Islamic Relief has apologised after Leicester's Lord Mayor John Thomas waked out of one of its charity events.
It came after Labour councillor for Belgrave John Thomas reportedly walked out of an Islamic charity event after being told he could not sit with his female consort.
According to the Daily Mail, Councillor John Thomas left a lunch hosted by Islamic Relief UK last Sunday, after he discovered he would have to eat separately from his consort, Margaret Corley.
However, Islamic Relief has told the Mercury the incident was due to a "misunderstanding", and has said it will apologise to the Lord Mayor in writing this week.
When the Mercury contacted Coun Thomas, Labour councillor for Belgrave, to ask him about the incident, he said: "I don't wish to say anything about it whatsoever."
The event, which was held at Devonshire Place, in London Road, Leicester, marked the end of Charity Week, an annual fund-raiser supported by Islamic organisations.
The Daily Mail claimed that when Coun Thomas and his consort arrived at the event, they were told the mayor would have to dine upstairs in the function room with male guests, while his consort would be seated downstairs with the other women.
The newspaper added: "A source at the event said the Mayor had 'insulted' other guests by walking out."
Today, Martin Cottingham, of Islamic Relief, told the Mercury: "The Mayor left before the event started.
"What happened was a complete one-off, an unfortunate misunderstanding for which I want to apologise to the Lord Mayor on behalf of Islamic Relief and Charity Week, and we will apologise to him in writing this week.
"Islamic Relief has a long and positive history over many years of events that engage successfully not only with the local Muslim population but also with representatives of other faiths and with the wider civic community in Leicester."
He added: "None of the Charity Week organisers told the Lord Mayor he could not sit with his partner, and if anyone else at the event did then they were mistaken.
"The Lord Mayor and his consort would have been more than welcome to enjoy this event sitting together, as I have myself with my wife at Islamic Relief events."
Guests at the event, who paid £6 a ticket, were told that the week of fundraising to help orphaned and disadvantaged children raised more than £730,000.