The Mayor of Hackney resigned on Friday after a photograph was published of him partying with a paedophile ex-councillor.
Hackney Council said that Philip Glanville would step down permanently after a picture emerged of him partying with former councillor Thomas Dewey, who had been arrested in a child pornography sting two weeks previously.
In a resignation letter published on Friday, Mr Glanville said he made an “error of judgment” in attending a Eurovision party where Dewey was present on May 13 last year.
He added that his trust had been “betrayed”, but admitted he was “not as transparent as I should have been” about the incident.
“I’m not the right person to judge my record, and this letter is not the right time or place for a defence of my record or a list of achievements. But my head and heart say I made a positive difference to the borough we all love.”
Dewey was arrested in a National Crime Agency raid on his home in Hackney on April 29, 2022, a week before he was elected a Hackney Labour councillor.
NCA officers seized two laptops, two tablets and a hard drive containing 249 indecent images of children, including five in the most serious category.
Dewey, 36, admitted downloading “sadistic” images of children being sexually abused as well as a cache of violent pornographic photos.
He received a suspended sentence last month and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Dewey had won a seat as a Labour councillor in hackney at the May 2022 local elections.
Mr Glanville, who lived with Dewey, claimed not to have known the “full extent” of the allegations against his former housemate.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside Hackney town hall on Wednesday evening to express their anger at the situation in the borough.
Mr Glanville will serve his last day as Mayor on September 22.
Interim chief executive of Hackney Council, Dawn Carter-McDonald, said: “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.”
