The Mayor of Barnet has defended her decision to invite disgraced TV presenter, Michael Barrymore, to a citizenship ceremony this afternoon.
Councillor Lisa Rutter said that she had met Mr Barrymore, who was found guilty of possessing cocaine in December 2011, at a dinner and that he had expressed interest in her work.
The mayor said: “I have no comment to make about his past. People deserve to carry on with their lives and to make amends.
“I just invited him as a guest to have a look and he was delighted to come.”
Mr Barrymore attended the ceremony at Hendon Town Hall at 2.30pm but he seemed unsure about what he was attending.
Cllr Rutter said: “Lots of people don’t know about these ceremonies before attending them.
“I explained briefly at the dinner but that was months ago.”
Other officials at the ceremony seemed surprised that he was there and one, who asked not to be named, expressed concern that the mayor might not have informed the council's communications team.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here