Brent Council’s claims that logo change is a first is untrue

The Times discovers this is the second redesign in 47 years

Brent Council appear to have had a ‘memory lapse’ over claims that they hadn’t changed their logo since they were established.

The local authority axed their 47-year-old crest in favour of a new design to reflect modern day Brent.

It also said there had not been a change in logo since the formation of the borough in 1965.

But the Times has discovered another logo was introduced for a brief period in and around 1990 and 1991 just before the Conservative Party took over the council.

According to Cllr Paul Lorber, leader of Brent Liberal Democrat group, the logo was scrapped and replaced with its predecessor by the Tories following Labour defections.

Of the old logo, he said: “Brent became a ‘b’ in a green circle and each department could then add their departmental name below the line.

“Any new council vehicle purchased during the time showed the new green logo.”

Opinions have been divided on the council’s new logo since it was introduced.

The traditional coat of arms and the ‘forward together’ motto were dropped in favour of the new effort designed to reflect a modern day Brent.

The council claim the new design cost just �2,000.

A spokesman admitted the logo had been temporarily changed, adding: “Our press release said ‘Brent’s official identity has remained largely unchanged since 1965,’ which sounds like an accurate description of the situation - this logo was in use for a just a short period, the old logo was in use for decades.”