Council leader counts cost of Hitler dress 'pantomime' at birthday bash

Mark Branagan

HE MAY claim his choice of costume for a fancy dress ball was just a bit of fun – and perhaps the less politically correct may eventually see the funny side.

But for now it’s war, and allowing himself to be photographed dressed up as Hitler throwing a Nazi salute is a gaffe from which Harrogate Borough Council’s leader Mike Gardner may never recover.

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Already the blunder has led to deselection by the Conservative Party and it may yet jeopardise his political career – although yesterday he insisted he stays as leader of the council.

Describing what happened as a “piece of pantomime” which had nothing to do with his civic life, he added: “If I had done this as a councillor I would expect to be shot.”

But the senior councillor has now been de-selected after pictures of him at the fancy dress birthday bash were leaked onto the internet via Facebook.

His colleagues in the Conservative Party have condemned his behaviour as “unacceptable” and it seems unlikely the public are ever going to view him quite in the same light again.

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But while the politician will not be able to stand as a Conservative in the next election, he remains council leader and a ward member until the end of his office term.

Condemnation from fellow Tories yesterday was swift.

The chairman of Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative Association, Heather Adderley, said: “For Coun Gardner to dress up as he did is totally unacceptable and we condemn it.

“Coun Gardner was de-selected and as a result will not be standing as a Conservative candidate next year. A new candidate has already been selected and is busy working in the ward.”

Meanwhile, Coun Gardner was making clear what happened was no reflection of his political leanings.

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“I don’t dress up as a Nazi normally. This was an exception. I am not a Nazi and I don’t behave like that,” he said.

“It was a private birthday party and the dress code was the war. Do I feel ashamed? No. It was fancy dress and a piece of fun.

“The invitation was to depict the year in which you were born, I was born in the war.”

He had checked with the organiser whether his outfit would be acceptable.

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He added: “There were a lot of people at the party who are in the armed forces or the MoD. It was not offensive to them or to the family.

“My mother and father were heavily engaged in fighting the Nazis... My father was a pilot in the war, and my mother worked in the munitions industry.

“I am sorry that offence has been taken, but it does not impinge any standard in the council.”

He blamed political rivals for leaking the photo in an underhanded way.

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Performing a Nazi salute and having his photo taken were both things which had slipped his memory, he maintained. But he has made clear to his fellow councillors that his costume was all about debunking the Third Reich.

His partner later put the pictures on Facebook with restricted access, but they were withdrawn soon afterwards.

A spokesman for Harrogate Borough Council said Coun Gardner was still the authority’s leader and remained Tory member for the Pannal ward. She said there was “no issue with the members’ code of conduct”.

The councillor was suspended form his local Conservative Party in July, following the birthday bash in May.

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