8.15am…This has just come to me. At 8am this morning a number of specially appointed auditors from PriceWaterhouseCooopers arrived at Tower Hamlets town hall in Mulberry Place on the express orders of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Eric Pickles has heard enough and he has now put his words into action.
Officials at DCLG have been watching Tower Hamlets extremely carefully for many months, amassing their own evidence.
The BBC Panorama documentary on Monday was the final straw. Evidence amassed from that programme, and not just that relating to the broadcast itself, is also being examined.
I understand PwC’s people are taking away boxes of files relating to the grants process and the disposal of assets, probably including the sale of Poplar Town Hall.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman is due to hold an anti-Panorama rally in Stepney on Saturday. I suspect the tension will be ratcheted up.
More on all this later, but spare a thought for interim officer Meic Sullivan-Gould, who’s missing all this fun having flown to Japan…where they know what to do in these sorts of circumstances…
I’ve written a more detailed account for Express.co.uk here.
And here are the letters sent from DCLG to the council and PwC.
Let’s hope that this is a real investigation and not just a face saving exercise for Pickles.
Newspaniard, you are a cynic. And your cynicism is matched only by mine, as I share your feelings entirely.
If it is a proper investigation then it will indeed be very good news. And perhaps they’d like to have a proper look at vote-rigging, connections with Channel S and misuse of council resources as well.
Tim.
touche guys……should I hold my breath or not…what do you reckon…. ahhhhhh I’m holding….
[…] cross post is from the Trial by Jeory blog. Seems only fitting that Ted Jeory should be the one to break this […]
This is wonderful news.
When they have finshed there perhaps they could nip around to 18a Victoria Park Square in Bethnal Greeen and ask Operation Black Vote where all of the £300 000 they had for Black Londoners Forum went. The days when money could be stolen by ethnic minorities who would then scream racism are over.
I’m going to start an online petition for an investigation into the Lee Grasper missing millions, it’s never too late.
REJOICE REJOICE REJOICE
They’re actually ringing the bells in Spitalfields
Imagine what would happen if the auditors find nothing!
If it’s a full and fair investigation and the auditors find nothing then a lot of my concerns will be assuaged, as will many other peoples’. The problem is that a lot of what has gone on appears to be very very iffy; if, in fact, it stands up to thorough scrutiny then everyone will be very relieved.
Tim.
They would have to be going round with their eyes closed to find nothing in Lutfur’s Town Hall. Well, either that or the shredders got whirring at 7am this morning.
grenvillemills
Well if one has dodgy files on the system’s disks, every time one makes a change to any of those files, the old version will remain but not be shown in the file list and a brand new version of that file will be stored in another part of the disk. Thus two copies and possibly an automatic backup copy of the file will exist.
Multiple over-writing of files in situ then removal of the files and then removal of the directories will probably remove traces.. Software truncation of file lengths is unlikely to prevent the contents being extracted. Forensic data recover means ignoring the file system hierarchy and reading disk sectors.
English local authorities use M$ instead if Linux, because M$ is a lot more expensive and spending other people’s money is what local authorities excel.at.
Local authority computer staff are usually unimpressive and have inflated ideas of their own computer abilities and knowledge. Seems they are inflicted with the Micro$oft delusion.
Do we agree “evidence” in one form or in another is likely to be found. ::-)
Curious Cat.
Confirm
Auditors will only be able to follow paper trail……if there’s no paper trail…all they can say is that funds went missing but don’t know where…. I still think that govs are weary of being seeing racist which, fraud is fraud which anyone can commit. Thieves come in all shapes and sizes and gender
Not strictly correct – I’m pretty sure this is going to be a case of the absence of an adequate audit trail documenting the criteria for decision-making and robust follow through according to accepted standards.
The very absence of such documentation is what proves the case.
So maybe not so much following the documentation as waiting to see whether any can be produced.
Also it’s worth adding that an audit trail nowadays is both paper and digital. If hard copies of potential evidence cannot be found, electronic records will still exist in whatever media format was used. i.e., unless a factory format of the hard drives has taken place even deleted data leaves a digital footprint that a competent auditor will uncover.
grenvillemills wrote:-
Not true. Linux, a superior operating systems to Micro$oft including Windoze, offers several erase facilities making hard disk (HDD) data unrecoverable.
LBTH is probably a Micro$oft user.
In Micro$oft, a DELETE only changes the first character of the file name in the directory’s index table to a question mark. The data remains intact until overwritten by another file. There has never been a genuine DELETE in Micro$oft software.
What one has to consider is the existence of daily saves of corporate data. Then there are weekly and monthly saves too. It would be astonishing if any files later “deleted” did not have a virgin copy on the daily, weekly or monthly saves.
Curious Cat.
Curious Cat wrote:
‘Not true. Linux, a superior operating systems to Micro$oft…’
My post is sufficiently valid, in the context of the issue. Even if THBC is running Linux, the overhead if initiating a shred or any erase command on what must be thousands of individual files each requiring truncation/random or zero overwrite and then removal would be huge. So huge in fact, we would have to be looking at a widespread IT conspiracy, which in reality I doubt exists.
If incriminating data was saved, baring in mind the context of timeline and multiple applications (including email), an investigation at this level should be able to retrieve it. Your point is pedantic. I would expect the audit team discover evidence of this data if it was created.
Good news that the council is being audited. Just a shame it’s PwC – sadly I have no faith in the big 4 given their track record. The NAO should really have been used, but that would have probably meant Pickles losing face over the abolishment of the Audit Commission…
There’s a lot riding on this. The first time Pickles has got to act as the Audit Commission after he abolished it! No way will he want egg on his face.
Speaking personally, I’m very much of the opinion that he hasn’t issued this directive without being very sure they will find something. In fact I wouldn’t mind betting that he’s been holding off from doing something so he maximises the impact of his new powers…….
I’d also be very, very sure that PwC are going to put their very best people on this job.
They will want to deliver a very impressive performance.
The Mayor of our borough is organising a ‘rally’ against panarama. Ted how did you find out about this? sounds like an event which could very easily be turned into bengali vs white. It is disgusting that the mayor would knowingly organise something like that. Maybe he wants that to happen because it would make him look like the victim. Misdirection??
I hope that people do the right thing and stay away from this blatant attempt to stir up racial hatred.
What race is he attempting to stir up hatred against?
oldford1 you are so wilfully disingenuous and it stinks. What sort of twisted reality do you really inhabit?
Ohh for petes sake OldFord…your replies are insulting to others intelligence
Its his lot (Oldford lot) Grave Maurice that created this ruddy mess that was taken advantage of by this thieving monster…not that they’d ever admit any guilt, culpability or dare I say shame
Jay Kay, this has happened because they know what they are looking for. It’s not going to be a repeat of the Lee Grasper scam where there were no records just missing money. I wonder what Livingstone is making of all of this.
Is it know what the parameters of the investigation are? Which sets of allegations are being looked at?
Allegations regarding the canvassers pretending to be from the council/THH? The relationship with local media? Rahman’s human rights regarding answering questions? Postal vote fraud? Decent Homes works being steered to blocks that voted for Rahman? Grant-supported organisations being expected to canvass for THF? Or is it just the way public funds and assets are dished out?
You can be pretty sure it’s limited to the observance of proper process and scrutiny and properly documented audit trails in relation to the disbursement of public money and compliance with all related and relevant legislation.
Has the Mayor said it’s racist and Islamaphobic yet?
If he’s got any sense he won’t say anything at the moment.
Is there any truth in the rumour I heard this morning that His Excellence, Mayor Rahman, has been arrested and is currently being interviewed under caution at Limehouse nick?
F**k me – if that is the case then I’ll pop the champers immediately. That would be the best news I have heard in a very long time.
Tim.
Behave Graham. That’s not the case.
Shame. That nearly made my weekend.
Damn. It’s doing the rounds in SW1A!
please please please
They’re looking into the sale of council owned buildings, grant decisions, publicity spending, and how contracts are awarded.
If the auditors come up with nothing much then it will be a massive victory for the mayor.
If they do find evidence of wrongdoing then what’s the worse that can happen to those involved? – not much I guess.
Anyone know how this will affect the elections? The auditors investigation report not due ’till end of June.
If this comes to trial the likelihood is that not just T Dan Lutfur, but a number of his councillors, funders and advisors would also face prosecution.
In the event that any of these peopel get re-elected the following applies:
If any one gets banged up, they get kicked out of office and we have a by-election (c/f Shelina Akt(h)ar).
Were any elected members found guilty of fraud under an offence which has the possibility of a custodial sentence (whether they serve time or not) they would be barred from public office for ten years.
Fraud is broadly described under three headings in the 2006 Fraud Act
– false representation
– failure to disclose information
– abuse of position
Arguably at least the second and third have taken place, and the first (in the case of the dodgy canvassers) may have been directed.
ergo Ria why I’m not holding my breath….
If it meets the legal hurdle to be termed fraud then the next step is a criminal prosecution – subject to the DPP accepting that there is sufficient evidence.
GOLLY :-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-):-)
Curious Cat
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Government Press Release
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/inspectors-appointed-to-investigate-london-borough-of-tower-hamlets
Secretary of State appoints inspectors to look into allegations made against Tower Hamlets.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, has today (4 April 2014) appointed inspectors to look into allegations of governance failure, poor financial management and fraud at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Serious concerns have been raised following the receipt of certain documents. Using new laws that came into effect today the Secretary of State, acting in the public interest, has exercised his legal power today to appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to carry out an inspection of the council. A file is being passed onto the Metropolitan Police for consideration.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers inspection will look into evidence of the authority’s payment of grants, the transfer of property, spending decisions in relation to publicity, and other contractual processes from 25 October 2010 to the present day.
Eric Pickles said:
It is a matter of public record that I have long been concerned about a worrying pattern of divisive community politics and alleged mismanagement of public money by the mayoral administration in Tower Hamlets.
Following the receipt of a number of documents, I am now taking legal steps, in the public interest, to appoint inspectors to look into the allegations in respect of Tower Hamlets.
I hope this sends a strong signal that robust processes are in place to investigate allegations of failures in financial management and governance in local government, under the new regime introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act which replaces the Audit Commission.
This central action is not undertaken lightly, but localism requires local transparency, scrutiny and accountability, and these vital checks and balances must be upheld.
Tower Hamlets had been duly informed and PricewaterhouseCoopers is already on site. The inspectors have a legal right to access all premises and documents belonging to the authority which appear necessary for the purposes of inspection.
Further information
(1) These steps have been taken using statutory powers under the Local Government Act 1999, as amended by the new Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, which relate to a local authority’s functions in respect of governance.
The new provisions commenced today, as part of the wider abolition of the Audit Commission.
(2) Section 10 of the Act provides power to the Secretary of State to appoint inspectors to carry out an inspection into a local authority’s compliance with its best value duty.
(3) Section 12 of the Act provides that the authority to be inspected must pay PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP reasonable fee for carrying out the inspection.
(4) Section 15 of the Act provides powers to the Secretary of State to intervene in the running of the council, should he consider that necessary, in light of the inspector’s findings.
(5) PricewaterhouseCoopers will report its findings to the Secretary of State by 30 June 2014.
(6) While the investigation is ongoing it would be inappropriate for the government to comment any further.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Looks like Gilligan is turning his attentions to LBTH again after a long period of silence.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100266083/lutfur-rahmans-muslim-favouritism-the-evidence/
Tim.
Section 11 (see DCLG letter) sounds rather fun…
I can’t wait for the criminal charges. I see on Twitter that the (soon to be) ex-mayor “welcomes” the decision to “visit” Tower Hamlets.
I hope they search his house.
About time!
One of the very interesting things about this sort of audit job is it’s hard to keep the competitive element out. The big firms like to win big contracts and they absolutely love jobs when they’re going in to do a vetting of the scope for another firm to have found an audit trail relating to malpractice as much as the vetting of the corporate practices themselves. In other words will there be scope to say another firm of auditors did a pretty poor job.
By the same token, I’m guessing the current auditors KPMG are going to be pretty upset. Let’s not forget that the former major auditing firm Arthur Andersen went out of business on a global basis re. their failure to audit Enron properly – and pretty soon afterwards new laws and regulations meant corporate governance standards were also strengthened on a global basis.
[The current auditors are KPMG The website indicates the auditor for the 2012/3 accounts is Andrew Sayers, Audit Partner, KPMG, 12th Floor, 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GL. see http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/10001-10100/10067_annual_account.aspx. ] I should think they’d be good for a quote Ted!
Bottom line there is a lot on the line here which has nothing to do with LBTH per se. There is potential here for PwC’s local government business to get a very big boost and KMPG’s might get a very big wallop. It all depends on how good KPMG have been as auditors. They’re both good firms – its anybody’s guess as to what will happen.
I’m guessing – but I’m wondering if there has been some undercover whistle blowing direct to Pickles going on. That’s the sort of thing that might have happened if the current auditors failed to pick up malpractice.
That said, you can be very sure that there will be a lot more overt whistle blowing going on right now and in the near future as people seek to ensure that they’ve got their own backs covered.
At an absolute minimum it’s an absolute dead cert that PwC will come back saying that any failure to behave in a transparent and objective way with respect to the handling of government funds is not on. To be honest given what we know about the grants process I can’t really see how the grants process will come out smelling sweetly.
The really interesting aspect is the notion of police involvement. I guess the thinking behind the removal of the surcharge is that if councillors act illegally and in a fraudulent way that there are adequate powers available under other legislation. These would of course then be criminal prosecutions.
We’re well aware from other prosecutions of councillors in Tower Hamlets that the Courts on the whole take an extremely dim view of Councillors mishandling public money.
Where there is out and out fraud we know that the Courts take the view that if an individual is a holder of public office, then raises the stakes when it comes to sentencing. The higher you go the higher the fall from grace.
My personal view is that Pickles would not have taken this action unless he was pretty sure there were enough indications that there was some element of wrong-doing. Nobody wants to take this sort of action only to end up with egg in their face.
That would mean they’d have had somebody go over the evidence presented to date as to a prima facie case – and they’re now going in to dredge out the records and to check out what they’ve been told.
Finally – the timing is interesting.
The report can’t be produced prior to the election according to the announcements to date. That’s not to say that there might not be a preliminary report if some evidence emerged pretty quickly.
The issue then would be was it evidence which related to a criminal prosecution – in which case there could be an argument which says that the longer the public has to wait for a report, the more likely it is that it will result in criminal prosecutions.
Think News of the World and the Murdoch press re what happened there between investigations, what sort of announcements were made, when charges were levied and when it came to court.
My last thought on this topic – I think Pickles will currently have the government lawyers looking long and hard at the scope of his powers to remove a directly elected Mayor from office.
Should make for a very interesting election!
I forgot to say – I’m reading the scope of the auditors’ work as including the operation of the Standards Committee and what it was replaced with as an adequate check on the operation of an independently elected Mayor.
Scrutiny is in my opinion part of the contractual process. It’s certainly the aspect which should highlight matters of concern – and hence if there were matters of concern, the next question must be why were these not picked up in-house by (a) Scrutiny processes and (b) by the appointed auditor.
I should imagine that Rahman’s failure to answer questions in Council, failure to appear before Overview and Scrutiny, the conduct of the internal and external auditors and the views of those involved in the scrutiny process should ALL be matters which will also be subject to review
In Ted’s previous blog ‘Betrayal and Panorama’ (http://bit.ly/1mKbl1f) I explained that the Standards Advisory Committee and the associated processes for overseeing Member’s Code of Conduct were no longer fit for purpose.
For example, (whilst on the Committee) I raised current issues of concern including the unacceptable delay is receiving any report covering the sale Poplar Town Hall, lack of tangible Election oversight, down to unacceptable behaviour at Council meetings. Nothing progressed, and in my humble view it was a waste of my time. This has no reflection incidently on the Committee Members; it was the process that proved totally ineffective.
Therefore, and not for the first time, but now with insight from within the citadel as it were, I reported my concern directly to the DCLG together with supporting documentation. I was equally concerned that senior officers of the Council had not reported the failings of both the Standards and Scrutiny Committees to the DCLG.
grenvillemills
I sincerely hope you will contact the relevant House of Commons committee carrying-out an investigation into the Tower Hamlets disaster and offer to give oral evidence. That is the best place for the failing public officials to be named.
The process has not yet started but it will. The House of Commons (Parliament actually) telephone number is 020-7219 3000.
Curious Cat.
Ack’d
Thank you.
Errrm, where are the Lutfurite Trolls? I wonder how many of his people will suddenly have urgent family / business affairs to attend to and not be around for the next few months?
Good question Graham – I was wondering exactly the same thing. On the other hand it is Friday.
oldford1 is Marc Francis on the take from Lutfur Rahman
He’s also a blithering idiot and a poor excuse for a human being. His comments on this blog bring his judgement into serious question.
Tim.
Over to you Marc Francis.
These saboteurs usually work in pairs… Anyone seen Dan McCurry lately? He’s strangely quiet…
Always interesting to see what Local Government Chronicle makes of big local government stories – this one will be tracked by Councils across England
http://www.lgcplus.com/briefings/corporate-core/governance/breaking-pickles-sends-inspectors-into-tower-hamlets/5069670.article
It has some interesting quotes
and here’s Dave Hill on today’s hot topic
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2014/apr/04/eric-pickles-inspectors-tower-hamlets-lutfur-rahman
He also censors any comments he doesn’t like. I am barred permanently. Dave, why don’t you allow a discussion of the fact that you are creep who has only got a blog on the Grauniad because of your wife? Or are you hidng behind her skirts and her salary?
To those who are unfamiliar with Mr T M Mullah of Brick Lane’s reference, here is the enlightening illumination ….. by Dave Hill, of course
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/davehillblog/2009/mar/05/london-evening-standard
His blog post tells us nothing.
East London Advertiser – with quotes from the MPs
http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/politics/mayor_lutfur_rahman_welcomes_government_inspection_invites_pickles_to_tower_hamlets_1_3522470
Never mind the boring East London Advertiser and the biased and racist Guardian, other national news outlets, police and the Secretary of State and his gang, I’m dying to read the whole truthful story in the wonderful East End Life – its the honest council telling the honest truth about all the Mayor’s honest achievements.
Anyone got a spare copy ?
Curious Cat.
LOL….!!!!! ohh if only…i think they disintegrate if they tell the truth
East End Life I hope that’s one of the first ruddy thing that gets axed.
is East London Advertiser in the pocket of Rahman too….
Plus a long comment from John Biggs on Rahman which obviously relates to an interview which predates what happened this morning
http://www.wharf.co.uk/2014/04/mayoral-race-john-biggs-on-rah.html
I take it that as we enter the election period, every single poster, leaflet, banner and newspaper containing a image of our dear leader will be removed? Otherwise he might be adding yet another charge to his ever growing indictment.
Criminal charges need to follow from what has been taking place.
The inspection is just an eye-wash. DCLG wants to be seen to be doing something because the BBC did some ‘investigation’. We all know that Panorama uncovered nothing really. Nothing of substance.
Wrong. On both counts. You really think DCLG would act in the back of a BBC investigation alone? Get real.
Ted – What’s the situation if a journalist uncovers a criminal act? Do sub judice / contempt of court type rules apply?
They’d hand evidence to appropriate authorities. In many circumstances a reporter would also agree not to report something they’d uncovered if it jeopardised a criminal investigation. That’s happened to me several times.
Ted, prepare to be very disappointed my friend. Investigations will not find anything. The Panorama programme did not find anything. Lutfur is just laughing his way to a second term in office.
All of the Bengali newspapers covered the Panorama programme on their front pages today. They all came out in favour of Lutfur. They said that this was yet another hate campaign by TH Labour party. Both Ken and Jack Straw were widely quoted supporting Lutfur.
After Labour take a pounding in the upcoming elections, they will welcome Lutfur back into the party because they do not want to become an irrelevance in TH. Remember you read it here first.
Labour needs Lutfur more than Lutfur needs Labour.
Is this another April Fool?
“Nothing of substance” claims Pickles Inspector but what about my brief summary of the Panorama broadcast ?
https://trialbyjeory.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/lutfur-rahman-tower-hamlets-and-securalism/#comment-17178
Can that broadcast really contain nothing worth investigating ?
I’m not a lawyer but the broadcast certainly exposed issues suggesting due diligence was missing from the Mayor’s decisions involving PUBLIC FUNDS. The Mayor can do what he likes with his money but the same unrestricted and unaccountable behaviour does NOT apply to other people’s money including large amounts of tax payers dosh held by the council.
When dishing-out large amounts of other people’s cash, full financial accountability and spending justification are required to ensure all donation decisions are impeccably made and properly audited. The programme suggested that was not always the case. Any idea why Mr Pickles Inspector ?
The national government is always slow to react. On this occasion their inertia must have been overcome by overwhelming evidence impossible to ignore. One can only speculate about material not revealed by the programme to the public, but was disclosed to the Secretary of State.
One law for everyone; certainly not a different law for elected mayors ???
Curious Cat
Listen to me Cat, Lutfur made the decision to increase the funding to some groups and ignore officers’ advice. Too right. Lutfur was voted by people to make decisions. Officers just have to listen and take note. They are unelected bureaucrats. Nothing wrong there.
Pickles Inspector
The Mayor had to have good reasons to ignore the professional advice of officials appointed to exercise functions of the local authority. That is the way the system works in England and in the remainder of Europe, perhaps excluding Russia and a few Russian states.
When a local authority employs someone to do a job, like making decisions about money donations (“grants”), then that person works to a predetermined, publicly available, policy and procedure.
If the Mayor decides to ignore that decision, then by law he must have a good reason to reject the official’s professional advice and his rejection can be challenged in the Administrative Court at the Royal Courts of Justice.
A court will ask
• what were the reasons for the rejection ?
• were those reasons lawful ?
• was the Mayor lawfully able to reject the official’s decision ?
• what review (or appeal) of the Mayor’s rejection was available ?
• was it reasonable for the Mayor to reject the professional advice of the official ?
• did the official make a bad decision ?
• what documents supported the original decision made by the official and what documents supported the Mayor’s rejection decision
No documents just is unlikely to persuade the court that the Mayor’s decision was justified or lawful. This introduces possible criminal charges of fraud and misconduct in a public office.
Please try to remember, England is not (yet) South Asia and English Law as opposed to corrupt South Asian practices prevail.
Being in Public Office means every decision has to be supported by good reasons and also be properly documented. No documents just Local Knowledge is insufficient in English Law. That is our system. The Mayor being a practising solicitor – also known as an Officer of the Court knows how the English system works.
Decisions made by elected Mayors may be similar to decisions made by court judges. Court judges decisions are documented, have to be justified and can be legally challenged. However TH Mayor’s decisions appear not to be documented, not to be justified and, because of the mayor’s personal refusal to answer questions at council Scrutiny Meetings, unchallengeable.
Society simply can’t have people spending the public’s cash on their personal, undocumented, unjustified and unchallengeable whims – Not one country in Europe accepts that behaviour, so why should England ?
Northing to do with race or religion but possibly with one’s South Asian heritage.
Curious Cat.
P.S. I am not anti-Bangladeshi. I am currently helping some with council related problems, the same people I have been helping with problems from 2007 if not earlier.
Oh what excitement!
Some people are gussing
Some are plotting
Some are keeping their fingers crossed, and
I’m joining in!!
Ted, I know you said that Straw’s comments were posted as an April Fool, but these papers do not think so. The readers will just think, yeah Jack Straw is supporting Lutfur.
Get your hands on London Bangla or read online londonbangla.com. Front page says ‘Labour’s hate campaign’.
Read Bangla Mirror: banglamirrornews.com. Front page says ‘Panorama allegations just don’t add up’. I have these in hard copy. I do not know if online is kept up to date.
If you got someone who can read Bengali to you, read Bangla Times, Bangla Post, Weekly Bangladesh etc.
They are all supporting Lutfur. There is no attempt to hide it or show some neutrality. To be honest, this is how the community feels.
Well, there you go. I’m afraid the Bengali community deserves a better press. Shameful gullibility.
Weekly Notun Din (published since 87) (notundin.co.uk) says on front page ‘BBC Apologises’ in big bold letters. This is in Bengali by the way. Notun Din means ‘New Day’.
What these papers are saying do matter. They reflect people’s sentiments and they are likely to dictate how people will vote.
There is a very real danger that TH Labour Party will be the biggest losers from the fallout of Panorama. They are being painted as the bad guys. All the papers allege that Labour councillors provided material to Panorama.
The thing about increasing grants to community groups is that people will say Lutfur looks after us, so we vote for him.
Everyone shown on Panorama supporting Lutfur was white. Some white people will think, yeah Lutfur is a good guy. He listens to people. In reality, those are probably the only white supporters Lutfur has, but people watching do not know that.
About time ALL those living permanently in a country spoke and read the host country’s language. Writing is more difficult.
What about how the white people of tower hamlets feel? Why have divisive policies been in place in this borough?its like living under some sort of apartheid? This is the 21st century. The Bengali community are the least intergrated immigrant community that has ever been here thats because there own leaders stop them intergrating so they stay poor. Why have mother tongue lessons its ridiculous people need yo worry about speaking English correctly. Luftur is a bad evil man who will be going to prison and lets all hope a new open honest approach with no segregation in communities can bring about a more harmonious tower hamlets cos let me tell you the cockney community are livid that there money has been stolen. If luftur has any sense he will have it away lively cos someone could end up really giving him a good hiding for stealing from pensioners and disabled peoples charities. Evil man
I stand by prediction. Rahman will win the election. Labour have become irrelevant in all this. It’s all about those who are for or against Rahman. In the current climatwhileose who are for him are genuinely angry and feel being unfairly targeted. This will help focus energy for the Rahman campaign. The entire Bangladeshi, Somali and Muslim communities will come out and vote for him. A Tory picking on him will also help him get some of the left and socialist vote too. There election therefore has swang decisively towards Rahman.
So if he wins the election, what will happen with the inspections. Will it unseat a recently elected Mayor?
My view is these inspections rarely provide such knockout blows. The auditors will write a long report some of which will be used by his opponents to say we told you so whike others will be used by Rahman camp to say we have no case to answer. The report will be no different to the post office sale findings where Vince Cable was using it to say he was right on Question Time. To think the inspectors will unearth anything different is wishful thinking.
The only thing that will unseat Rahman will be a criminal conviction because even a police investigation will be brushed by him a victimisation. I seriously doubt the inspections will go that far.
So in conclusion Rahman will stay in power, his opponents will get even more desperate.
Ted, happily you’ll have plenty more to write about in years to mome.
Get real Imran.
It is no longer about Labour or Tories. It is about possible criminal offences.
1. Report published
2. Arrest and interview under caution
3. Charged, perhaps fraud and misconduct in a public office
4. If convicted, imprisoned
5. if previous re-elected, banned from holding public office
Simple really.
Even Bangladeshi don’t like scandals adversely reflecting on their community.
Curious Cat
Lol Cat. You’re dreaming of Rahman being marched out of Mulberry Place in shackles. Aren’t you?
Imran,
Its definitely not a joke.
The consequences are coming.
Curious Cat
Can you imagine ANY circumstances where “those for him” might feel that they were fairly targeted?
I suspect not.
Why?
a) Either “those for him” are incredibly ignorant.
b) Or they are in some form of collective, psychological denial.
c) Or they are blatantly lying, confusing and distorting in order to both protect one of their own and by extension sustain a secret project which he and all “those for him” are extremely keen to see through.
Try watching this – it might help you see how lies and confusion to prevent a plot from being uncovered before it is ready can actually work.
Targeting one community or an individual is absolutely not fair. It’s called bullying
“These inspections rarely provide such knockout blows”.
Er, this is the first ever inspection under SoS’s new powers..and can you think of another intervention of this type that didn’t result in serious consequences for a council?
This action isn’t some box ticking exercise.
I’m clearly not as knowledgeable as you are Ted. My initial reaction was another bunch of audits and inspections. I know its the first one of its kind but there’s been a few in TH already and they’ve come to nothing. Unless there is a criminal conviction which bars Rahman from office, he ain’t going nowhere. What’s are the chances of that happening?
The likely outcome of the inspection will be criticism of mismanagement. Rahman will pass the buck to Council officers, sack a few and move on.
There is unlikely to be sufficient direct evidence to implicate him to any corruption. I haven’t heard any direct accusations here or anywhere else. Its all conjecture.
Money has been redirected to Bengali and Somali communites. So what? They needed money and as the executive Mayor it’s his right to decide where he thinks its needed most.
I’m not a lawyer but I can’t imagine how this can be proven to be corrupt and result in prosecution and conviction. Remember without a conviction he cannot be removed from office.
It would have been better to concentrate challenging Rahman trough the ballot box instead of bullying him with inspectors.
It’s almost like you’ve all have given up on the election and instead pinning you hope on the inspection.
Good luck!
Imran,
Do try to understand it is no longer a matter of casual or assertions the Mayor is only doing his proper job,
If you can’t detect the seriousness of the present situation, meaning audits and police, you are deluding yourself. Read my other (long) postings for a clue.
Curious Cat.
The point about the fact it’s the first of its kind is why it’s very likely to be thorough and robust. No worthwhile audit firm would dare mess up on this one – or fail to identify matters of concern in a transparent way.
This audit is going to set a new benchmark for investigations of this type – so it better be more than just good!
=> You couldn’t make it up!
Absolutely. If a paperclip is missing, these forensic auditors and their staff will find it the trail
Curious Cat
Imram I want to know why Bengali leaders do not encourage intergaration. Every immigrant community that has come beofre them gas intergrated. Why is money spent on learning an irrelevant language when if people has English lessons I would enable them to work and not be dependent on the state. Why do the Bengali leaders want to keep their own people poor. Why is it that were we to go to sylett we would rarely see a woman with her face covered? We cockneys have always welcomes new people and absorbed them jnto our culture. Why do lots of Bengalis not want to be part of the wider community. Why have those in charge. Why is Luftur Rahman such a racist homophobe? Once overheard him having a what he thought was a private conversation at tower hamleta college where he was referring all the students he was talking to problems to the “white man” like I said we cockneys are f##@ ing furious and we will be voting en mass we have had enough. Get your nikes on luftur and run you evil man
No Charley – bad advice
Some men in blue may want to have a chat with His Excellence
Charley, you are asking very valid questions. I think its not just the Bengali community, the Pakistanis and Somalis also find it hard to integrate. I honestly don’t think its because of our community leaders. The reasons are far more complicated and deep routed then you think. Perhaps a discussion for another day.
Imran wrote:
No need to wait. Its dead easy to answer and The Answer is:-
A failure by the host country to assimilate the foreign community into mainstream society – instead of providing free English lessons and free British history and culture lessons, the host country deliberately kept the foreign community out of the host country’s society because of Labour crap about multi-culture and more recently about roots and heritage in foreign countries despite the kids being born in England and being legally ENGLISH.
Paying for foreign language translations is WRONG. That is deliberately causing people not to bother to learn English.
Paying for exclusively, or virtually exclusively, foreign clubs and facilities instead of sharing the existing community facilities with the foreigners is WRONG.
Labour have total responsibility for trying to destroy the indigenous character, culture and society.. Now the Labour created mess has surfaced in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. What better example of Loony Labour in action ?
United we stand, divided we fall but Labour’s motto is keep the communities separate so Labour can con and fool them into voting Labour. The Mayor’s alleged vote buying is standard Labour practice in many south Asian areas. Just where does anyone think Son of Labour got all his good ideas from ????
Curious Cat.
I totally agree Charley…what do their leaders wish to keep their flock poor, because its a twisted feudal way of keeping control. Bangladeshi community still has resonance of a feudal system.
As you say looking inwards and not integrating does not benefit new comers……and I say this as one whose family are immigrants, yet I was pushed and encouraged to integrate, learn and get involved…when in Rome do as the Romans do….and yes…the Brits are the most welcoming of race I have ever known, even my friends and family from overseas are always jealously surprised at the genuine warmth of the Brits, regardless of colour or creed
@Curious Cat. All “true” Muslims follow the commands in their koran which state that they should make no non-muslim friends, unless it is for profit under which circumstances they can pretend to be friends. No inter-marriage unless the non-muslim converts. Whatever they do, they MUST NOT integrate and those who wear burkahs are especial adherents to these commands. Don’t blame labour, blame those who hate what all non-muslims stand for: Democracy, freedom of speech and thought,.
Hi Newspaniard,
That’s not entirely true.
I know North African Muslims that drink alcohol almost daily. I know North African Muslims that pray 5 times a day, never drink alcohol, speak at least 5 languages, never say a bad word about anyone and are incredible pleasant and friendly people.
The Roman Catholics stopped saying their masses in Latin and now use the host country’s language. The same change needs to happen in the mosques.
An English mosque trustee, anti-American rabble rouser and anti-Pakistani liberal government critic who uses the mosque’s pre-Friday prayers period to spread his vile hate, told me its OK for Muslims to have sex with white women and girls as young as 13 but any white man having sex with a Moslem woman or girl should be killed. He was serious.
The best for the Tower Hamlets problem is faster and better integration into the host country’s society. Any who object should receive a free standard one-way airplane ticket to their country of choice and a free lift to the airport.
Curious Cat.
I’m afraid the answer is classified as CRIMETHOUGHT in the NewSpeak dictionary. Christians and Muslims are both evangelising, monotheistic faiths. Christianity has reformed over hundreds of years and in England particularly it is highly secular and tolerant of other beliefs, intermarriage, etc.
Islam, on the other hand, has not reformed and according to literal doctrine it is not permissible to marry a non Muslim (if they do not convert) nor are you allowed to leave the faith (apostasy). Intermingling with “infidels” is discouraged both in scripture and by the “Islamist” organisations operating in the borough and increasingly controlling our local schools. There are those who are secular but few are brave enough to speak out against the virtual mafia at work. The Reds – who are tools in this great project – will now harshly criticise me for speaking this truth but they’re in league with the Islamists because they mistakenly believe they can use Muslims to weaken society and in the anarchy that follows attempt their grubby revolution. Indeed, through “anti-racist” initiative they’ve even crippled the met police so much that in LBTH the local fuzz (allegedly, according to Gilligan) have been intentionally downplaying or not even recording/investigating religious-ethnic motivated violence perpetrated by Muslims against non-Muslims.
The purpose, my friends, is colonisation and that is “the project” that “those who support him” are keen to pursue. They will keep the lies and bluster up until it’s too late to do anything to stop it. Frankly, UKIP is the only hope that people who value their long term liberty have got.
I appreciate I have committed UNSPEAK by saying all this but let the truth be told.
This really is drivel, Imran. Bangladeshi, Somali and Muslim communities are a minority in Tower Hamlets. Their domination of local politics is entirely dependent on low turnout amongst the rest of the community. In 2010, I don’t think that the extent of the powers of a directly elected mayor was generally understood. Furthermore, much of the debate centred around internal Labour party affairs, of little interest to most electors.
Now the situation is completely different. Lutfur is widely seen as corrupt, incompetent and unfairly biased towards the Bangladeshi community. The issues have been well documented here and elsewhere.
Briefly though:
1) Substantial grants to Muslim and Bangladeshi organisations at the expense of secular ones (cuts in early years education and legal advice centres, for example).
2) Disposal of assets to political allies at knock down prices (Poplar Town Hall is the best known example)
3) Housing policies favouring the same communities (Lutfur’s priority for 4/5 bedroom homes, the majority of which are let to Bangladeshi families)
4) The cavalier attitude of the mayor and his councillors towards their own expense claims (eg the chauffeur driven Merc).
5) The failure of the mayor to answer questions or to engage in any meaningful debate with opponents.
I think there is a real determination amongst non-Muslims to get rid of Lutfur, and I expect a high turnout on May 22nd. It is widely recognised that Biggs is the only viable alternative, and supporters of the Tories and other parties will give him their 2nd preference.
:o) Though I agree with ALL that you say Andrew, people are now much more in tune with what an elected mayor is about and how it affects them and yes i agree there will be a large turn out….however as for Biggs…..many UKIP voters are ex Labour, they see this monster as the creation and formation from Labour policies…hence don’t dismiss UKIP Nicholas McQueen. The local East Enders see that the establishment let them down…ergo they are not now going to vote that establishment back in. Labour has been tarnished badly with this and Livingstone stance does not help at all…..
Thank you for your response AM.
I won’t go into detail about UKIP’s policies, but McQueen has no real chance of winning. (I just mention that decriminalisation of heroin is crazy, and in any case not a power of the mayor. “Moses” clubs excludes Hindus, Bhuddists, Atheists etc. who do not believe that Moses is a prophet).
So will you give your 2nd preference to Biggs or risk another 4 years of Lutfur?
Even if the Mayor wins the election, it will definitely not be another 4 years of his incumbency.
Actually Andrew…I’m going to give my 2nd vote to Conservatives…as they were not parlais to this hideous creation of a mayor… re decriminalising heroine, Nicholas didn’t get much help in formulating his argument better, the chap that wrote it, is not good at expressing things well.
Nicholas has said that he would like to put Tower Hamlets forward as the first test case where drug addicts go to the hospital under medical supervision to get their fix, where essentially the doctors will have the best intentions for the addict and explore why they are addicts. Drug dealers don’t have the addicts best intentions, they do not want the addict to get off drugs, they will also abuse addicts into criminal activity. To look at this problem from a new angle. Remove the benefits of the drug pusher and baron. Remove the revenue stream. Other cities have and are looking at this problem from other angles with some very positive results. However Nicholas has said that if that programme was put in place then pushers would be penalised exponentially.
That to me is a balanced view and also shows that someone is willing to look at problems from new angles that have already shown to have success in other cities…
Re Moses clubs..like I said the writer was not that great in formulating Nicholas proposals. The Moses clubs is really just a Branding a name to what essentially is Nicholas intrinsic aim, multicultural, multi national clubs for all. Nicholas is not a polished politicians he doesn’t have PR advisers etc, but his intentions are well meaning and based on equality.
Biggs never…..Labour created this monster, there are many many people who will never forgive Labour for this atrocious creation of this abysmal apartheid (Newham mayors description) fiend
Have the rules changed regarding GRANTS? It used to be that grants were only given after the applicant provided proof that they did not have the funds to cover the requested grant. Also after receiving the grant proof had to be provided with receipts, invoices etc., to ensure the grant was used as per the request. Is there a legal difference between a GRANT and a GIFT/DONATION?
Regarding the sale of Poplar Town Hall: I heard that a tender had been put out for its sale. Has anyone seen this tender? The council have been silent on this sale, so maybe the inspectors will find something there.
Even if the inspectors find nothing – one message will go out to Councils – You are being watched!
Re Poplar Tow Hall. the last I read was that it was closed bids, Rahman gave it to his bum chum who funded his last electoral promotions…..but Rahmans wont allow anyone to see what the other sealed bids are…even if the auditors don’t find the sealed bid, they are easy to attain just go to the other orgs who bid for it and ask them for a copy of their official bid.
Re Old Flo too…talking to The Foundry at Fawe Street, they offered to restore it for free as rahmans was saying that was one of the issues they did not have funds to restore it….. !!!!!
OK….. on my next bit I’m going out on a limb here…but because this is such national news now, people are talking much more opening…and this is hear say on the streets, does anyone here know or has heard of similar.
…. I am hearing that there is a very close member of Rahmans group who is locally known to be a drug dealer…has anyone heard of similar stories at all?
I think we are missing something important here regarding the disposal of assets. It was the Labour cabinet that agreed to sale the following properties:
1. Limehouse Library
2. Poplar Town Hall
3. Sutton Street site
4. Five houses on Swaton Street
5. A house on Tredegar Rd
6. Underwood Road site
All of the above were sold at similar times around 2011. If the likes of Peter Golds and his side kick Andrew Gilligan was seriously concerned about the sale of these assets then why didn’t they raise any enquiries in 2012 or 2013, why wait until 3 months before the election?.
The Poplar Town Hall and Limehouse Library both grade 2 listed properties were sold exactly at the same time by BNP Paribas on behalf of the council, I know because I too put in a tender but my offer was low. The Limehouse Library was sold to the Hazef Turkish Restaurant group, it was sold for less then all the other properties and it was the largest in size.
3 bedroom properties in Swaton Street were sold for around £175k we all know a 1 bed flat in Tower Hamlets costs more then that. This was all due to the market being distressed at that time, some of the properties were sold at public auctions and they still fetched similar prices.
We have got to be honest and be fair, the smearing by Peter Golds & some of the Labour group members is happening only due to the elections. Peter Golds sadly has done nothing for this borough but only brought shame and stirred up hatred in our community. We are now officially a rotten borough!
=> Ash
Untrue.
Tower Hamlets has been known in local government circles as a sleazy Labour corrupt borough for at least the last 12 years.
Whilst salaries may be higher than in some other corrupt Labour councils, Tower Hamlets is really the absolute dregs. Few, if any, self-respecting talented people want the ghastly Tower Hamlets name on their CVs.
Tower Hamlets survives by spending enormous amounts of Council Tax payers’ cash on temporary senior staff – what has the Labour opposition ever said about this hidden scandal ??????
Curious Cat.
It’s important to realise the power of the Bangladeshi media in forming opinion. I have lost count of the number of publications but there are at least ten every week plus a few radio stations and the TV channels. These are all uniformly supporting Rahman for several reasons.
Firstly he has bought the support of the owners with a whole range of financial initiatives from advertising to outright bribery. His complicity with Channel S is obvious in that he felt obliged to give a court reference to the owner just before he received a three year prison sentence to compliment the eighteen months he had already served.
Secondly what he has been able to do is to create a kind of siege mentality among a significant number of Bangladeshis of all ages. The attacks on him have been translated into attacks on the community as a whole with only he as the defender of his people.
Until recently Tower Hamlets had hardly figured in the national media and therefore the concerns of the wider UK communities were unknown to the majority of Bangladeshis. Virtually all of their knowledge of politics was gleaned from their own media.
I have recommended before on this blog “The Diversity Illusion” by Ed West. He deals with how satellite broadcasting has reinforced the sense of cultural identity and isolation in ethnic minority groups in Europe and the US among other areas. I know of Bangladeshi families in East London now in the fourth generation who watch as much Bangladeshi TV as UK. The males will be able to discuss in detail the Champions League but have little knowledge of UK political affairs and almost no social contacts with the society they were born into.
West deals in detail with the disaster of forced multi culturism from the early eighties onward. It was almost to be a Nazi to question the concept of the wisdom of exclusive facilities for ethnic groups. Self appointed community leaders were feted and given millions for their own projects which in turn reinforced their importance in their own communities.
New forms of racism were forever being discovered which could only be dealt with by more facilities and of course more money much of which was misappropriated. It got to the stage in Tower Hamlets where to ask an ethnic minority group for accounts was to be denounced as a racist.
Rahman has been the beneficiary of thirty years of cowardice by well meaning white liberals, the loony left and a vicious white hating race relations industry which lined its pockets by inventing racism and persecuting anyone who questioned their rational. The chickens are truly coming home to roost.
Rahman can be stopped and, as I predicted some time ago, the powers that be have had enough. It is, or should be, quite clear to anyone that the raid on the Town Hall, for that is what it was, had been planned long before the Panorama programme.
Had he not dipped into the collective till quite so often and quite so deeply, had he not openly associated himself with people like the Channel S owner and not approved the theft of Poplar Town Hall he could have survived. He could have cultivated his apologists Like Livingstone and the useful idiots like his tame CoE vicars Allan Green and Giles Fraser and no doubt he could have gained some local white support with grants to various white groups.
But he didn’t and his failure to do so reveals his ultimate lack of political judgement and intelligence. Too many people mistake craft and guile for cleverness, they aren’t, and too much deceit is a hindrance as he is now finding out.
Were he running somewhere like Bangladesh all he would now need to do is suspend the constitution and rule by decree with the backing of the armed forces. Unfortunately for him this is London not Dhaka and different rules apply.
Well summed up but the question is will he try to bluff it out or will he do a runner?
Absolutely, totally agree. I blame Labour…in its totality…the Labour gov, the Labour councillors and the Labour voting civil servants.
They are the ones that have allowed this venomous situation a) to find fertile ground and b) to grow without any questions, because of their pathetic middle class embarrassement.
Labour is at fault with this situation…and they have TOTALLY ignored all other sectors of their communities from various other minority group: Black minorities, Chinese Asian minorities, Middle East and Southern EU minorities, Hindus, Jews, Christians ….. but also the old traditional East Enders, they too have a culture and a way of life that is being totally dismissed and eroded by Labours silver spoon socialists who insist they should apologise for who they are…..
I am 1st generation British, from immigrant parents…and guess what, competition is a way of life to us, we accept is, as long as it is fair competition… however Labour creates ghettos and creates divisions, by supporting individual national / cultural based focus..instead of supporting activities that bring the community together…..
AND that’s how Rahmans got in and was able to continue and expand on his racist secular movement. Labour will not be forgiven by many in this borough for many many years and some say never….
Nice one.
Are you nuts? You talk as if you know everything. If you know so much then why don’t you take all the evidence to the police and get the mayor arrested?
Honestly, it’s silly fools like you that write so much fictional gabbage, do you really think the Mayor has no accountability and he can get away with commuting crimes?.
And yes, you are right this ain’t Dhaka but the way you are describing Tower Hamlets & the Mayor it does feel like a third world country.
@ themadmullahofbricklane
Are you nuts? You talk as if you know everything. If you know so much then why don’t you take all the evidence to the police and get the mayor arrested?
Honestly, it’s silly fools like you that write so much fictional gabbage, do you really think the Mayor has no accountability and he can get away with commuting crimes?.
And yes, you are right this ain’t Dhaka but the way you are describing Tower Hamlets & the Mayor it does feel like a third world country.
“themadmullahofbricklane” “Curious Cat” – these guys are completely deluded. You have no concept of the real world. Anyway, Jeory provides you with a perfect platform for your deluded deliberations so that you may read over your own comments and feel good about yourselves.
Now, make note of the following:
– Jeory, Gilligan and their ilk have been making wild accusations against Lutfur since the days he was the Labour leader of the Council. Nothing happened to Lutfur.
– Channel 4’s Dispatches programme made far worse accusations of extremist and fundamentalist links four years ago. Nothing happened to Lutfur.
– Lutfur is a politician – a seasoned and clever politician. He does not care about what his critics are saying about him. He just goes about delivering for the people of TH.
– During his four years in office as mayor, he simply ignored all the bullshit about him hiring a merc, renovating his office – he does not have time for these menial distractions. He has a more important job to do for the people of TH.
– Lutfur has served his first term with a spectacular record. He is on his way to a second term in office.
– He is now focusing on his election campaign – he does not have time for the latest distractions (i.e. Panorama and PwC audit). If anything, the audit by PwC is the best opportunity to shut all of Lutfur’s critics and clear his name once and for all.
Enjoy the sun everyone!
Pickles Inspector, the reality of the situation is dire for His Excellence, the Son of Labour.
However much electioneering the Mayor now does, and whether he gets elected or not, sometime this year he will get an early morning knock on his door at the same time as others do. Then the hash and uncomfortable realities will begin to trouble His Excellency. Its a horrible experience for an innocent person but deeply distressing for someone who appears to have acted outside the law.
Wishing your hero well is not a crime, however all your support will not, and can not, under all the questionable activities of the Mayor.
Perhaps you should write a wonderful Character Reference for your hero ? I am sure Ted would publish it in his blog.
Curious Cat.
Sorry ….
Hash = Harsh …..
Under = Undo …..
Pickled inspector is either Marc Francis or drunk.
You are very pickled. Every claim about Lutfur’s achievements doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny.
@ Pickled Inspector – I assume you missed the point that a few days ago the Secretary of State gained new powers – which is what led to this new investigation.
Pickles has been wanting to do something for a while – and now he can.
So forget what happened in the past – the rules just changed.
You might also want to note that the investigation is expected to take a minimum of 3 months and that the report is not due until the end of June – so no way does Rahman get to clear his name before the election. It’s just not possible in the timescale.
There is nowhere he could do a runner to. He will have to bluff it out and, may just, win again. He is now totally isolated apart from his Bangladeshi support which is pretty firm and of course Ken Livingstone who seems to have nailed is colours firmly to the Rahman mast.
Ted, do not censor the comment I posted a little while ago. If you have any balls, you would publish it.
Why wont you answer questions about segregation pickles
Eh? What you on about? If you post a new comment from a different or me IP address, WordPress asks me to do manual approval.
Stop seeing conspiracy theories where there are none.
For what it’s worth, I’m quite enjoying your comments.
He may have a Bangladeshi passport tucked away for emergencies.
Ok Ted, you are off the hook on this occasion.
Pickled Inspector – You are not in a position to let Ted “off the hook” – its his blog!
FO if you don’t like it.
John Wright, Ted is more than capable of defending himself. I meant what I said in jest. Anyway, why r u getting so animated? Keep your hair on matey.
John Wright. Language!
This post is probably a bit irrelevant but I have been following Jeory and Gillingam for quite a while and by now I am horrified. Being an immigrant myself I never dared to vote. I thought living in one’s country, I was to do what Romans do in Rome. Follow or go elsewhere. I never claimed any benefits……always worked…..yes…..also as a cleaner…..and followed the rules because of the respect for this country.
I knew or thought…..there was a democracy and fair process…….or I thought so…….
My first direct encounter with the TH council was my opposition to Boris bikes. With time……I admit……..those bikes have not been causing as much trouble as I envisaged. But when I wrote to the particular councillor on a planning committee questioning her motives I received back the scariest email I ever got in my life…..”important parts in bold letters”……….. Threatening a libel?
Now the whole….everything…….what is happening……..”a community centre which 2 years later gets permission to turn into mosque” …..out of hours message in the medical centre starting in Bengali……a mayor who does what he wants…..when he wants……his supporters that manage to infiltrate everything and anything including BBC…….scares me….
It all scares me so much that I decided to VOTE
Not quite sure whom. Anyone better out there? Pardon my ignorance…..
This is a Labour mess, and I’ll be damned if we go back to that mess. Just look at John Biggs’ Facebook. This is his cover pic https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=733573596676714&set=a.525359964164746.128075.524954387538637&type=1
Where is the rest of the community? Where are the east enders? Labour started this pandering to ethnic groups, and now one of their own has decided to bite the hand that fed it; big whoop. They are still guilty of the same rubbish.
No one is going to bother come out on election day to vote in Labour, I’m sorry but that’s beggars belief. The only way to rile up the non-Muslim masses is if UKIp get their act together and move people to act, because no one believes Labour’s crocodile tears over what’s happening. The same happened under them as well.
How is what the Mayor gets up to the fault of the Labour party?
=> Jay Kay
It was Labour that created him, taught him every dirty trick he knows, encouraged him, promoted him and helped him.
Then the Son of Labour abandoned his Loony Labour parent and went Independent. The result is now before us, and has been for some years.
Can’t blame the Tories or even UKIP for creating the Mayor – Labour deserves all the credit. Labour is not a nice party at local government level but corrupt, uncaring and incompetent.
Curious Cat.
Yes I kind of gathered that Biggs was a second best but still a disaster within. So what other choices are there? Laughing out Loud suggests UKIP. If vote for them and they win…….I bow my head and leave if they kick me out cos I am foreigner. But what I want is to be sure that I am not going to waste this first vote in 20 years. I would go for green if I was to follow my heart. I don’t have kids cos I think this planet is overpopulated. I support endangered animals. I kind of like their policies too. But I don’t want my vote to be scattered for small causes right now. My big cause is to get rid of that lutfur man
Why would you get kicked out if ukip got in? Thats daft. I have read there stuff dont say anything about kicking people out. I think 2 of the candidates they have in the borough are black women as well from what I read on facebook.
Kay – this contest is between Biggs and Lutfur. No other candidate has the slightest prospect of winning. If you like another candidate by all means vote for him or her; but you must give Biggs your second preference if your vote is to have any effect on the outcome.
Why Biggs’ second preference? Is that coz he is second best?
If you carry on saying things like that, it will indeed be a walk in the park for Lutfur, and he will go strolling back into a second term. NO ONE is going to come out for labour. It makes no sense. Labour IS the problem. Labour is still filled with people ready to become the next Lutfur. Look at what he managed to do with the selection process where Rachel beat John Biggs in the first round. THAT’S labour! No one trusts it to keep its nose clean because it thrives on pandering to ethnics.
If you keep on disregarding actual candidates that have the ability to bring people out on the day, you’re only doing Lutfur’s bidding.
Biggs is surrounded by the same cronies Lutfur has. These people are the same ones that will drag labour back into being servile bootlickers of these ‘comoonity’ leaders.
In reply to Pickled Inspector – I am no great fan of Biggs, but he would certainly be better than Lutfur.
In reply to Laughing – your post has worryingly racist overtones. I assume you are aware that if no candidate achieves 50% of first preference votes, second preferences will be redistributed to the leading two candidates. Despite your ranting, these are certain to be Biggs and Lutfur. Which one would you choose?
Well no, Biggs is not intrinsically better. Anyway we are choosing a party with Biggs, not just him. And that party is rotten to the core and has a hundred Lutfurs ready to spit out.
Just yesterday I was told by a bengali friend that he had two labour candidates come to his house asking for his vote. As soon as he made it obvious he actually likes the mayor these LABOUR candidates stopped talking about Biggs and just asked for his local councillor votes.
One of them even acknowledged that Lutfur has ‘done a lot to improve Tower Hamlets’. This is the loyalty we can expect from fellow candidates to Biggs.
I know personally that these Bengali candidates don’t bother bad mouthing the mayor to Bengali families and instead just ask for votes on them as a candidate. This reeks of subversion. This is the PARTY Biggs belongs to.
No one is fooled by them.
Kay, just stay home and chill out on election day. You obviously don’t know how the whole thing works. For starters, you don’t go on a blog and start asking who you should vote. I would say vote Lutfur. Another person will say UKIP. Third man will come along asking you to vote Labour. How does that help you? It is a personal decision. This is how you should do it:
– Read the candidates’ manifesto
– Meet them in person and talk to them
– Choose the most sincere of the lot with the best policies for the borough.
Good luck!
So the strategy from Lutfur supporters is to suggest to those who aren’t fellow travellers that they should “stay home and chill on election day”?
How democratic!
They must be really rattled by the notion that the election is going to turn on how many ‘lapsed’ voters actually vote this time around. In other words you may be able to get your own vote out – but so can others if they put their minds to it!
I sincerely hope I hear ALL political parties operating in the borough calling on ALL voters to come out and vote.
Please Kay….if I may, I am a UKIP member, ex conservative, my family ex Labour….and I have simply have had enough (definitely on a local level, but also on a national level) and I find myself standing as a candidate for my local ward. I am 1st generation British, from immigrant parents. UKIP is not against immigrants, it is against mass uncontrolled immigration. No government can plan effectively, budget effectively if it doesn’t have a clue as to how many people will be re-locating to our shores. We have Indian people, Polish people, Italian people, Jamaican people as members. All that we are wanting is a transparent, honest and democratic government. Where people are asked (be it nationally or locally) what is your choice, based on facts and not some PR spin numbers….btw like you, I share the population bomb worries and I am also a member of a charity org called Population Matters you’ll find it on FB, which you may find interesting
Charlie…… My issue is not about about being kicked out. I go if I have to……. London was my choice but I can live anywhere. You know……. They say it’s person not the place that is happy. My issue is and what I am scared of is Lutfur making part of London that is one if the most magical towns in the world……Islamic. I read Quran once out of interest …it’s worse than what Hitler promoted…….something needs to happen otherwise we are all doomed…….
Ok sorry I misunderstood what you said.
I know lots of Muslims that do not interpret their religion In an extreme way. I have close turkish cypriot friends who are muslim follow their faith but are completely intergrated into the wider community. I also work with an Albanian girl who claims to be a muslim but can drink me under the table. So personally I cant see how they are muslims can have no problems in being part of the wider community but Bengali people do not seem to be able to
I hope the next Mayor will have the balls to outlaw Sharia law in this borough, its racist, sexist and descriminatory and I can’t understand WHY Human Rights and other people’s groups, even feminist groups aren’t all over it….they either don’t understand the difference between culture and law or scared of being labelled a racists….but if something is wrong, its wrong…slavery was a tradition once, if you begin to accept prejudice laws, where does it stop…?
Pickled inspector. I am not going to stay home this time. Do I understand? I don’t any more….. But I do whatever is needed to get the rat out….. Don’t preach please…. As I said I am ready to vote and I simply need guidance as to where the majority of the votes (apart from lucifer) go to..?..so I can add to it for the time being……..
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2014/04/an-afternoon-on-the-stump-with-lutfur-rahman/
Well spotted Kay. Granted it’s a Conservative magazine, but this is a seasoned journalist who one might expect to be taking potshots at Labour or UKIP.
I picked out 2 classic quotes
This is the first
“Arriving outside at the Sir John Cass School in Stepney this afternoon, I found a group of around 75 people waiting for the mayor. There was a fraternal sense (I did not spot a single women during my time there) amongst the crowd, who hugged and greeted each other. As an outsider, there wasn’t a particularly inclusive sense — especially when Sunday Express journalist and local blogger Ted Jeory turned up.”
which relates to an aspect I confess I really don’t understand. If there are female councillors, how come all the people who do standing around at political events are always male? Are the women not allowed to attend? It just seems such a major contrast to some of the demonstrations in the Middle East that I’ve seen on television where women in traditional black ‘cover up garb’ are out in force. So why not in Tower Hamlets? Is the Bengali population really that traditional about the separation of men and women? What does that say about the inclusiveness of Rahman’s politics? I’d suggest it’s a point for the women to ponder
This is the second
Having attended weekend campaigning sessions with the Tories, Labour and Ukip, I can confidently say that the gathering of Rahman and his ‘Tower Hamlets First’ party is by far the most unnerving, bizarre and amateur. There was very little campaigning, no talk of policies — just posing, posturing and aimless standing around. The Panorama allegations appear to have unnerved Rahman and his supporters, who must be worried about May’s election. (my bold)
I’ve picked this one because it reminded me that this is exactly the impression I have every time I see Rahman and/or his supporters. Sycophantic is also one of the words which always springs to mind.
My thoughts also.
Its important we understand that Islam does not belong to one race or culture. In Tower Hamlets however we have allowed ethnic and cultural behaviour to be confused with religious doctrine.
The terms so often used by Rahman and his movement are Islamophobia and Racism. For the former, it is actually Rahmanopobia and as for racism, one only has to look at his Cabinet, and his following, not least as illustrated in this Stepney ‘walkabout’.
They way some see it…….the last sentence is particularly interesting
http://londonbanglanews.com/?p=1980
Well done Kay. A very nice discovery.
http://londonbanglanews.com/?p=1980
Oh Yer. Spot-on !
Domain name: LONDONBANGLANEWS.COM
Created on: 2013-12-11
Registrant Name: KHOBOR PUBLICATION LIMITED
Contact: Khobor Publication Limited
Registrant Address: Bethnal Green Training Centre, Hanbury Street
Registrant City: London
Registrant Postal Code: E1 5HZ
Nature Of Business (SIC): 58130 – Publishing of newspapers
One director ALI, MOHAMMED MONCHAB MR
Appointed : 07/06/2011
Date of Birth: 31/08/1953
BRITISH
11 SHANNON CLOSE
LONDON
ENGLAND
CH4 8PJ (funny postcode for London ….. actually its Shannon Close, Saltney, Chester, Cheshire)
REGISTERED OFFICE CHANGED ON 21/02/2013 FROM
HALL-1
85 MYRDLE STREET
THE WHITECHAPEL CENTRE
LONDON
ENGLAND
E1 1HL
ENGLAND
Previous directors
MOHAMMAD AZIZ
ABU CHOWDHURY
MATIN KHAN
08/07/13 STATEMENT OF CAPITAL;GBP 1
Curious Cat
I recon it’s not surprising that the council paid Khobor Publication Ltd.
According to the spreadsheet below a payment of £3,600 for printing was made on 6th January this year.
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=94b151b0-b169-4539-804c-e4ce8e2ed82c&version=-1
What I am curious to know is whether that business actually owns a printing machine. According to the accounts filed to 30/6/2013 it seems unlikely.
http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07661045/KHOBOR-PUBLICATION-LIMITED/financial-accounts#financials
=> Kay
http://companycheck.co.uk/company/07661045/KHOBOR-PUBLICATION-LIMITED/financial-accounts#financials
shows for 2013 a newspaper publishing business and a supplier of services to our wonderful Tower Hamlets council with unpaid debts amounting to £13,799.
I wonder how many grants LONDON BANGLA NEWS and Khobor Publication Limited received from LBTH ……… oh golly, I’ve got that FOI feeling again ……. 🙂
=============================================
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/lbth_khobor_publication_ltd
Tower Hamlets Borough Council,
(1) Please provide a summary of all payments made by the local authority, in the current and 3 previous financial years, to
(a) LONDON BANGLA NEWS;
(b) Khobor Publication Limited; and
(c) persons, legal and natural, connected to these two organisations.
(2) Please provide a summary of all grants and donations made by the local authority, in the current and 3 previous financial years, to
(a) LONDON BANGLA NEWS;
(b) Khobor Publication Limited; and
(c) persons, legal and natural, connected to these two organisations.
==================================
Curious Cat
Can someone report them for racist slur…if I used said phrase and said black instead of white….I’d be pulled up…..how does one go about to complain about this racist slur?
Most local people know that. He also has bent coppers protecting him.
hmmmmm……these kind of rumours should be investigated.
I have a friend and neighbour who is a training police officer…and he was telling me that unlike the rest of London where cocaine is the main hard drug…. he said in tower hamlets its heroin…., so I asked him what was he getting at….he reminded me that 80% of the world’s heroin comes from Afghanistan and Pakistan…whereas cocaine’s main origin is S america
Another friend of mine, told me she saw (quite a while ago) Rahman one night…really late at night, past midnight talking to a bunch of Asian hoody thugs. She was really surprised because…. a) it was really late at night b) Luftur was in an area that is a known drug dealing barons hang out and c) the group looked relaxed with each other, as in they knew each other
Dear AM, you’ve stated your a Ukip candidate for the council elections, yet you’re posting here under a pseudonym. I don’t know anyone else doing that.
I know you’re name from your email address but can I suggest you be transparent with your would be voters…particularly when you engage in the dog whistle hearsay bollocks as above.
As I’ve said to a colleague of yours, if you want to make such comments, you need hard facts and evidence. “A friend of a friend” comment may work down the pub but you are publishing here on an open website, and if the Mayor is so inclined he’ll sue you for libel.
Exactly what point is your cop friend making about heroin?
Do please spell it out, along with your name.
Dear Ted, I’m not writing under a pseudonym, that’s what people call me…AM, because my name Annamaria, is too long to blurt out all the time..its even too long for me to write it, I sign myself off as AM….I introduce myself as Annamaria but then when people hear others call me AM they ask if they can do the same…sure whatever …I’ve been called worse…
Also my intentions in contributing here was not to plug myself, but rather as a means of engaging with people. And if I was trying to be opaque or under handed in any way, I would not have replied to the othr gentleman about immigration and introduce myself as a UKIP member..to me stating who you are when answering something doesn’t seem to be the actions of someone who is wanting to hide things
It wasn’t whislte blowing because as you say I don’t have any evidence, but my statements were not of the ‘friend of a friend’ scenario. My friend told me, off the cuff as we were talking about the B***stard, unfortunately I don’t go around with a tape recorder at hand or tell my friends to hold up whilst I switch the recorder on my phone….However, o saying that I do appreciate that some statements may get you in to trouble and jepordise this blog, so on that basis my apologies.
My friend was making a point, but as you kindly pointed out I should stay schtumb and as per CC I really should just call the boys in blue…..
This whole borough is worse than Calabria and that’s saying something…..
=> AM
If it was indeed the mayor, then he was only explaining to the men why his pictures feature so much in East End Life. 🙂
Seriously, don’t post stuff on here – ever. Ring 020-7230 1212 and ask for the Commissioners Office then say you want to submit intelligence. I don’t know of better Met contacts but always remember you can not trust every police officer.
If you have good intelligence (what the public usually calls ) it is essential it goes to exactly the right place with the absolute minimum number of people knowing about it – thus definitely NOT via a police call centre or via Crime Stoppers.
Some are bent, no one knows how many, but most are not bent although some may be practically useless. You can never detect the honesty of any police officer unless you know them personally very well and for a long period of time, and even then …… nothing is for certain.
Direct into the relevant squad is usually the best, providing you know exactly what squad is responsible.
CC.
Thank you CC I think I will call them. But I’d like to think well of the boys in blue…even if I have met some pillocks, I couldn’t do their job. But the what the Steven Lawrence case showed was of some police in the pockets of the mob really..sad
Thanks for the advise
Thank you Charley…I’ve noticed these past few years an increase in drug dealing within my area…and often wondered why police don’t do more to stop it… in fact my local corner shop (shop… HA, that’s a joke) actually has small scales to one side….this whole scenario/area has resonance of Calabria and the maffia style activities, which its kind of what Rahman has been doing with public money, giving it to his cronies….
There is a big question concerning grants provided by LBTH and it’s now being investigated.
I wonder however, how much was paid to these organisations as “payment for services”.
According to September 2013 spreadsheet, £8,000 was paid to Channel S for non-staff advertising. Advertising what?
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=4b4e3eba-c6ba-4883-b70d-96a9fde70a3d&version=-1
The Mayor, silly 🙂
=> Curious Cat, I am curious to know what response they give us to the payments made to Khobor Publication Ltd……
Though it would appear that the information very much depends on who prepares it…….
below is a link to an interesting take on two different responses to the same FOI request…..
http://lovewapping.org/2014/04/tower-hamlets-council-funding-data-story-part-2/
Hi Kay,
Just when everyone thinks it can’t get any worse, up pops the double-accounting practice — believe it or not, this is a genuine Labour practise in local government. One version for some and another version for someone else and then hoping no one sees both versions.
I think this double version needs to be brought to the attention of the statutory official called The Monitoring Officer as an example of faulty accounting with a copy of the PwC team. The Monitoring Officer’s job is to ensure the local authority acts within the law at all times – dodgy accounting is definitely not a lawful practise despite what anyone at Tower Hamlets might claim.
The Information Commissioner casework@ico.gsi.gov.uk would very likely entertain a complaint, but first you should ask LBTH for an internal review of their decision to provide two different versions of the same accounting information. Oblivious post the result on here 🙂
I wonder why the majority Labour councillors never seemed to do much about the stench from purifying Tower Hamlets. Perhaps they became accustom to it while in power ?
Curious Cat.
done!
Dear Mr. Sullivan-Gould,
I would be grateful if you could let me know why two different versions of the document were produced in response to a single FOI request.
•They had different titles.
•One had a introduction, one not.
•One was 28 pages long, the other 33 pages long.
•One was created on 25th October 2013, the other created on 4th October.
•The two documents had different authors
•9087 was created after 9088
•The information published in one document differs from the other. In comparison to version 9088, the version 9087 misses the list of grants amounting to £614,786 for the years 2008 – 2012 to three organisations namely Council of Mosques, Darul Ummah Centre and London Muslim Centre.
Below is the link to both documents.
I would like to believe that this is not a result of a double accounting practice in LBTH.
Awaiting your response I remain.
Yours sincerely,
Hi Kay,
Brilliant. Well done.
P.S. You are not the only person “awaiting” the council’s illuminating “response” – there is now a growing queue 🙂
Curious Cat
Ted, I presume you are aware of this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10763052/Councils-links-to-radical-Islamists-probed-by-No-10.html
Indeed, you have commented on similar things on this blog before. Is it worth a blog entry? Do you know any more that can be put up here?
Tim.
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/journalist/electoral-commission-media-centre/news-releases-reviews-and-research/statement-on-the-may-elections-in-tower-hamlets
ELECTORAL COMMISSION STATEMENT 14-04-2014
=============================================
n March 2013 the Electoral Commission made a number of recommendations to all those involved in upholding the integrity of elections in Tower Hamlets. The steps we identified were needed to rebuild confidence and trust between the key participants in the election process and to reduce the risk that the May 2014 local and European Parliament elections are damaged by allegations of electoral fraud.
Since then, we have closely monitored progress towards implementing our recommendations, meeting the Returning Officer for Tower Hamlets and the Metropolitan Police Service regularly to review their plans and attending briefing meetings for prospective candidates. We have been pleased that the Returning Officer and the Metropolitan Police have worked hard to put in place plans to deter and detect electoral fraud, which will help to ensure that the elections in the borough are run in a fair and transparent way in accordance with electoral law. The Commission supports the steps taken by this local partnership to address the genuine concerns of electors, campaigners and candidates in the borough.
The Returning Officer has now put in place a local protocol which represents a commitment by all parties, individuals and organisations involved in the May 2014 elections in Tower Hamlets to work towards free and fair elections. The Electoral Commission strongly supports this protocol, and we would expect all candidates contesting the local and mayoral elections, and any candidates and political parties campaigning for and contesting the European Parliament election in London, to sign it.
Speaking as nominations for the May 2014 elections opened, Tom Hawthorn, Head of Electoral Policy for the Electoral Commission, said: “We urge all candidates and campaigners in Tower Hamlets to make a clear public commitment to respect the integrity of the election process, and to follow the steps set out in the Returning Officer’s protocol. We will continue to carefully monitor the actions taken by all those involved in elections in Tower Hamlets, including using our powers to attend and observe any aspect of the election process from nominations to the count. We will make clear publicly if we are not satisfied that the right actions are being taken by anyone involved in the May 2014 elections.”
Curious Cat
If you want to know what questions Lutfur Rahman is being asked by the auditors as part of this probe just read the answers he gives to questions asked – and some answers to questions not asked – in this interview with Dave Hill.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2014/may/03/lutfur-rahman-interview-tower-hamlets-election-campaign
It’s very revealing. I read the interview and the immediate impression that I got (apart from the fact he hasn’t got a clue about ‘free schools’ and he makes the youth service sound like his own private security force) is that he’s “leaking” the nature of the investigation all over the place.
I guess it must be getting to him.
If you want to know what questions Lutfur Rahman is being asked by the auditors as part of this probe just read the answers he gives to questions asked – and some answers to questions not asked – in this interview with Dave Hill.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2014/may/03/lutfur-rahman-interview-tower-hamlets-election-campaign
It’s very revealing. I read the interview and the immediate impression that I got (apart from the fact he hasn’t got a clue about ‘free schools’ and he makes the youth service sound like his own private security force) is that he’s “leaking” the nature of the investigation all over the place.
I guess it must be getting to him.