A Labour mayor who dressed up as Adolf Hitler for a charity event is facing calls to resign after over 1,000 people signed a petition demanding his removal from office. Seve Gomez-Aspron MBE was pictured in the ill-advised costume, complete with a swastika and fake moustache, during a dinner in aid of Claire House Hospice, which cares for terminally ill children, back in 2009. The image surfaced in 2019, when he was a serving councillor for St Helens in Merseyside, prompting him to apologise for the “clumsy” mistake and claim that the outfit was inspired by Mel Brooks’ 1967 black comedy The Producers.
The controversy has once again reared its head after Mr Gomez-Aspron was sworn in as the town’s mayor on May 14, with 11 councillors walking out of the ceremony in protest, according to The Sun. A petition calling for his removal has also reached over 1,000 signatures and a fellow councillor claimed that he is “reviled through St Helens for his inappropriate behaviour and attitude”.
“Many feel that he is not fit for public office, never mind the prestigious role as mayor,” the anonymous official added.
Mr Gomez-Aspron insisted that he had “matured and learnt a lot” since the photos were taken during his early twenties after they first reappeared six years ago.
He told the Liverpool Echo: “It goes without saying that I would not do this now. I know how this could be seen as insensitive and how it could cause hurt and offence.
“That was not at all my intention and I sincerely apologise. I have part-Jewish ancestry and I recently visited Israel to commemorate those killed in the Holocaust and the war.”
The council launched an inquiry following the initial outcry, but no further action was taken.
Mr Gomez-Aspron has been in hot water in the past for accusing a fellow councillor of “not [having] a clue what he is talking about” and describing two of his colleagues as the “Earlestown Brain Trust” before later adding: “It is wrong to imply there was a brain”.
The remarks were described by the council monitoring officer as “personally offensive, inappropriate and disrespectful”. Mr Gomez-Aspron reportedly wrote a letter of apology to those involved.
The parliamentary petition calling for him to be sacked also labelled the new mayor a “bully” whose conduct during his time in public office had been “poor [and] disgraceful”.
Mr Gomez-Aspron has been contacted for comment.