Luton’s mayor broke lockdown rules as town’s coronavirus infections surged

The mayor of Luton flouted lockdown rules shortly before the town was declared a coronavirus hotspot, the Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Footage obtained by this newspaper shows Cllr Tahir Malik attending a packed garden party with at least twelve other men, in breach of social distancing rules.

Luton Borough Council have launched an investigation into the actions of the mayor and two other senior Labour councillors pictured at the gathering on Tuesday evening.

Two days later, Public Health England (PHE) upgraded Luton to an ‘area of intervention’ in response to a flare-up in Covid-19 cases. Health bosses are concerned about infection rates among the town’s large South Asian community, with people living on two terraced streets told to get tested.

A series of photographs and videos shows Cllr Malik, who was appointed mayor of Luton in May last year, at the garden party.

With a mask tucked under his chin, the mayor is seen laughing and eating with other prominent members of the community including two other Labour councillors, a doctor and a local imam. A video of the event posted on social media was captioned: “A wonderful evening with friends”.

According to government rules updated in July, no more than six people or two households can gather outside. At least twelve men including Cllr Malik can be seen sitting closely together in the pictures.

During the pandemic Cllr Malik has repeatedly urged Luton’s Muslim community to follow government guidelines “for their own and loved ones’ safety”, including staying at home during the Eid festival.

In April he wrote an open letter praising volunteers and emergency services, adding: “Social distancing is very important in our fight against the virus.”

However, on Thursday he retweeted a post suggesting the recent spike in Luton had been caused by “false tests”.

In Luton, the rate actually fell to 24.8 cases per 100,000 in the week to July 20 from 31.8 the previous week, although Luton Borough Council said it had agreed with Government officials that gyms, pools, and other leisure facilities will not reopen as planned on July 25.

Hazel Simmons, the council leader, said: "Please pass these important messages on to your family and friends and if you can, stay at home.”

Just 47 per cent of potentially-infected people in Luton were successfully contacted by the NHS Track and Trace system since its launch on May 28, amid concern that a language barrier is hampering success rates. Around a fifth of the population do not speak English as a first language, statistics show.

As well as Luton, PHE has upgraded Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire to an "area of intervention" after 122 new cases were recorded in the seven days to July 20.

NHS Test and Trace chief Baroness Dido Harding said there were particular concerns about coronavirus spreading in South Asian communities in England.

"We are all learning what makes different communities, different professions, different parts of the country more vulnerable," she told the BBC.

"There are a mix of things, and certainly we are seeing a very high prevalence in the South Asian community across the country."

All this comes after the mayor of Leicester, another coronavirus hotspot, was caught flouting the rules by visiting his girlfriend at the height of lockdown.

Sir Peter Soulsby apologised in June for an “error of judgement”  after neighbours photographed him halfway up a ladder at his partner’s home.

Cllr Malik did not respond to requests for comment.

A spokesman for Luton Borough 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.”