Hackney Mayor Partied With Councillor He Knew Had Been Arrested for Possessing Child Abuse Images

The mayor of Hackney is facing calls for an inquiry after he apologised “wholeheartedly” for attending a Eurovision party with a Labour councillor he knew had been arrested for possessing child abuse images.

Images, since deleted from Facebook but shared with Novara Media, show Hackney mayor Philip Glanville holding a Ukraine flag at a Eurovision party on the evening of 14 May 2022 with a number of friends including Tom Dewey, his then-housemate whom he has known for nine years.

The party happened after Glanville was informed of Dewey’s arrest by Hackney council chief executive Mark Carroll the same day. Glanville has previously insisted he has not seen or spoken to Dewey since he became aware of the criminal investigation.

In a statement shared with Novara Media, Glanville said: “Being with Tom Dewey at all on 14 May was clearly an error of judgement for which I wholeheartedly apologise. I was told of his arrest, but not the full extent of the charges, in a brief discussion with the council chief executive the same day.

“I shouldn’t have been at the event in which we were photographed but I did so as I feared to cancel the event, or not attend myself, may alert Tom to what I knew, during what I understood to be a live criminal case.

“This does not alter the fact I had no involvement in the case, and shouldn’t deter from the actions, including moving out of the house the following day, as well as others I have taken since his resignation and conviction, which I have made clear in previous statements.”

The emergence of the photos has prompted calls for Labour to take action.

Zoe Garbett, a Green councillor in Hackney, told Novara Media she feels Glanville should face consequences: “This photo calls into question the mayor’s entire account of events surrounding the Dewey case. I expect the Labour party to take immediate action.”

Garbett also reiterated her previous call for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Dewey’s resignation.

Speaking to the Morning Star, Hackney MP Diane Abbott suggested Glanville think seriously about his role: “I think he needs to consider his position because he has misled people and the images that Dewey had were very serious.”

In the early hours of 29 April, police raided the shared home of Glanville and Dewey, charging the latter with possessing indecent images of children. Earlier this month Dewey was found guilty of multiple offences and given a suspended sentence. He received a £500 fine and 150 hours of community service.

On 5 May, six days after his arrest, the rightwing Labour activist Dewey stood – and was elected – as a councillor in Hackney. He resigned on 16 May, two days after Hackney Council became aware of the charges.

In July, Glanville told a town hall meeting: “No action that I have ever taken as mayor has ever put the safeguarding of anyone, in this council or in our community or beyond, at risk.”

Speaking to Novara Media, a Labour party activist in Hackney questioned this: “We know Dewey went canvassing with children and young people. What risk assessments were carried out?”

They added: “The photo suggests that the leadership of Hackney Labour was either in denial about the gravity of the allegations and police investigation, or prepared to hide the truth in order to retain a single seat in a single ward.”

“The alternative explanation is that they were trying to protect Tom Dewey himself for as long as possible, whether on the basis of personal friendship, or more probably factional interest.”

Labour has been accused of shutting down the local party’s mailing system and of banning local members from discussing Dewey at meetings.

Another Labour party member told Novara Media: “While there are evidently some significant questions for the mayor of Hackney and possibly some other senior party officials in Hackney to address, regional Labour party officials seemingly prefer to silence any discussion of serious, legitimate concerns raised by this case, not least about safeguarding of children/young people.

“Local party members across a wide spectrum are at the very least dismayed at being kept in the dark for many months and cannot see how some honesty about the matter would have violated either the right to a fair trial or the right to privacy of a person under investigation for a serious crime.”

The Labour party did not respond to Novara Media’s request for comment.

Update, 31 August: The Labour Party has suspended Glanville. He remains the elected mayor of Hackney. A Labour source told the Evening Standard, “Labour has taken immediate action in all aspects of this case.”

Update, 31 August: This article was updated shortly after publication to reflect current guidelines for the correct language to use when reporting on indecent images of children.