The company that told north London Jewish residents they had to take down their mezuzot from their doors has been condemned for causing them "great offence and distress" by the local mayor.
Warwick Estates apologised to residents of Cedarwood Court, near Stamford Hill, for threatening to remove the scrolls of parchment, which Jewish families customarily hang on their front doors, and bill the leaseholders for the cost of removal.
It said a letter it had sent to them threatening this was "overzealous" and "not in keeping with our business values".
But on Monday, Hackney mayor Philip Glanville wrote to Warwick Estates, saying he was "genuinely surprised by the unthoughtfulness of the request".