THE HARWICH mayor has called the leader of Tendring Council to publicly condemn the Prime Minister's actions following the 'bring your own booze party'.

In a letter sent to Conservative leader Neil Stock, councillor Ivan Henderson says " this is behaviour that needs calling out, no matter the political persuasion”.

This comes as PM Boris Johnson is once again facing calls to resign after a leaked email revealed Downing Street staff were invited to a gathering in May 2020 at the height of lockdown.

Mr Henderson, who is the leader of the Tendring Labour Group, said: “People across Tendring pulled together to protect lives and livelihoods as we came through some of the darkest months of the pandemic.

"Bereaved families, our key workers and all those that diligently followed the rules have been mocked by Boris Johnson.

"Local Conservative councillors must choose – are they on the side of those who followed the rules to protect the NHS and save lives, or the out of touch Tory government who treat them with contempt.”

Mr Stock said that while he agrees "political leaders need to consistently demonstrate the highest levels of personal conducts", local leaders should also take responsibility for their actions, referring to the last Tendring cabinet meeting where the closure of Brightlingsea Sports Centre and Harwich Sports Centre was discussed.

READ MORE: Sports centres get stay of execution while councillors fight to keep them open

The meeting was adjourned for 15 minutes following an "emotional" outburst from Harwich councillor Ivan Henderson, who had accused council leader Neil Stock of misleading people by equating the closure of Brightlingsea Sports Centre and Harwich Sports Centre to Manningtree Sport Centre, where Manningtree High School had decided to take back the full-time running of the facility.

Mr Stock added: "Whilst I do accept what he is saying about the conduct of the PM, he needs to apply those standards to his own conduct before condemning or criticising anyone else for their own.

When asked if the PM should resign, Mr Stock said: "There is a great appetite for that.

"The PM apologised and obviously I think on the principle of 'three strikes and you are out' and this is definitely a strike against him.

"I think he still commands strong support in the House of Commons and among members of parliament therefore for the foreseeable future he will remain in post."