potentially facing a local lockdown.
On Thursday, Luton – along with Blackburn – joined Leicester in reaching the highest level on the government’s coronavirus watchlist, with Luton being designated as an ‘area of intervention’ by Public Health England (PHE).
The pictures of the party showed that none of the attendees were wearing facemasks properly, and they were seen sitting in close-quarters while eating together around a table, and posing for a photograph together.
Since June 1, lockdown laws have stated that a maximum of six people can meet outdoors – including gardens – providing people from different households keep a distance of two meters apart – or one meter with a face covering.
‘We apologise unreservedly to the people of Luton for our breach of the lockdown rules,’ the three Labour councillors said in a statement to Luton Today.
‘We attended what we believed was going to be a small socially distanced gathering, in line with the government guidelines.
The Mayor and the two councillors who were caught out at the party have since apologised, saying the gathering was larger than they expected it to be
‘During the course of the event, the arrival of additional guests meant the rules were breached.
‘We should have left immediately, and it is a matter of sincere regret for each of us that we did not do so.
‘It is all of our responsibility to follow the guidelines. We are sorry that we did not live up to the standards that are rightly expected of us.’
A spokesman from the eastern branch of the local Labour Party said the party’s Chief Whip was investigating the apparent lockdown breach.
Men at the party were seen sitting around the table having dinner, and not observing social distancing measures that state that people not in the same household should remain at least two meters apart, or one meter plus if they are wearing face coverings
‘It is essential that everybody follows social distancing measures in order to protect the public from COVID-19,’ the spokesman told the news outlet.
‘It is even more important for those in positions of authority to be setting the right example.
‘The Labour Party investigates all complaints received and where rules have been breached, action will be taken in line with the Labour Party’s processes.’
Luton Borough Council is said to be waiting on a decision from the Labour Party before opening any procedures of its own.
A spokesperson for the council said: ‘The council has received complaints concerning the alleged conduct of three councillors.
‘We take all such complaints extremely seriously and an investigation into their alleged behaviour will be started and a decision arrived at.’
Coronavirus cases in England appear to be creeping up with 1,000 more people estimated to be catching the disease every day than they were last week, official data showed today as the UK recorded 123 more Covid-19 deaths.
All of the victims are assumed to be in England considering Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland health agencies reported zero fatalities for the second day running. The new deaths take the total in the UK to 45,677.
Covid-19 cases have reached 297,914, according to the Government tally. Some 770 new cases were announced by the Department of Health today, the highest in a week and taking the seven-day rolling average up to 668 – a nine per cent increase on last Friday.
It comes as Office for National Statistics data based on population testing estimate that daily infections have risen from 1,700 to 2,800 in the space of seven days, to a current total of 22,400 new cases per week.
It suggests one in 2,000 people across the country were carrying Covid-19 within the most recent week up to July 19 – a total of 27,700 people or 0.05 per cent of the population.
This figure has crept up from the estimated 0.04 per cent (24,000) thought to be infected last week and the 0.03 per cent (14,000) the week before.
The ONS has stopped short of saying the crisis is growing because all three estimates are based on complex trend models and fall within a possible range.
But statisticians behind the report say the week-on-week rises indicate that the epidemic’s decline at least ‘levelled off’.
Meanwhile SAGE warned today that the virus’s R rate – the average number of people each coronavirus patients infects – has risen to between 0.7 and one or 0.8 and one in all regions of England for the first time since lockdown was lifted.
The R needs to stay below one to prevent future outbreaks from spiralling out of control.
It doesn’t necessarily mean England is on the brink of another crisis, however, because scientists say when case numbers are as low as they are, the R becomes more volatile and small clusters can skew the rate upwards.
Separate data from Public Health England today revealed that Covid-19 infection rates have risen in 63 areas of the country compared to last week, with Blackburn with Darwen in the North West now the worst affected area.
