Bharat Pankhania
Bharat Ramji Nathoo Pankhania (born October 1960)[1] is a British physician, academic and politician who served as Mayor of Bath from 2025 to 2026.
| Mayor of Bath | |
|---|---|
| In office | 7 June 2025– 30 March 2026 |
| Member of Bath and North East Somerset Council for Combe Down | |
| Term began | 2 May 2019 |
| Preceded by | Cherry Beath |
| Birth name | Bharat Ramji Nathoo Pankhania |
| Born | 1960 (age 66) |
| Birthplace | Kenya |
| Political party | Independent (2026–present) |
| Other party | Liberal Democrats (until 2026) |
| Occupation | Physician, academic, politician |
| Known for | Public health medicine; Mayor of Bath (2025–2026) |
Dr. Bharat Pankhania was born in Kenya to an Indian family from Gujarat. When Pankhania was 14, the family immigrated to Leicester, England.[2] Bharat moved to Bath, Somerset in 1991, and to Combe Down in 2008.[3]
Pankhania qualified from the Welsh Nation Schools of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales and trained as a General Practitioner in 1989. He trained in Public Health Medicine and specialised in infectious diseases and Communicable Disease Control and worked in the field in the UK.[3][4] In 2020, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he became known as a public-health commentator on public health issues including infection control and vaccination policy[5][6][7] and also published academic scholarship in this regard.[8] He joined the University of Exeter Medical School in 2017 and served as a senior clinical lecturer until 2026,[9] leaving following the social media posts controversy regarding the 2026 Hatzola arson attack.[10] In 2022, Pankhania was appointed Director of the Bath Royal Literary and scientific institution trustees.[1]
Pankhania was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for Combe Down ward on Bath and North East Somerset Council in the 2019 local elections.[11] He was re-elected in 2023,[12] and served as Deputy Mayor before being elected as the 798th Mayor of Bath, Somerset[13] on 7 June 2025 by the city's charter trustees. He was the first person of Indian heritage to hold the office.[2][14] He served as Mayor of Bath from June 2025 to March 2026.[15] His theme for the year was 'Education is Empowerment'.[9]
In late March 2026, shortly after the arson attach of four ambulances operated by the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola in Golders Green, London, Pankhania shared posts on his personal X account, describing the attack that is being treated as an antisemitic hate crime by the Metropolitan Police,[16] as an 'Israeli false flag operation'. Other posts Pankhania later shared called the attack insurance fraud. Pankhania was subsequently suspended[17] from the Bath and North East Somerset (Banes) council by the Liberal Democrat party and was set to take training in “equalities and social media conduct” following the retweets.[18] Pankhania later resigned from both his party and the mayorship. He was the first Bath mayor to resign since 1937.[15][18][19] Pankhania subsequently apologised for the posts[15][20] and deleted them.[10][17]
As of June 2026, he remains an independent councillor on the Bath and North East Somerset Council.[10][18]
Pankhania is married to Alison[13] and they share two children.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Bharat PANKHANIA personal appointments”. GOV.UK. (en) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 (12 June 2025). “Ceremony held to welcome Bath's 798th Mayor”. Bath Echo.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Robinson, Maria. (2024-10-02). “Portrait of Bath: Dr. Bharat Pankhania”. The Bath Magazine. (en-GB) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ “Principles of Health Protection - Meet the Team”. Exeter Medical School. (en-US) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ Collier, Emma. (31 March 2020). “Frontline NHS staff across South West hospitals 'frightened' over lack of protective equipment, says former health boss”. ITV News.
- ↑ Cook, Joe. (14 February 2021). “Talk of opening pubs in April is premature, health expert warns”. LBC.
- ↑ “Covid-19: After Lockdown, with Dr. Bharat Pankhania”. Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution. (en-GB) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ Osama, Tasnime. Pankhania, Bharat. Majeed, Azeem. (2020-05-01). “Protecting older people from COVID-19: should the United Kingdom start at age 60?”. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. ISSN 1758-1095. PMID 32315559. PMC 7366331. vol. 113. no. 5. pp. 169–170. doi:10.1177/0141076820921107.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 (11 July 2025). “New Mayor of Bath Professor Bharat Pankhania visits campus”. University of Bath.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Sinclair, Annabel. “Bath mayor leaves University of Exeter after antisemitic conspiracy row”. Jewish News. (en-US) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ (2019-05-02). “Election results by Wards,2 May 2019”. democracy.bathnes.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ (2026-06-08). “Councillor details - Councillor Bharat Pankhania”. democracy.bathnes.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 (2025-06-05). “New Mayor & Deputy Mayor of the City Of Bath”. Bath Abbey. (en-GB) Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ (11 June 2025). “History-making Mayor of Bath says diversity is our strength”. Yahoo News UK.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Grierson, Jamie. (2026-03-31). “Mayor of Bath resigns after posts suggesting London ambulance fires were Israeli ‘false flag’”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. (en-GB) Retrieved 2026-05-18.
- ↑ (23 March 2026). “Investigation launched after arson attack on ambulances in Golders Green”. Metropolitan Police. Retrieved 2026-06-08.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Hayhurst, Claire. Minchin, Rod. (1 April 2026). “Mayor of Bath resigns over social media posts”. The Independent.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporting Service. “Mayor of Bath resigns over retweet row”. Hits Radio (West of England). (en) Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ (2026-03-31). “Bath mayor resigns after sharing posts claiming Jewish ambulance arson was false flag”. The latest National and International News - upday News. (en-gb) Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- ↑ Davison, Tamara. (2026-03-26). “Mayor apologises for post over north London ambulance attack”. The Standard. (en) Retrieved 2026-05-18.