A newly appointed Labour mayor who dressed up as Adolf Hitler at a charity event is facing calls to resign.
Photographs of Seve Gomez-Aspron MBE wearing a German Army uniform, complete with swastika, and a fake moustache, previously surfaced online in 2019 when he was serving as a councillor for St Helens.
The series of snaps were taken at a fancy dress dinner in aid of Claire House Hospice, which supports seriously and terminally ill children, in 2009, when he was not yet a councillor.
Mr Gomez-Aspron said at the time the outfit was inspired by Mel Brooks‘ satirical comedy The Producers. He described the decision to wear it as ‘clumsy’.
But despite his apology, there is still much furor surrounding his recent appointment, with more than 1,000 people signing a petition for his removal as mayor.
According to the Sun, 11 councillors also walked out in protest during his swearing in ceremony on May 14.
‘He is reviled throughout St Helens for his inappropriate behaviour and attitude,’ a councillor told the newspaper.
‘Many feel that he is not fit for public office, never mind the prestigious role as mayor,’
The councillor told the Liverpool Echo the first time the photos went viral that they were taken in his early twenties, before he was a Labour Party member
He added at the time: ‘I have matured and learnt a lot since then, and 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.’
But, for Mr Gomez-Aspron – who also once appeared on ITV’s Million Pound Drop where he scooped £100,000 with a pal – this scandal was not his first.
Just last year the then deputy leader of St Helens Council was forced to apologise for ‘offensive’ comments made towards a councillor during a meeting about a proposed rise in council tax.
Mr Gomez-Aspron described the councillor’s reasoning for voting against a 4.99% rise as ‘diatribe’ and claimed he has ‘not a clue what he is talking about’.
He went on to describe the man and another councillor as the ‘Earlestown Brain Trust’, before correcting himself by saying ‘it was wrong to imply there was a brain’.
Hellbound and Down 