New petition urges mayor to quit over lockdown breaches

FULL COUNCIL DEBATE WILL BE TRIGGERED IF CAMPAIGN GAINS 1,500 SIGNATURES

A PETITION has been launched calling on Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to resign over visits he made to his partner’s house during lockdown.

Sir Peter has apologised for travelling five miles from his home in the city to stay with his partner, Lesley Summerland, in Groby after being photographed there by her neighbours when restrictions intended to stop the spread of the virus were in place.

The Labour politician has admitted making a “very significant error of judgement” when at the end of April he visited his partner for three days when she fell ill – and then again for four days a month later when he went round to fix a window for her and was pictured up a ladder.

Opposition politicians have called on him to resign, accusing him of hypocrisy for asking others to stay at home during lockdown when he himself did not.

Sir Peter, however, is resisting the calls for him to step down and says he will continue in his third term running the city council.

The petition has been started by William Mackay, who said of Sir Peter: “He has proved that he feels he is above the law and the people of Leicester and does not need to adhere to Covid laws.

“We must not accept one rule for one and one for another just because he is a wealthy politician.” At the time of writing, just over 120 people had signed the petition.

It is understood the majority of the Labour city councillors who hold all but two seats on the council have accepted Sir Peter’s apology.

Some, however, remain upset about his actions, which came to light in a Sun on Sunday story.

After the story broke, Sir Peter visited a police station where officers gave him advice on lockdown regulations. But police say no further action will be taken against him as it considers the journeys last month to be historic.

There has been no official complaint made to the police about the mayor.

A Leicester City Council spokesman said: “Any petition submitted to the city council will be reviewed in line with our formal Petitions Scheme.

“This involves examining it for content, verifying all signatures and discounting any submitted by nonLeicester residents.

“Valid petitions which attract more than 1,500 verified signatures will trigger a debate at a meeting of the full council.”