Swindon Tory Mayor Nick Martin Resigns After Asking If Disabled 'Mongols' Should Have Sex

The Conservative mayor of Swindon has resigned after he called disabled people "Mongols" and questioned whether they should be allowed to have sex.

In a letter to Swindon Council's Borough solicitor Stephen Taylor, mayor Nick Martin said: "It is with regret that I submit my resignation as Mayor of the Borough of Swindon with immediate effect."

The Swindon Advertiser reports he added: "Following the accusations against me, I have cooperated with the independent Standards investigation, I have accepted the findings, I have made new apologies and am abiding by the other recommendations from the Standards Assessment Panel."

Martin was accused by Labour councillors of saying: "are we still letting Mongols have sex with each other?"

He told the BBC last week that he had apologised and that the term was one he "was brought up with". He added: ""I'm sorry, I'm human, and I don't know what is wrong with my apologies."

However Richard Hawkes, the chief executive of the disability charity Scope, had said the apology missed the point. "This is about deep-seated ignorance towards disabled people and a lack of acceptance that disabled people have sex lives, which can be just as fulfilling - or unfulfilling - as anyone else's," he said.

"Of course he should apologise for using this offensive term. But this isn't just about political correctness and using the wrong words. Disturbingly, he has insinuated that there is something wrong with disabled people having sex with each other."