A new Lord Mayor is at the centre of a row after she warned that she could cancel engagements unless her “disgusting” chains of office were re-gilded.

Leaked emails also suggest that Sonja Crisp, a Labour councillor in York who took up the mayoral position this year, said that she would “have no option but to stay put” unless the council found her alternative city centre accommodation during a £1.6m refurbishment of York’s historic Mansion House.

“Just a gentle reminder that I am the Lord Mayor, the first citizen, the rightful resident of the Mansion House and I have rights too,” said Crisp in one of a number of emails which appear to lift the lid on tensions between her and officials.



In another email, Crisp said she was not going to wear her travelling chains of office until she had written confirmation they were to be re-gilded, claiming: “They are in a disgusting state.”



In a further email, she claimed she had twice fallen ill and warned: “Those episodes I believe are in no small part due to the stress and extra worry and work that my treatment by the council is causing me.”

Crisp issued a statement in the wake of the leak, which was reported by the York Press, saying: “I am deeply concerned at any embarrassment to the Lord Mayoralty this may cause.

“My only intention throughout my time in office is to try to preserve the dignity and position of the office of Lord Mayor for the future of the city.

“I was very keen that the chains of office were re-gilded after more than one person reported to me that they were looking in very poor condition. The history of those chains needs to be preserved for future generations.”

She added that there had been savings from the Mansion House closing, and that she had asked for part of the unspent budget to be used to source a one-bed apartment to provide a place to rest and “freshen up” between engagements.