The Lord Mayor of Leicester has 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 on Sunday, after he discovered he would have to eat separately from his consort, Margaret Corley.

When the Leicester Mercury contacted Coun Thomas to ask him about the incident, he said: "I don't wish to say anything about it whatsoever."

The Mercury contacted Islamic Relief UK for a comment and was told to contact a spokesman for the organisation. The spokesman told the Mercury he was unaware of the incident.

The Daily Mail reported 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 event, which was held at Devonshire Place, in London Road, Leicester, marked the end of charity week.

Guests at the event, who paid £6 a ticket, were told that the week of fundraising to help orphaned and disadvantaged children raised £730,000.

Coun Thomas is the Labour representative for the Belgrave area of Leicester.

Have you heard about the latest charity challenge that is sweeping across the nation? It's the After Eight Challenge.

Dozens of celebrities have already taken part, with former Foxes players Gary Lineker and Robbie Savage both nominated.

The challenge sees participants attempting to slide a chocolate down their face and into their mouth without the use of their hands, in the quickest possible time.

The charity challenge is the brainchild of Liverpool legend, Kenny Dalglish, who is asking participants to then donate money to the Marina Dalglish Appeal - a cause set up in his wife's honour after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003.

Those who have already taken part include Jamie Redknapp, who managed it in 3.5 seconds; Coleen Rooney, with a time of 3 seconds; Jack Whitehall in 14 seconds; and Kenny himself, who managed it in 5.44 seconds.

Freddie Flintoff failed the challenge but has nominated Robbie Savage. Alan Hansen also failed the challenge but nominated Gary Lineker.

Top of the table though is currently ex-Westlife Nicky Bryne, who managed to get the chocolate from his forehead to his mouth in just 2.88 seconds.

Have you had a go yourself? Tweet us your photos and time and they could appear on our website: @Leicester_Merc

Following UKIP leader Nigel Farage's rant about breastfeeding in public, we have found the perfect solution: the 'boob beanie'.

A clever seller has come up with the idea of knitting boob-like hats for babies to wear when being breastfed.

The hats were created by an Australian breastfeeding mum who was sick of being judged for feeding her son in public.

The Boob Beanie is available in two colour combinations flesh/pink and flesh/brown, come in a range of sizes and are designed to look just like the real thing.

Click here to see more pictures.

The UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said many people feel uncomfortable about women breastfeeding in public.

What do you think of the boob beanie? Do you think babies should have to wear one when being breastfed? Join in the debate by commenting on this story or tweeting: @Leicester_Merc

Two teenage girls have died in a crash involving a bus and a car.

The crash happened in Tickencote, Rutland, yesterday afternoon.

The girls, who police said were aged 17 and 18, were pronounced dead at the scene. They were the driver and passenger in the car.

They have not yet been named.

The teenagers were pupils at Oakham School. All events at the school, including all sport meets and the choral society's Handel: Messiah, have been cancelled today.

Some people have expressed their grief and shock at the news of the tragedy via social networks.

They include a mother who said the two girls were her daughter's closest friends.

Very sad to see Oakham School pupils crying in Oakham

— Oakham UK (@OakhamUK) December 6, 2014

For those who pray, plse pray 4 my daughter & friends at Oakham school w' loss of 2 of her closest friends in car crash.utterly devastating

— Philippa Taylor (@PhilippaTaylor_) December 6, 2014

RIP to the two Oakham school girls who died in a car crash yesterday - absolutely tragic

— Henry Bolton (@henryBolton7) December 6, 2014

Tough shift for many at the local policing unit...serious road collision thanks to @LeicsRPU for coming over and dealing. Joe

— Oakham Police (@OakhamPolice) December 6, 2014

The collision occurred at about 1.25pm, in Empingham Lane, and involved a blue Peugeot 206 and a single decker bus.

The driver of the bus, and eight passengers, suffered superficial injuries.

Detective Constable Pete Davies, of the East Midlands Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "The car was travelling along Empingham Lane towards Empingham and the bus was travelling in the opposite direction towards Tickencote when the collision occurred.

"We would like to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the collision or saw either vehicle beforehand to contact us."

The road was closed for several hours while the emergency services dealt with the incident.

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to call police on 101.

Sections of the A14 joining the M1 at junction 19 in Leicestershire will be closed for two nights next week as work to improve the Catthorpe junction continues.

The closures take place on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 December between 9pm and 6am.

A spokesperson for the highways Agency said: "The work is necessary to safely enable crossovers to be created in the central reserve area, facilitating the next stage of construction of the direct M6 to A14 link road."

The A14 eastbound carriageway will be closed between the M1 at junction 19 and junction 1 of the A14 overnight next Wednesday. The westbound carriageway of the A14 will be closed between junction 2 of the A14 and junction 19 of the M1 next Thursday night.

Highways Agency Project Manager, Ivan Marriott, said: "This £191 million scheme is progressing well and this latest phase is vital to allow us to start building the new link road.

"The link underneath the M1 will improve the flow of traffic at Catthorpe junction by joining the M6 with the A14.

"We have planned the work to take place overnight to minimise disruption to road users and advise motorists to plan their journeys, leaving extra time if necessary.

"Once completed, the scheme will help boost the local economy and drivers can expect improved journey times around this busy junction."

During the closures diversions will be in place and clearly signposted. On Wednesday night traffic will be diverted on the M1 southbound to junction 15. Motorists can exit at junction 15 and join the A45, heading north to re-join the A14 at junction 13. Traffic for Kettering will be signed off the A45 onto the A43. On Thursday night this diversion route will be reversed and traffic will be directed from the A14 at junction 13 to the A45 and M1 junction 15 where it can re-join the M1 at junction 19.

Further information about the project is available on the schemes pages on the Highways Agency's website: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/road-projects/M1-Junction-19-Improvement-Scheme

Judah Tafari Hunte (34) of Nugent Street, Black Friars, pleaded guilty to possessing two grams of mephedrone (MCAT) at Leicester on September 5 2014. He was fined £30 with £45 costs, £20 victim surcharge.Hunte also pleaded guilty to possessing five grams of cannabis on the same date and was fined £45. Orders were made for the drugs to be forfeited and destroyed.

Vanessa Hutchins (45) of Holderness Road, Mowmacre Hill, pleaded guilty to stealing toys, value unknown, from Argos, Leicester and more toys, value unknown and a toaster worth £24.99 B and M Belgrave Gate, Leicester on August 27 2014. She was discharged conditionally for 12 months, ordered to pay £120 compensation and £15 victim surcharge.

Jasbir Sanghera (24) of Earlswood Road, Evington, pleaded guilty to using a vehicle on Earlswood Road, Evington on January 4 2014 without third-party insurance. He was fined £100 with £20 victim surcharge and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 12 months.

Deborah Pamela Wileman (54) of Ravenstone Road, Coalville, was proven guilty in absence of failing to give information relating to the identity of a driver alleged to have committed an offence on April 8 2014. She was fined £600 with £85 costs, £60 victim surcharge and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for six months.

Sally Ann Finney (44) of Ashby Road, Coalville, was proven guilty in absence of driving at Appleby Magna on February 24 2014 while using a hand-held mobile phone. She was fined £160 with £85 costs. £20 victim surcharge and three penalty points were put on her driving licence.

Aspakbhai Tai (34) of Farringdon Street, off Humberstone Road, Leicester, pleaded guilty to exceeding 30 miles per hour at Burleys Way, Leicester, on March 12 2014. He was fined £100 with £20 victim surcharge and four penalty points were put on his driving licence. He also pleaded guilty to exceeding 60 miles per hour on the M1 between junctions 10 and 11 northbound on June 25 2014 and was fined £40 with £20 victim surcharge and his driving licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

Adam Mitchell (38) of Abbott Drive, Stoney Stanton, pleaded guilty to assaulting an on-duty police officer on July 26 2014. He was ordered to pay £250 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

John Eric Gooding Challifour (52) of Church Street, Thurmaston, pleaded guilty to exceeding 40 miles per hour on the A50, Leicester Road, Groby, on March 31 2014. He was fined £120 with £85 costs and £20 victim surcharge.

Mahendra Chauhan (45) of Broxfield Close, Oadby, pleaded guilty to exceeding 30 miles per hour on the A563 Hungarton Boulevard, Leicester, on March 14 2014. He was fined £100 with £85 costs, £20 victim surcharge and was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for six months.

Marcin Makowieicki (30) of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, a bottle of wine worth £4.00 from the Co-Op, Ashby, on November 5 2014. He was fined £80 with £20 victim surcharge. He also pleaded guilty to two other similar charges involving spectacles, value unknown, belonging to FT Wilson Optician, Ashby, and silver chains worth £40 belonging to Bibles and Books, Ashby. He was fined £80 for each offence.

Christopher Solomon Godwin (29) of Heathcott Road, Aylestone, pleaded guilty to failing to stop and give his name and address and/or the vehicle's owner after a road accident at Burton on the Wolds on May 23 2014. He was fined £40 with £50 costs and £20 victim surcharge. His driving licence was endorsed with five penalty points.

Joseph Roy Valentine (47) of Sparkenhoe Street, St Peters, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis or cannibis resin in Leicester on July 27 2014. He was fined £75 with £40 costs and £20 victim surcharge. An order was made for the drug to be forfeited and destroyed.

Claire Whitmore (38) of Shardlow Road, Wigston, pleaded guilty to driving at Holmden Avenue, Wigston, on October 22 2014 with 117mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The maximum is 35mcg. She was fined £180 with £20 victim surcharge and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 23 months.

Avtar Singh (47) of Dart Close, Oadby, pleaded guilty to being a driver who failed to report a road accident in which he was involved at Green Lane Road, Leicester on March 15 2014. He was fined £135 with £85 costs, £20 victim surcharge and his driving licence was endorsed with five penalty points.

Michael Melville Warden (61) of Melton Road, Thurmaston, pleaded guilty to being the driver of a vehicle involved in a road accident at Maidenwell Avenue, Leicester on March 20 2014 which he failed to report. He was fined £65 with £40 costs, £20 victim surcharge and his driving licence was endorsed with five penalty points.

Dominik Kwiatowski (39) of Olphin Street, Belgrave, admitted, after initially pleading not guilty to, assault by beating on September 13 2014. He was committed to prison for eight weeks and ordered to pay £80 victim surcharge. He was sentenced to a further two weeks in prison to run concurrently for contravening a suspended sentence of causing £500 damage to a window at the Last Plantagent public house, Granby Street on August 11 2013.

James Harty (34) of Meynells Gorse, Golf Course Lane, Braunstone Frith, pleaded guilty to stealing items worth £200 from the Co-Op, Leicester, on February 5 2014/ He was discharged conditionally for 18 months, and ordered to pay £50 compensation, £35 costs and £15 victim surcharge.

Scott Richardson (23) of Keble Drive, Syston, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause fear of or provoke unlawful violence at Leicester on October 12 2014. He was given a community order including 60 hours unpaid work to be carried out within the next 12 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and £60 victim surcharge.

Conservatives in South Leicestershire have chosen Alberto Costa as their parliamentary candidate for the 2015 General Election.

Mr Costa will replace sitting MP Andrew Robathan following a vote by local party members in Lutterworth today.

Mr Robathan announced earlier this year that he would not be defending his seat next year.

Mr Costa is a lawyer by profession and has worked in Whitehall for Treasury Solicitors representing the Home Secretary and Minister for Justice.

Announcing the news that he had been selected, a spokesman for the party members said the 43-year-old had "pledged that his campaigning priorities will be support for rural communities, improved health services and increased job and business opportunities".

He is married to Maria, a medical scientist, and the couple have two young children, Sophie and Alexander.

The spokesperson added: "At the 2010 General Election Mr Costa stood in Angus returning the highest vote for the Conservative Party in the constituency in 20 years."

Mr Costa said: "I am honoured and delighted to have been chosen as the new Conservative parliamentary candidate for South Leicestershire.

"Andrew Robathan has been a fantastic Member of Parliament and my job over the next six months is to prove to the community that I am a worthy replacement.

"I will be campaigning for protection of amenities in rural Leicestershire and working with doctors to ensure a full range of health services are available for local people including for dementia patients.

"I also want to attract more high quality jobs and apprenticeships to the area."

Mr Robathan said in September that it was time to give a younger candidate a chance.

The 63-year-old, who was first elected in 1992, announced he would not be standing for re-election despite having been re-selected in what is largely thought to be a safe seat.

Mr Robathan told the Mercury at the time: "It has been a major part of my working life and I will miss representing my constituents.

"I will also miss knowing what is going on in the political world.

"If I stayed on, I could be hanging on in at nearly 69 giving the world my pearls of wisdom.

"While I have enjoyed being an MP, inevitably one loses one's enthusiasm, zeal and energy after a time. I have had a good run in politics.

"I have been a Minister of State, I was deputy chief whip for four-and-a-half years.

"I want to find other things to do. I have made the decision but it might be slightly earlier than I may have wished."

Mr Robathan would have been defending a 15,500 majority from the 2010 election.

Here's where you will see mobile speed cameras across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland during the week from Monday, December 8.

B4114 Leicester Road, Enderby 40mph

Sam Bailey will be making a return to the X Factor tonight.

The 37-year-old, of Leicester Forest East, will be performing on tonight's show, as it is revealed which of this year's contestants have made it into next week's live final.

This comes nearly 12 months after Sam, a former ex-prison officer, won the singing competition herself.

The current X Factor champion tweeted at the beginning of the week:"Five days until I'm back on the X Factor stage. Feels like yesterday that I won. This year has been crazy."

5 days til Im back on @TheXFactor stage! Feels like yesterday that I won. This year has been crazy #SamBaileyXFactorhttp://t.co/oOlKLyi5vC

— Sam Bailey Official (@SamBaileyREAL) December 2, 2014

The results show will be on ITV, tonight at 8pm, when semi-finalists Lauren Platt, Fleur East, Ben Haenow and Andrea Faustini find out which of them will not be singing in the live final next week.

Who do you think will win this year? Tweet us: @Leicester_Merc

A rating system for doctors' surgeries that labelled more than one in 10 as "high risk" was flawed, the NHS has admitted.

The "intelligent monitoring" data, from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), came out last month.

Risk levels were worked out using various data from surgeries and their patients' feedback.

However, the CQC has now admitted that several of the methods it used were wrong.

Head of the project Professor Nigel Sparrow has issued an apology, and said a number of changes were now being made to the system.

It is not clear how Leicestershire's ratings will be altered by the review. But Angela Lennox, a St Matthews GP whose surgery scored well in the CQC charts, said the commission's failures were "devastating" for low-scoring surgeries, and disappointing for the public too.

She said: "I was very happy to see the CQC's apology.

"I can appreciate the devastation for a surgery and its patients of being wrongly told it's high risk when it's really the CQC that's high risk.

"They've acknowledged they're still learning, but unfortunately they've acted before testing out their assurance model for the GP market.

"The problem is, we, as GPs, want a good regulator and the public wants one too, which just makes this all the more disappointing."

The CQC is continuing to review feedback following the intelligent monitoring report.

Eric Charlesworth, chairman of the Leicester Mercury Patients' Panel, said the fact there had been an apology suggested the errors were "substantial".

He said: "The NHS aren't good at making apologies, which suggests there were numerous flaws.

"They've made some absolute messes and lots of surgeries have been graded as high risk when they shouldn't have been.

"Before the information was published, plenty of people were already saying the data was faulty. But the CQC went ahead and published these results and that could have serious implications for some practices."

In his statement on Friday, Professor Sparrow said: "The vast majority of GP practices will not be affected by these changes.

"I would like to take this opportunity to reinforce the message that the banding is not a judgement.

"Intelligent monitoring helps us to prioritise our inspection programme as well as informing the questions we will ask during the inspection.

"Intelligent monitoring will never be used in isolation to make a final judgement or produce a rating of a GP practice."

In response to his statement, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, who chairs the GP committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), said: "These failings have the potential to seriously undermine the trust in the system and patients' confidence in their GP and it is only right that all of those practices affected are now contacted and receive a full apology."

He said the intelligent monitoring was using "limited skewed data".

The city council is to put up extra signs advertising Leicester's new car parking prices after a number of motorists were caught out by the change.

A new regime for the cost of car parking began around two weeks ago, offering parking in the city centre from £1 for one hour.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said the measure would simplify a "complex and fiddly" structure. See below for a full list of charges.

Some drivers have however fallen foul of the changes, and as a result picked up parking tickets, which they have complained about.

They include Vicky Jones, who was fined after parking in De Montfort Street on November 25.

She said: "The daily rate was £3.20 for 12 hours.

"On this particular morning I put in my £3.20 and put my ticket on display.

"After four years you tend to become a creature of habit.

"When you use the pay and display before work, you are very unlikely to check how much it is to pay when you have been doing this for years and in a routine just to quickly get into work.

"I did not know they had changed to pricing overnight to £4 for 10 hours.

"I was shocked to receive a parking penalty for this.

"As I walked down this street after work I noticed plenty of cars with exactly the same notice. This surely indicates that they had done enough to notify us of the changes."

A city council spokesman said: "The changes to parking charges were widely publicised and the new tariffs are displayed on the payment machines.

"However, we recognise that in some places we could do more to draw people's attention to the revised charges.

"In light of Ms Jones' complaint, we will be fixing additional clear signs on the machines in these long-stay on-street locations to highlight the new tariffs.

"We have now cancelled the penalty charge notice she received and advise anyone who feels they were similarly unfairly ticketed to contact us as soon as possible."

Churchgoers have also raised concerns about the upcoming end of free parking on Sundays.

Although the charges are not due to start until the end of January, some people thought they commenced with the switch to £1 per hour.

The city council spokesman added: "Parking on-street will continue to be free of charge on Sundays until the end of January.

"What we've found is that short-stay spaces that should be available to people popping into town on a Sunday are being snapped up by those working in the city centre – who should be using long-stay spaces.

"By introducing a small fee of £1 for three hours' parking, we hope to ensure that there is always a short-stay space available on Sundays for anyone wanting to do some shopping, visit a museum, or attend a religious service."

Appeals against parking tickets can be emailed to parkingoffice@leicester.gov.uk or reported to parking services on 0116 454 6300.

PARKING CHARGES IN LEICESTER

Surface Level Car Parks

Granville Road (Victoria Park)

Time 6am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 2 hrs £1

Up to 3 hrs £2

Up to 12 hrs £4

Evening 6pm - Midnight £2

Sundays and Bank Holidays Free

St Margaret's Pastures

Time 6am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 2 hrs £1

Up to 3 hrs £2

Up to 12 hrs £4

Evening 6pm - Midnight Free

Sundays and Bank Holidays £1 for 3hrs maximum

Dover Street 

6am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 1 hr £1

Up to 3 hrs £3

Up to 4 hrs £4

Up to 6 hrs £6

Up to 9 hrs £8

Up to 12 hrs £9

Evening 6pm - Midnight £2

Sundays and Bank Holidays £1 

Phoenix Square

6am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 2 hrs £1

Up to 3 hrs £2

Up to 12 hrs £4

Evening 6pm - Midnight Free

Sundays and Bank Holidays £1 for 3hrs max

Multi-Storey Car Parks

Haymarket and Newarke Street

6am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 1 hr £1

Up to 3 hrs £3

Up to 4 hrs £4

Up to 6 hrs £6

Up to 9 hrs £8

Up to 12 hrs £9

Evening 6pm - Midnight £2

Sunday £1

On-Street Car Parking

Please note that parking on Sundays in on-street spaces will continue to be free of charge until the

end of January 2015.

Centre

7.30am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to1 hr £1

Up to 2 hrs (Max stay 2 hrs) £3

Sunday and Bank Holidays £1 for 3 hrs maximum stay

Outer

7.30am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 2 hrs £1

Up to 3 hrs £2

Sunday and Bank Holidays Free

Long Stay

7.30am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 3 hrs £1

Up to 10½ hours hrs £4

Sunday and Bank Holidays Free

Highfield Street

7.30am – 6pm, Mon – Sat

Up to 3 hrs (Max stay 3 hrs) £1

Sunday and Bank Holidays Free

Conservatives have chosen the candidate they hope will replace their long-standing MP in parliament in May.

Alberto Costa will fight the seat being vacated by Andrew Robathan.

He was chosen in a vote of party members on Saturday, in Lutterworth.

Mr Costa, 43, said: "I am honoured and delighted to have been chosen as the Conservative parliamentary candidate for South Leicestershire.

"Andrew Robathan has been a fantastic Member of Parliament and my job over the next six months is to prove to the community I am a worthy replacement."

Mr Costa, a lawyer, said: "I first visited the House of Commons when I was 16.

"I've been heavily involved in politics for the past 20 or 30 years.

"I feel I can use the skills I have learnt as a lawyer in politics. I can listen to people and understand their problems."

Mr Costa's parents moved to the UK from Italy in the 1960s before he was born.

He grew up in Scotland and now lives in North London but is in the process of moving to Leicestershire.

"I know South Leicestershire very well because of my work," he said.

"I'm very much looking forward to moving there."

Mr Costa and wife Maria have a daughter Sophie, seven, and son Alexander, two.

He said: "Being a younger MP, with children, will help me understand issues."

He said he would be campaigning for protection of amenities in rural Leicestershire and working with doctors to ensure a full range of health services are available, including for dementia patients.

"I have a particular interest in dementia," said Mr Costa.

"More and more people are experiences dementia.

"I speak from family experience. I know it robs people of their personality. It's an ugly illness.

"I want to encourage not only professionals but charities, too, to help and assist dementia patients and their families.

"I also want to encourage businesses to take on and help young people gain the necessary work experience they need.

More than 100 people expressed an interest in succeeding Mr Robathan, 63, who was first elected in 1992.

Police have been asked to investigate an email sent to Leicester city councillors in the wake of a debate they held on the actions of Israel's Government in Palestine and the occupied West Bank.

All of the 54 members of the council received the email, after Labour councillors voted to boycott goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and condemn the action of the Israeli state.

The message was entitled: "Thanks for the Boycott from Adolf."

It began, "I would like to thank you in continuing my work posthumously," and was signed off "From Adolf Hitler".

The Mercury understands at least one councillor forwarded the message to the authority's monitoring officer over concerns it might constitute a hate crime.

The council has confirmed there was a complaint about the email, and that it has been passed to Leicestershire Police for their consideration. Nobody from the force was available to comment on the matter.

Liberal Democrat councillor Nigel Porter said: "I was actually shocked by the content. I contacted the lady who sent it to tell her sending emails like that might get her into a bit of trouble, but she said she did not think Labour should be singling out this issue and I agree with her on that."

The email was sent by Naomi Cohen who is Jewish and lives in Liverpool.

She told the Mercury: "I am glad there have been complaints. I am glad it has gone to the police. I am more than happy for them to come round here and talk to them if they want.

"It wasn't satire, I wasn't trying to be deliberately provocative.

"I was just saying things as I see them.

"I don't agree with or believe in everything Israel does but why is Leicester City Council singling out this issue?

"Why are they boycotting goods they don't even buy?

"This is what happened in the 1930s when people were told not to buy from Jewish shops.

"It is just Israel bashing and Jew hating and I am sick of it."

Leicester's Labour group has strenuously denied its motion was anti-Jewish.

It has said the motion was aimed at the Israeli Government not the Jewish people, and said it was important they showed solidarity with the Palestinians who they say are being oppressed by the Israeli state.

City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has said anyone interpreting the motion as anti-Jewish had grossly misunderstood it.

Labour assistant mayor councillor Manjula Sood, who is chairman of the city's Council of Faiths, said: "It (the email) is one particular person making a protest about the motion.

"The motion was not an attack on the Jewish people. We are working very hard in Leicester to bring faiths together."

She said emails such as the one sent by Mrs Cohen were not helpful.

Tory councillor Ross Grant, who abstained in the vote on the motion, said he raised the email with the council's monitoring officer and was told another member had suggested it was a hate crime.

He said: "I actually don't think it is a hate crime and it is a bit of a waste of police time, but Labour must have known they would get a strong reaction from some people when they chose to make an issue of this in the council chamber."

Councillors held a 70-minute debate on the issue at a full council meeting last month.

The situation in East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank was discussed because Labour's Mohammed Dawood proposed a motion that the council should show solidarity with the Palestinians. He also suggested a council boycott of any goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements.

Opposition members had questioned whether it was appropriate for the matter to be raised in the council chamber.

Councillor Dawood, who visited Jerusalem and the West Bank this year with councillor Patrick Kitterick and city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, said the issues's importance could not be underestimated.

He said: "I know the Knesset (Israel's Parliament) will not be trembling in its shoes and neither will the Israeli state be worried by what we are saying.

"It will show Leicester City Council stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine like we stood against apartheid in South Africa because these people are going through the same thing."

People have been urged to shun rogue traders selling cheap – and probably counterfeit – alcohol and cigarettes in the run-up to Christmas.

Trading standards officials said they expected illegal dealers to approach shopkeepers and homes offering to sell products which could be highly toxic.

Previous seizures by officials at Leicester City Council and their colleagues at the county council have found alcohol which contained dangerous chemicals.

Confiscated cigarettes and rolling tobacco have been found to have been adulterated with substances such as rat droppings, dead flies, arsenic and mould. Ron Ruddock, trading standards manager at the city council, said: "We have people going from shop-to-shop offering alcohol and cigarettes.

"We haven't seized any counterfeit alcohol for a couple of years, but I doubt very much the problem has gone away.

"With the alcohol, the tell-tale signs that something is wrong are often very simple things like the low price and even spelling mistakes on the labels, broken seals or badly applied labels.

"Sometimes the cigarettes are also sold by people walking up and down the street or around markets and car boot sales.

"We would encourage people to not be tempted by the low price of these products simply because they have no idea what they are buying."

Trading standards officials at Leicestershire County Council recently wrote to hundreds of shops to urge them to help the authority track down unscrupulous counterfeiters who go door-to-door selling potentially dangerous alcohol.

The move followed a complaint from a woman who became ill after buying a bottle of apparently counterfeit vodka from a shop in Melton.

Keith Regan, the county council's trading standards operations manager, said: "The retailers can take registration numbers of vans these sellers are in.

"They can also give us descriptions of these shop-to-shop sellers. The important thing is we get the information we need to catch these people.

"This is not a cottage industry, it's organised crime and is happening all the time."

The council also urged people to contact officers if they are aware of anyone selling counterfeit cigarettes.

Councillor Joe Orson, Leicestershire County Council's cabinet member for trading standards, said: "Smoking regulated cigarettes and tobacco is very bad for your health but these counterfeit copies are far worse.

"Often the raw tobacco inside is mixed with potentially deadly chemicals and waste products. You wouldn't eat anything with rat droppings in it – so why would you smoke it?

"People will think that they've bagged a bargain as these products are sold well under the usual market rate.

"But the damage they cause can have a much greater cost."

A nurse who went to the aid of a collapsed man in a shopping centre says she is shocked it did not have a defibrillator.

Claire Jackson, of Melton, helped a man at the Haymarket Shopping Centre, in Leicester, on Saturday.

Claire, 35, said after ringing for an ambulance she asked staff to get her a defibrillator – just in case it was needed.

"I was told there wasn't a defibrillator on site," she said.

"I was shocked, surprised. I guess I just expected there to be one as it's such a big place, with so many people in."

Claire said she reassured the patient, who had chest pains and put him in the recovery position.

"It's worrying there wasn't a defibrillator at hand," she said.

"Luckily, I didn't need it but if the man had had a heart attack there and then, it could have saved his life.

"I live in Melton and there are two available in the town centre and it's a much smaller place than Leicester.

"I would really like it if there was one there in the future."

A spokesman from the Haymarket Shopping Centre said it had received a defibrillator less than two weeks ago. However, it is yet to be tested.

He said: "East Midlands Ambulance Service will be at the shopping centre in January to train our staff in how to use the defibrillator.

"The recommendation from the British Heart Foundation is that the ambulance service should check the machine prior to it being put into service.

"Until that time, the machine will not be in service."

A dozen members of staff will be trained in January.

"We will be ready and able to use it to help people if they are in urgent need of assistance before a paramedic can get to them," the spokesman said..

The defibrillator will be located on the first floor of the shopping centre, next to the security office which is always manned.

He said: "As the security team is on site 24 hours a day – even when the centre is closed to the public but accessible by our retailers and their contractors – there should always be someone on site who has been trained to use it.

"East Midlands Ambulance Service and its paramedics will also be aware that we have one and where it is."

A 14-year-old boy was punched and had a can of beer poured over him while being robbed by two drunken men in Leicester's Abbey Park.

The muggers, Mustafa Raza Hanif (22) and Muhammed Ayub Osman (21), were caught after a patrolling police community support officer chanced upon the scene.

Both pleaded guilty to robbing the boy of two mobile phones, a house key and five pounds, on September 13.

Hanif and Osman, both of Earl Howe Street, Highfields, Leicester, were each jailed for two years.

The victim suffered a cut right ear, a cut nose and dizziness, the city's crown court was told.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Hammond said: "There was violence involved and the victim was a vulnerable 14-year-old boy.

"To pour beer over a young lad is a most demeaning, unpleasant and humiliating thing to do.

"He's now scared when he goes out that he'll be robbed.

"Offences like this often make people reluctant to go to parks in city centres, fearing they'll be robbed.

"The courts have a duty to protect the public from violent robbers."

Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said that at 5.30pm the victim was playing football on the park with two friends when the defendants, who were drinking cans of beer, approached them.

They started pushing the two friends around.

The victim intervened and was then surrounded by warehouse worker Hanif and unemployed Osman, as the two footballing friends left the scene.

Mr Murphy said: "The victim was led to a nearby tree where and told to sit on the ground.

"Osman sat next to him whilst Hanif demanded his mobile phones, telling him if he didn't hand them over he was going to be hit.

"The boy refused and Hanif punched him with his fist.

"He then took two mobile phones worth a total of £165, a key and five pounds.

"PCSO Richard Jones, who was on cycle patrol in the park, heard voices and a disturbance in some bushes.

"When he went towards that area he saw Osman aiming kicks at something or someone, but couldn't see what.

"The boy emerged shouting he'd been robbed and hit.

"The defendants, on seeing the officer, made off, but other officers arrested them nearby.

"When detained, Osman said he was going to co-operate and pointed to some bushes where one mobile phone and the house key were recovered.

"Hanif told the police he went to the park to drink, not just to commit a robbery."

The second phone and five pounds were never recovered.

Shital Modhwadia, mitigating for both defendants, said: "It's the first time they've been to a court.

"The offence was unplanned and opportunistic - and there's evidence of remorse because they readily cooperated with the police.

"Both men feel they've let their families down."

A cosmetic surgery service has revealed where the top places were that they performed breast enlargements operations in the first nine months of 2014.

And although it might not have reached the top spot but Leicester is definitely in the top 10.

At number seven, nearly 100 people received boob operations in Leicester, according to Clinic Compare.

Liverpool topped the table, with 145 procedures, followed by Birmingham, with 131 operations.

Here is a full list:

1.Liverpool 

2. Birmingham

3. Leeds

4. Hampshire

5. Glasgow

6. Staffordshire

7. Leicester

8. Manchester

9. Cornwall

10. County Durham

Leicester also positioned seventh in the 'weight loss surgery' table too.

Nearly 30 people had weight loss surgery according to the survey, within the first nine months of 2014.

Birmingham clinched the title with 42 operations, followed closely by Glasgow, with 40 procedures.

Here is a full list:

1. Birmingham

2. Glasgow

3. Leeds

4. Staffordshire

5 Hampshire

6. Croydon

7. Leicester

8. Liverpool

9. Manchester

10. County Durham

Are you surprised with the results? Or did you expect Leicester to feature in the top 10 for both procedures? Tweet us: @Leicester_Merc or visit our Facebook page.