Outgoing Luton mayor faced online abuse and death of his brother during year of challenges

Labour Central borough councillor Mohammed Yaqub Hanif suffered online abuse and the death of his brother, during his term of office.

He was presented with a past mayor’s badge by his successor, Labour Biscot councillor Tahmina Saleem, at the borough council’s annual mayor-making ceremony in the Town Hall on Tuesday (July 16).

Labour council leader and Lewsey councillor Hazel Simmons said: “It’s with great pleasure I thank Yaqub for his hard work, and for being a tremendous ambassador for the town.

“He attended more than 280 events and raised a fantastic £15,600 for his charities, Kids Out UK, Luton Foodbank and the Luton All Women Centre.

“I know how pleased you were to be part of the celebrations when the Hatters were promoted to the Premier League. You were proud to attend events including the Windrush civic flag raising, the Ukrainian independence day, All Saints’ annual peace lights service and the opening of the 2023 international carnival.

“Well done for hosting the Big Iftar event, at which you raised £3,800 for the medical aid for Palestine charity.

“I would also like to thank you on behalf of the council for your courage and integrity when things have been difficult, with you receiving personal insults, and particularly for continuing to represent the town after suffering a close personal loss.”

Labour Central councillor Fatima Begum said she would be glad to have her ward colleague back, adding: “My highlight of the year is when you lifted the Championship play-off final trophy on the stage with all the players.

“You raised the profile of Luton on a local and national level. It’s been a difficult year for you personally, and especially when you received all the online abuse for doing your role and for representing the various communities here.

“Thank you so much for surviving that and for everything you’ve done.”

Councillor Hanif replied: “I’ve many fond memories, starting with Luton Town Football Club’s promotion to the Premier League and the worldwide exposure the town received as a result.

“The publicity was such that the town has even been added to some people’s bucket list. There were some extraordinary events and I even appeared inadvertently in a viral documentary on YouTube reminding the world what a truly great place the town is with its wonderful people.

“Being mayor, you get to appreciate the greatness of the town and its people. Luton benefits from more than 150 languages being spoken here, in addition to being home for people hailing from all over the world.

“I learnt this town is abundantly rich in diversity, food, culture and history. There were some challenging times, which I negotiated with the help of my family, fellow councillors and the town’s MPs.

“Regarding this, I was told it’s part of the territory. But we should never normalise hate, and challenge it wherever and whenever it happens. We should continue to show solidarity.

“I was proud to have chosen charities from across the borough. This was important to me as charity starts at home.”