By John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter: The former Mayor of Bath has announced he is resigning as a councillor, three months after reposting a post on X which called an arson attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity an “Israeli false flag.”
Dr Bharat Pankhania apologised and stepped down from the role of mayor in March, after he reposted the post on X (formerly Twitter) along with two others which suggested the attack in Golders Green was insurance fraud. Now he has said that he will also resign as a councillor.
He told a meeting of Bath and North East Somerset Council on July 16: “This has not been an easy decision but I need to give greater priority to my health and wellbeing.” He has represented Combe Down on the southern edge of Bath since 2019.
Dr Pankhania said: “Like all of us I am human and capable of making mistakes and I made a mistake, a momentary error, and shared a social media message before realising its implied subtext. I am sorry I did that and I wish I hadn’t.
“My action caused concern and offence. I listened, I reflected, and I accepted responsibility for my mistake. I regret the distraction that this caused to the council and to the mayoralty and I stepped back as soon as it was clear that this was the right thing to do.”
He said: “I have always believed that public service is a privilege. Throughout my time as a councillor, Deputy Mayor, and Mayor of Bath, I have sought to serve every resident with integrity, respect, and genuine desire to make our city a better place.”
Three councillors walked out of the chamber immediately before he began his statement. Dr Pankhania became the 798th Mayor of Bath, a wholly ceremonial role held by a different Bath councillor each year, in 2025. He is the first Mayor of Bath to resign from the role since 1937.
Dr Pankhania was a Liberal Democrat until he was suspended from the party after reposting the posts. He left the party in March, at the same time as he resigned as Mayor of Bath. In order to resign as councillor, a letter of resignation will need to be submitted to the council’s chief executive.
It would likely lead to a council byelection later this summer. The winner would only have a short term as it, alongside every seat on Bath and North East Somerset Council, will be contested in the next local elections on May 6 2027.
Five people have been charged in connection with the counter terrorism policing investigation into the arson attack on the Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green in March. A trial is set for January 2027. Established in London following the deaths of Jewish people waiting for ambulances, Hatzola is a volunteer-led ambulance service which responds to anyone within its area who needs help, whether Jewish or not.
In his apology posted on X at the time, Dr Pankhania said: “I have been made aware that I have reposted or replied to some posts which have never aligned to my values and beliefs, and which are abhorrent. I am incredibly apologetic that I have not lived up to the standards I set myself. I have of course deleted them, and I wish to apologise unreservedly.”
He later told the Local Democracy Service: “I am very sorry and upset. I made a mistake in retweeting not realising that retweeting is endorsement. There is no way I hate people or other religions. It is pure and simple a mistake on my part and that’s why I immediately apologised and withdrew my retweets.”
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