Labour councillor Jamila Azad has been suspended from the party after claiming that she had received a Covid vaccination from a private doctor.

Ms Azad, elected to represent both Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council, has since pulled down the Facebook status from her social media page.

Currently the vaccine is only permitted to be administered by the NHS. It is illegal for it to be administered outside of the service.

Ms Azad said she did not want to comment.

The original Facebook post showed Ms Azad and another woman receiving injections from a man in medical scrubs and PPE, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The comment said it was a “Private Care Doctor for Covid 19 vaccine”

It added: “A long wait for NHS waiting list. We had take away from Akber take away.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency had only authorised COVID-19 vaccinations for use through the NHS.

Illegal

A government spokesman added: “It would be illegal to administer vaccines outside of the NHS and, if this happened, the MHRA would take enforcement action.”

It is unclear where Azad may have received the vaccine apparently administered by a private doctor.

Councillors Susan Brown and Liz Brighouse, the leaders of the Labour groups at Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council respectively, issued a joint statement in relation to the post.

It said: “Following a recent post on her Facebook account about her Covid-19 vaccination, Councillor Jamila Azad has been suspended by the whips of both the Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council Labour groups, pending further investigation.

“Councillor Azad has now removed the post in question.

“We will be making no further comment on this matter until formal investigations into it have been completed.”