A complaint against three Brent councillors who visited a community kitchen during lockdown was dismissed by the borough’s monitoring officer.

Debra Norman found Brent Council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt, as well as his fellow Labour councillors Krupesh Hirani and Trupti Sangani, did not break the councillors’ code of conduct by attending an event at Alperton Baptist Church, in Ealing Road, Wembley, on January 9.

Former Brent Council leader Paul Lorber requested an investigation into the incident – and called on the councillors in question to resign – on the basis it was irresponsible during a national lockdown.

He said this went against the council’s own advice of “stay at home” to combat the spread of Covid-19 and suggested such actions serve to undermine the public’s confidence in the council’s ability to manage the pandemic.

However, the councillors who attended the event pointed out they adhered to all social distancing guidelines, wore the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) and wanted to “raise awareness of invaluable work”.

The borough’s Labour Group also dismissed the complaint as “political point scoring” by the “de facto head of [Brent’s] Liberal Democrats”.

After weighing up the arguments put forward, Ms Norman ruled: “I do not consider that the facts demonstrate, on the balance of probabilities, that there has been any breach of the code.”

She added no sanctions would be imposed on the councillors concerned and no further action was required in relation to the incident.

Mr Lorber accused the three councillors of going against the council’s principles of conduct in terms of showing leadership and suggested their actions were at risk of bringing the council into disrepute.

He argued they had put others at risk, ignored their own advice on Covid-19 restrictions, used the event for “party political purposes”, and ultimately carried out an abuse of power.

However, Ms Norman accepted the councillors’ view that their intention was to lend support to the food bank, note the importance of adequate PPE and highlight the impact of Covid-19 on food poverty.

This is the second time Brent Council’s monitoring officer has dealt with a complaint relating to councillors’ actions during lockdown restrictions.

In June 2020, Cllrs Butt and Sangani attended a joint prayer meeting at Ealing Road Temple despite national guidelines prohibiting this.

Following a complaint, the pair apologised for their actions after they were found to have breached the code of conduct in terms of leadership and integrity.

However, they were not seen to have brought the council into disrepute, with Ms Norman noting the wider intention of the event was to “provide comfort at what was a very distressing time for many”.