I was sceptical at first, but a commenter called ‘dog in the street’ first raised it on this thread about Lutfur Rahman’s mayoral advisers here.
After finally getting it confirmed through a council source (Takki Sulaiman’s press office refused to comment), I wrote this in the Sunday Express’s Crossbencher diary column at the weekend.
OH, HOW the mighty are fallen. Labour’s former Justice and later Communities minister Shahid Malik, who lost his seat in Dewsbury in 2010 after it emerged he had claimed £730 on expenses for a massage chair and another £2,600 on a home cinema system, is now scrounging for work at Britain’s supposedly cash-starved councils.
Crossbencher has discovered he is working as an official “equalities” adviser for the controversial Independent mayor of Tower Hamlets, in east London, where he is being paid £200 a day. When we asked the council how he was appointed and for examples of his work, it refused to say, refusing even to confirm he existed.
So, there we are. An ex-Labour minister is advising Lutfur for one day a week on £200.
If someone can find the advert placed for this job, can they please send it me because I’m curious. I’m also puzzled why a council that prides itself on its equalities issues – and which has an army of staff dealing with such matters – feels it needs an extra body.
Malik used to work for the Commission for Racial Equality and was cleared of any wrongdoing with his expenses.
Trial by Jeory 
You sound surprised, Ted. Isn’t it clear that birds of a feather flock together? As do odious little rats, who have something slightly nasty-smelling about them concerning expenses and luxury goods purchased with them. And – as you rightly point out – who are scrutinised about these shady matters and are miraculously cleared of them!
Good spot Dog on the Street. I was wondering what happened to Malik just the other day. Now I know.
Tim,
I see you’ve taken a more subtle approach than your ‘it’s an Asian thing’ line which understandably caused such outrage last time!
I don’t quite get the angle of this article.
On the one hand, you say that we don’t need him.
Yet you flag up that he was a Justice minister, and a Communities minister, and worked for the CRE.
Sounds like he’s got the right CV for the job, at any rate.
I’d like to know how he got the job, why he himself wanted to be part of Lutfur’s group for just £200 a week, and why the job is needed.
Again, I make the point that Tower Hamlets seems to do ok on equalities matters so if I were an officer I’d be pretty peeved about another non-borough resident coming in.
However, there is one area where the council is failing on such matters – Lutfur’s cabinet.
I don’t have the stats but it’s often the case that for any given council most of the officers won’t live in the borough. Of course it’s a shame, but the appointment of one more such officer is hardly going to rock the boat. Take a look at this “story” from Islington: http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/most_council_employees_live_outside_islington_1_932851
I see tomorrow afternoon, 2 PM in room E119 Royal Courts of Justice, before Master Leslie, a case called ‘Abbas -v- London Bangla Ltd’. Is this what it appears to be?
David Boothroyd
Does anyone have an update on this hearing? It isn’t a topic EEL would be authorised to cover..