Labour have suspended the Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville this morning, after a photo emerged showing him (pictured right) celebrating with former councillor Tom Dewey two weeks after his arrest in a shocking child pornography sting last year. Glanville, who also used to share a flat with Dewey, had previously claimed to be “angry, shocked and appalled” by the news in May 2022. Yet here he is, smiling next to a man who confessed to downloading “sadistic” images of child porn.

Dewey was arrested after a raid on his home on 29th April 2022, a week before his election as councillor. He vanished from public view almost immediately after his win, with questions asked over how much Labour Party figures knew – and when – before allowing him to stand in the first place. Glanville insisted to the council earlier this year:

“I was not made aware of the police investigation until after the May 2022 elections when I was told by the council.”

They were close friends, and they lived together. Even after Dewey’s arrest, Glanville happily raised a glass with him as they watched Eurovision together. This morning he released a statement:

“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.”

Labour tell the Evening Standard they have taken “immediate action in all aspects of this case“. The police had already raided this man’s home before he pinned a red rosette to his lapel…