Hackney’s mayor has resigned after an “error of judgement” following his attendance at a party with a former councillor the evening after he discovered of their arrest for child porn offences.

In the now-deleted image, which was posted on Facebook, mayor Philip Glanville is pictured with former councillor Tom Dewey at a party on May 14 last year at 9.40pm, according to a timestamp.

It shows Mr Glanville and Dewey together with a group of people with Ukrainian flags, as the timestamp matches the day of the Eurovision final in which Ukraine won.

Hackney’s chief executive Mark Carroll had phoned Mr Glanville the same day to inform him that Dewey had been arrested on April 29 and faced serious charges.

Hackney Gazette: Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville has resignedHackney Mayor Philip Glanville has resigned (Image: Julia Gregory)

The mayor was suspended at the end of August, but today (September 15) Mr Glanville has confirmed his resignation.

In a letter to Dawn Carter-McDonalds, chief executive of Hackney Council, he said: “This is my ultimate responsibility given the events of the past few weeks and it’s why I’m writing to you today to tender my resignation as the elected mayor of Hackney with effect from Friday 22nd September 2023.

“As I previously made clear, I had my trust betrayed, but in turn I made an error of judgement and was not as transparent as I should have been. For that I accept full responsibility.”

He continued: “At our last full council meeting I stated I had never put the safeguarding of anyone at risk. That remains true. At every stage as mayor, I did what needed to be done to safeguard children and allow the council to do its job without fear or favour.”

Dewey, who had been elected at the May 5 elections, resigned as a councillor after meeting the chief executive on the following Monday (May 16).

On August 15, 2023, 36-year-old Dewey was given a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children – five images in the most serious category A, 41 in category B and 203 in category C. 

He also admitted to possessing 78 extreme pornographic images portraying act likely to result in serious injury to a person’s private parts and 1,523 prohibited images of a child such as cartoons or CGI images.

National Crime Agency (NCA) officers received four tipline reports after Dewey uploaded indecent images to his online Google Drive.

Hackney Gazette: Tom Dewey outside courtTom Dewey outside court (Image: Julia Gregory / LDRS)

Police arrested him at his home in Hertford Road, Hackney, on April 29, 2022, and five devices including a work laptop were seized. 

The images found showed penetrative and sadistic acts being performed on young children as well as images involving scenes of serious violence for the intention of sexual arousal.

In the letter, Mr Glanville concluded: “My final message as mayor is to the amazing people of Hackney – you and the organisations and businesses here are at the heart of why I choose to make Hackney my home and why this role meant so much to me: keep standing up for your open, diverse values; keep challenging those who put themselves forward to lead and keep making this the very best borough of London.”

Interim chief executive of Hackney Council, Dawn Carter-McDonald, said: "Today I have accepted the resignation of the Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville. 

"The mayor’s last day of office will be Friday 22 September 2023. I want to take this opportunity to thank the outgoing mayor for his seven years of service as mayor and the 17 years he has given to the borough and its residents as an elected politician. 

"In line with the council’s constitution, the statutory deputy mayor, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, will continue to act in the Mayor’s place for as long as necessary.

“A mayoral election is likely to take place in the coming weeks, and I will provide more information as soon as I am able to.”