Hackney mayor suspended over photos with paedophile councillor

In the now-deleted image, which was posted on Facebook, 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 Glanville and Dewey together with a group of people with Ukrainian flags, as the timestap matches the day of the Eurovision final in which Ukraine won.

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

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

Former Labour councillor Tom Dewey pictured outside Wood Green Crown Court (Image: Main: Josh Bolton Insets: Julia Gregory)

On August 15, 2023, 36-year-old Dewey was given a suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to possessing 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.  

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.     

Tom Dewey pictured on election night (Image: Julia Gregory)

The Labour Party said it has suspended the mayor after it was told about the photograph showing the two men at a social event.

Labour says the photograph is a contradiction of information previously given by Glanville to the party and to the press.

Glanville told the Morning Star: “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.”

He said he moved out of the house the following day.

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

The mayor earlier said: “The first knowledge I had about the action at the property – and the arrest – was on 14 May; nine days after the local elections. This was when I was briefed by the chief executive of Hackney Council following the council having been alerted to the arrest by the NCA.

“I left the property the weekend I found out, and did not return to live at the property until he had permanently left. I did not see Tom Dewey again.”

The Hackney Gazette has contacted the mayor for further comment.

A Labour party member said they were shocked by the picture. They added: “there are clearly some significant questions for the Mayor of Hackney”.

They added local members had “serious legitimate concerns" raised by the case, not least about safeguarding of children and young people.

Dawn Carter-McDonald, interim chief executive at Hackney Council, said: “The council is aware that the directly-elected Mayor of Hackney has been suspended from the Labour Party.

"According to the council’s constitution he remains the elected Mayor of Hackney. The council remains focused on ensuring we continue to provide the best services for our residents.”

Hackney Green leader Zoe Garbett said: “This picture calls into question the mayor’s entire account of events surrounding the Dewey case.”