COUNCILLOR RESIGNS AFTER BREAKING COVID RULES

A SENIOR councillor for Coventry City Council has resigned after breaching coronavirus quarantine rules.

Cllr John Mutton stepped down from his position as cabinet member for finance and resources.

The Binley and Willenhall councillor returned from a holiday in France on Saturday and failed to follow quarantine rules.

He left self-isolation to visit the hospital and Council House on Monday.

France is on the list of countries the government advises against visiting, but those who do must self-isolate for 14 days upon return.

Anyone in breach of the measure is liable for fines ranging from £1,000 to £3,200.

Cllr Mutton (Labour) was visited by West Midlands Police following the breach after he was reported by council

Chief Executive

Martin Reeves.

Announcing his resignation from cabinet in an email to council leader Cllr George Duggins, Cllr Mutton said he was “well aware” of the quarantine rules but understood pre-booked hospital appointments were an “exemption”.

He added: “I attended my hospital appointment and thought that it would be acceptable to call into the Council House to pick up some papers that I needed.

“During the five to ten minutes that I was in the Council House, I observed social distancing and wore a face mask at all times.

“Later that afternoon, I had a meeting, online, with the Chief Executive who informed me that I should not have entered the Council House and that he was going to report me to the police for breaching the quarantine rules.

“The police visited me at home and said that the quarantine rules around medical appointments were confusing and advised me that the only way to not fall foul of them was to now stay at home.

“However, not understanding the rules is not an excuse for falling foul of them, and unlike Dominic Cummings,

I believe that if you break the rules then you have to accept the responsibility and the buck stops with me.

“I have enjoyed working with you for all of these years and working on behalf of the Labour group and the city of Coventry as a whole, but feel that the only honourable way forward for me now is to resign my position as cabinet member for finance and resources.”

Cllr Mutton is the second senior councillor at the city council to resign his cabinet role for coronavirus rule breaches.

Cllr Tariq Khan stepped down from cabinet member for housing and communities last month after breaking social distancing rules at a large gathering in Foleshill which was later broken up by police.

Criticism was aimed at Cllr Khan for “undermining” the council’s repeated messages urging residents to abide by coronavirus guidelines.

In a statement, council leader Cllr George Duggins placed on record his thanks for the work of Cllr Mutton in his cabinet role.

He said: “John Mutton has been a tremendous servant to the city undertaking a variety of roles from leader of the council to Lord Mayor and more recently he has been an outstanding cabinet member for finance. Indeed, everyone in the city owes a great amount to the tremendous hard work he has put in over recent years, when unprecedented amounts of money were taken from the council every year in government funding as part of austerity.

“Due to his great stewardship, there are many services that we have still been able to offer when many local authorities have had to stop.

“I want to place on record my thanks for his work over the near two decades that I have worked with him in roles such as leader, deputy leader and cabinet member which I have enjoyed thoroughly. John is a good friend and although the circumstances surrounding his resignation are a great personal sadness to me, I do not want anyone to lose sight of the great service John has given to the city over many, many years.”

...I believe that if you break the rules then you have to accept the responsibility and the buck stops with me.

Cllr Mutton