A car belonging to a west London councillor has been spotted parked in a disabled bay without a blue badge – just days after a member of the same council apologised for the same act.
The car, which is understood to belong to Hounslow Labour Councillor and former Deputy Mayor, Hina Mir, was parked in a disabled parking bay on Tuesday while a full council meeting was taking place.
Alongside her role as councillor and Chair of the Housing and Environment Scrutiny Panel, Ms Mir is a solicitor.
Hounslow Labour told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) “The Labour Group is currently investigating the matter.”
It comes only days after her colleague, Cllr Farhaan Rehman, was forced to resign his committee chairmanship after it emerged he had parked a Lamborghini in a disabled bay on two occasions. Cllr Rehman remains a Labour councillor and a candidate for the 2026 elections.
While the parking spaces are owned and managed by Hounslow Council, the local authority previously said it was a matter for Hounslow Labour. However if a general member of the public was caught parking in a disabled bay in the borough without a blue badge, it would be a matter for the council and they could face a fixed penalty notice of £160.
The LDRS understands that the car park at Hounslow House civic centre is not used by the general public, with spaces used instead by council staff and politicians.
Disabled bays at the Hounslow Council building are marked with yellow paint, and standard parking spaces in white paint.
Cllr Jack Emsley, Conservative Councillor for Chiswick Homefields told the LDRS that the incident confirms a double standard in the borough. He said: “Labour councillors are taking residents for fools.
“It’s clear that a sense of entitlement runs rife through the Hounslow Labour Party, and this latest breaking of the rules will rightly be seen as them sticking two fingers up at residents who have faced the brunt of their heavy handed approach to enforcement for everyone other than themselves. This is yet further confirmation that under this current Labour council, it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.”
Cllr Rehman found himself to be the butt of jokes at the meeting of full council on Tuesday, with opposition councillors taking the opportunity to poke fun at his car parking incidents, first revealed by the LDRS.
Speaking about the council’s “Hounslow Vision” plans, Cllr Peter Thompson, Leader of Hounslow Conservatives, said: “The brochure is beautifully designed, it’s shiny, it’s got a glossy finish… the kind you usually see on, I don’t know, a high-end sports car… such as a Lamborghini.”
Cllr Rehman was due to propose a motion relating to gambling and licensing rules at the meeting on Tuesday. However, following his resignation as Chair of the Licensing Panel, his name was withdrawn.
The incidents have caused outcry among Hounslow residents who feel it sets a double standard for councillors and members of the public. Particularly at a time when Loretta Alvarez, 26, still faces a £1,000 fine from the council for “fly-tipping” an envelope next to overflowing communal bins.
Reacting to the latest incident, Loretta said: “I have no words. It annoys me because it’s like these are the people who should set an example. They set rules they want us to follow… but they act like they are above the rules.”
Cllr Mir was contacted directly for comment, but failed to respond by the time of publication.
