Even colour blind me can see the brass necks in this photo of the crooked and the corruptly elected.
Last night, the ramshackle group of councillors known as THING (Tower Hamlets Independnet Group) named their candidate for the 2018 mayoral elections.
After months of rows, they have settled on Ohid Ahmed, Lutfur’s former deputy. Privately, Lutfur always regarded him as a mug and now it seems he has made those views public with this open endorsement of him at Toynbee Hall last night. Spot him at the centre of the group. (Toynbee must be delighted to see their venue used for such purposes… .)
Lutfur of course is ineligible to stand because he’s banned, but the idiots in his party still believe he is a rightful role model to those they claim to serve. What morals!
Here’s Ohid’s statement:
Here’s another two pictures.
All men, of course.
You may note a couple of absentees: Rabina Khan and her husband (and former best mate of Lutfur) Aminur Khan.
Rabina has also declared herself a mayoral candidate for 2018 – and stands head and shoulders above Ohid – so quite where this leaves her as a THING member is anyone’s guess.
There have been huge rows about this in that group and some have been switching allegiances to prospective candidates as many times as, well, Oli Rahman and a couple of others have switched parties over the years.
Still, good to finally see on which side they see their bread as buttered. The next challenge is to determine who is funding them now. As ever, tips and information grateful received.
UPDATE 7pm, Oct 18
Below is a statement from Toynbee Hall about last night’s meeting. They are furious. Yet again Lutfur and his crew have abused the notion of charitable status. When will they learn to respect the rules?
Political meeting at Toynbee Hall
Last night a meeting with clear political purposes was held at the Toynbee Hall Community Wellbeing Centre in Tower Hamlets.
Our Community Wellbeing Centre exists to promote and support the wellbeing of older people in the Tower Hamlets community. Toynbee Hall was not told of the political nature of that meeting which was described to us as a community meeting to discuss local issues.As a charity seeking to support the whole Tower Hamlets community, as a matter of principle, we do not support any political parties or causes at any time.
As a result we must disassociate ourselves from last night’s meeting and ask that photographs featuring our logo and name not be used in any publicity materials or on any form of social media.
Praise Be! The Despicable Rahman has been seen, alive and well! Reports of his demise were greatly exaggerated!
Any more news on the criminal investigation against him by the Met? Or is that well and truly in the “Too Difficult And Politically Incorrect For Us To Deal With” category at Scotland Yard?
I’d posit that Rabina not throwing her lot in with THING will assure both their demise and hers.
Tim.
What is interesting is where are the loony left in all of this. Long term followers of the Lutfur saga will remember the array of cranks and opportunists who defended him when first the commissioners were sent in and then when he was removed.
Locally we had Glynn Robbins who bills himself as a housing campaigner when he is a paid employee of a housing association and former chair of Tower Hamlets Respect. Remember them?
The Giles £2 grand Fraser who took that amount from the taxpayers of Tower Hamlets for chairing the Fairness Committee. He concluded that if you were poor and unemployed in Tower Hamlets life wasn’t very fair!
We mustn’t forget the faux journalist Dave Hill who was almost an unpaid publicist for Rahman writing on his Guardian blog that he is only allowed to do because he is married to a Guardian executive.
So many there were and now so few. Ken Livingstone, the Bethnal Green Trotskyist Anglican Alan Green, Galloway, the associated lunatics around Stop the War/SWP, were are they now. Probably trying to forget the whole thing
While Lutfur and co maybe out of the play for the moment just to show you can’t keep a good Trot down, news has reached me of a possible curious alliance that is emerging. I mentioned a couple of days ago that Christine Shawcroft has now claims she has been living at 7 Mallam Gardens E14 for many years and has just moved her Labour Party membership there from Nottingham South where she was the branch secretary. http://www.labourinternational.net/Christine_Shawcroft_nomination. This is dated May this year.
The E14 address is also the registered one of her alleged cooperative, Green Shoots Day Nursery. This doesn’t seem to be particularly well managed judging by the accounts. http://www.companycheck.co.uk/07891964/Green-Shoots-Day-Nursery-Ltd/financials. Quite how she was living all the time in Poplar and running a children’s nursery in south London while being an official of a Labour branch in Nottingham is any one’s guess but there you are.
As regards the alliance I understand from sources that talks have been going on between Shawcroft and other remnants of the group around London Labour Briefing, the Bennite/Livingstone and associated loonies journal. Seen in the borough but not as yet with the above suspects has been Jon Lansman the main mover behind Momentum. He used to live in Gibraltar Walk just of the Bethnal Green Road near Brick Lane, a property he still owns, after his move last year to a million pound plus flat just over Tower Bridge.
An alliance bewteen the Lutfur group which, it has to be remembered, still commands a substantial block of votes and as far as the Corbyn/Momentum/Left Futures group are concerned was the victim of a state run Islamophobic conspiracy to get rid of a truly socialist administration which was struggling against the Blairite Nu Labour tendencies in the local party and resisting the neo fascist Tory onslaught against the working class by pouring millions into social services and education as well as building hundreds of thousands of affordable homes. [ That’s enough of everything, Ed ]
These events are, I suspect, not entirely unconnected and any information should be sent to my associates at the madmullahofbricklane@gmx.com.
l
An update on ” Where are they now”. http://www.eastlondonnews.co.uk/is-this-the-man-who-can-halt-the-labour-shoo-in/ should bring you a page from the Jenny Fisher edited East London News. It was formerly London Bangla, edited by her as well, which was eventually successfully sued by fomer council leader Helal Abbas Uddin after it accused him of being a wife beater. http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/london-newspaper-editor-pays-damages-former-mayoral-candidate-over-wife-beater-advert. When her group saw what was coming she bailed out and a Bangladeshi was put in who took the flack.
Also have a look at http://www.obv.org.uk and at the picture to the left with Lutfur and some people I don’t recognise. Can anyone put names to them?
Interestingly Tim, Lutfur isn’t the only one not being interviewed by Knackers men in Tower Hamlets. In the photo on the article below this one on the left of the picture is Martin Smith. At the time this was taken he was one of the national organisers of the sham Unite Against Fascism and a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Workers Party.
It then turned out that he was a serial rapist sexually abusing younger female party members. One of the rapes at least occurred at an address in Tower Hamlets and this matter is known to the police. Unkind souls are suggesting that the fact that he has so far not even been interviewed might have something to do with the fact that it has been rumoured for years that he is a police informer.
It may well not be just political correctness that is stopping Limehouse Police where the investigation should come from arresting Rahman and crew but that there might well be other reasons.
Even if someone is a “police informer” there would have to be very serious reasons, probably approved by a superintendent, for a rape suspect not to be formerly interviewed.
Surely this is one for the London Mayor to answer ?
Curious Cat
Once again I must say. The Commissioners must stay in this Borough. We cannot allow this Mob to infiltrate the decent people who live here.
This lot make me want to vomit.
Yes, vomit is about the size of it. On top of the haemorrhaging of cash that we have all been forced to contribute to.
Ray’s right, I wouldn’t trust Labour with a barge pole.
And you would be correct in doing so. Especially as this has just reached me hot off the gossip line. Christine Shawcroft has apparently moved her address with the Labour Party to Tower Hamlets. 7 Malam Gardens,E14. This is it seems so that she can put her hat in the ring for Jim Fitzpatrick’s seat.
These people have no sense of shame whatsoever. She is still a supporter of Lutfur Rahman and was also behind the Livingstone financed London Bangla which ran the smear campaign against Helal Abbas Uddin over which he eventually won a court case. Disgusting people or what?
So who has given this a thumbs down? Marc Francis?
His sexuality is immaterial.
His history and politics are hugely relevant however. And your guess is probably correct.
Tim.
Shahed Ali is conspicuous by his absence from the photograph. His sentencing date is October 27.
Hanging is too good for him, he should be put in prison and tortured!
Is the thumbs downer the metro/bi sexual Marc Francis?
The Met police have made it crystal clear that they have absolutely no intention to carry out a full investigation and perhaps never had any intention for reasons not hard to work out. As many know, there are dozens of cases of suspected fraud of councillors and others but nothing is done – yet.
Is the local Labour Party in a better state? I hear that Rachael Saunders has ambitions to replace John Biggs and that husband Chris Weavers wants to replace Jim Fitzpatrick MP.
All I can say is that neither were helpful with the Election Petition, neither was Sadiq Khan, by the way. Apparently they all knew nothing about election fraud before the election case was won! It is once again as though the voters of Tower Hamlets have absolutely no role.
We do not need any more leaders who lead from the back.
Andyerlam@ymail.com
Andy,
All I can say is please keep up the good work. Tower Hamlets needs you and I, for one, am very grateful for the achievements you have wrought to date.
Thank you.
Tim. (Pseudonym).
Thanks for comments. The Election Petition: We did what we could, but still much to be done. It was cross-party, cross-ethnic and on itself quite an undertaking. Not for the gaint-hearted. National election law will be reformed as a direct result. Probably over 100 people contributed directly to the success of the petition. We all have the right to be proud if what has been achieved.
Lutfur Rahman, as things stand, will be able to stand at the next scheduled General Election.
Of course, voter fraud did not start or end with Lutfur Rahman.
It would be interesting to know from him which other individuals and organisations colluded in voter fraud. A degree of contriteness is in also in order.
Some individuals claim that they were harrassed by the Met after challenging the Rahman regime in Tower Hamlets, even suggestions that ITERPOL facilities were abused. Thailand has been mentioned. Watch this space. Others suggest corrupt relationships with Slough and 7 other councils. There are also accusations that a major housing benefit fraud has been allowed to continue. All these matters were brought to the attention of the Commissioner of the Met police together with 20 witnesses prepared to give details. We are still waiting for the courtesy of a response, 18 months later. This is a breach of the Police Assignation.
The police have allegedly been protecting Lutfur. The possible role of the freemason movement also merits examination in all of these matters. Lodge 9179 comes to mind.
Further details of fraud and vote-rigging can be sent to andyerlam@ymail.com or to my office which has a secure mailbox: Andy Erlam, 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC2A 3AX, if necessary sent anonymously.
Hear, hear.
Ultimately it was Andy who made everything happen. Andy caused History to be made – shame no jailing happened.
Andy wrote:
Anything you can tell in public ?
Andy. What exactly are the qualities that this couple could bring to the two posts you mentioned. Aren’t there enough yuppies and Spads in the Labour Party already?
Andy.
The likes of Saunders and Weavers will never take a stand on a principle just in case it goes wrong and they suffer a setback in their careers. Incidently is this Rachael Saunders the same one who was a local councillor in the leafy Cotswolds? Same spelling and it could be a different person I suppose. Any information anyone?
This is not true Andy – you cannot say that Chris was unhelpful – he gave us some important leads and helped Francis regarding the rules applying to political parties and he came to court himself as a witness.
Very few people were in fact helpful and there are lots of complex reasons for this.
Reasons, complex, and?
Andy this is not true – Chris Weavers did help us with the Election Petition, he provided some leads and helped Francis with information about the set up of political parties and he came himself to court as a witness.
It is true many, many people were not helpful and there are lots of complex reasons for this.
The judge in the case made clear allegations of criminality in his findings. What is happening is a police cover up. There is no other way to describe it. What would be revealed is the information that the police have been sitting on for years and have failed to act on because of political correctness and a fear of being called Islamophobic. It’s a case of pc PCs!
I look at the pictures of that group, and wish that it had been financially possible to take all of them to the High Court when the case ran. Instead a group of brave citizens are left with a large bill, that should by way of action have been covered by the criminal justice system in the first place.
Hopefully the new candidate will be even more stupid than his predecessor Lutfur, which will eventually mean that he too will trip over the trap-wire of transparency, honesty and integrity…
Lutfur looks old. Maybe its all that sun in Dubai
When is HMRC going to prosecute him for not paying tax on his rented out homes? or maybe we should all stop paying tax if nothing happens when you dont. Has it become voluntary?
HMRC are represented on the bankruptcy committee and have the power to investigate any tax evasion, tax avoidance and can report on alleged mortgage fraud. The bankruptcy trustee can also make a report to the authorities.
Just to explain: the “massive legal bill” which has been dropped into the laps of the Tower Hamlets election petitioners is not due to the realities of the present High Court rules for election petitions and recovering costs, complex and expensive as these are.
Our former solicitors, Richard Slade and Company presented us with a bill for £210,000 after we sacked them. That is the problem.
Sir Eric Pickles, my favourite Tory, suggested to Richard Slade that he might reflect on how his massive bill reflects on the reputation of his firm and the public perception of the law in general. His words not mine!
Slade were not involved in the election case at all, although Caroline Turner, who acted as a volunteer for some of the hearings in the case, went on to work for that firm.
All I can say is that we were totally shocked to receive a bill for £210k especially as we were told to expect one for, at most, £50k. In other words, the final bill was over 4 times what we were expecting. The limited resources available were known to all, as was the public interest in the case.
I do not believe that Richard Slade, a highly experienced solicitor had any intention to bankrupt the 4 petitioners.
However, if that were paid there will be nothing left to pay Francis Hoar, the barrister who won the election petition case so brilliantly in the most arduous of circumstances. One could not ask for a more dedicated advocate or anyone more patient about being paid. We don’t want to abuse that goodwill.
We also have several supporters who very kindly lent us money, notably Janet Digby-Jones OBE and Andy Ager. We don’t want to let these people down either. For the record I myself put in about £50k into the case, perhaps more. This was a real alliance of activists right across the political spectrum.
Our new solicitor, Andrew Marshall, another lawyer of great calibre, needs to be paid for taking on the challenge of sorting out this complete mess over costs and fees.
It feels a bit like paying a solicitor to buy a house and finding that their fees have consumed the whole capital sum.
If the Slade bill was kept at the original £50k there would be enough in the secured assets pot to pay everyone, especially if everyone agreed to “take a haircut” as they say as a gesture towards the people of Tower Hamlets.
All I can say otherwise is that the Slade bill mirrors the total amount likely to be secured from Lutfur Rahman.
I must pay tribute to the other 3 petitioners. Our fellow petitioner Azmal Hussain suffered vandalism at his restaurant and his customers and staff were threatened. This I saw with my own eyes. Azmal’s courage in standing up to corruption in his own community deserves commendation.
Any others received threats and intimidation, including death threats.
My colleague Debbie Simone is to be congratulated for setting up an appeal – gofundme/THelectionpetition.com
The “Quiet Fourth Petitioner” Angela Moffat, also played a valuable role – confident, strong and consistent throughout. What a rock!
In the meantime, Ninos Koumettou, the bankruptcy trustee principal at Alexander Lawson Jacobs is dealing with the the Lutfur bankruptcy – the most complex case in his long and distinguished career. Whether alleged bankruptcy fraud or mortgage had taken place is on the public court record. Information to kerri.cramphorn@ajluk.com
But let us be clear – NO REGRETS!
The petitioners don’t want any medals; all this heroes stuff is silly; we do not seek thanks from those in power; won’t be doing it again – but it was certainly worth doing. Bumping into people who simply say “Thanks” is enough.
That is honour enough and an indication of how great a community Tower Hamlets can again be if we get these bloody useless politicians and corrupt officials who colluded with Lutfur Rahman out of local government once and for all. It’s about taking control.
If several private prosecutions were mounted who would be in the frame?
No-one said it was going to be easy!
andyerlam@ymail.com
There is a clear criminal case against Rahman for mortgage fraud. A former leader of the English Defense League served a prison sentence for exactly the same thing so why not Lutfur?
Someone with clout is protecting him ?
It has been clear that the Met police have been protecting Lutfur througout. The million dollar question is who and why?
Lutfur was accompanied by 5 uniformed officers from Paddington police station when he arrived to give his ‘evidence’ in the election court. This Praesedium Guard was only withdrawn when I complained to Hogan-Howe.
A Bengali police officer was specially allocated a seat next to the witness box when LR gave his evidence, (a luxury not afforded to any other witness), when his credibility as a witness absolutely destroyed under cross-examination from our brilliant barrister, Francis Hoar.
Several detectives attended in the first weeks of the trial, “to cover the Met’s back” I was told. None of the police officers helped when our witness was assaulted allegedly, one family was apparently issued with death threats. Police inaction was due to “orders from above” one officer told me.
Several days before the election court case in 2015 opened, 3 Met officers visited my home in Bow at 7am in an attempt to arrest me, on a ridiculous malacious accusation by a Rahmanite that I attempted to pervert the course of justice. Azmal Hussain had problems with general harassment and local police. Further, false claims were made against others involved, which all came to nothing.
The impression given is that a Rahmanite was instructing the Met. Its an appalling situation and goes far beyond Tower Hamlets. We have only just scratched the surface and there are corrupt links with other local authorities, nationally and even internationally.
A whole series of new and credible allegations have been made to me which merit very serious consideration: such as: innocent individuals being pursued by
police abroad, a massive housing benefit fraud and bribery of police officers in Thailand.
Turning to the Left in the Labour Party, I am appalled that some individuals still defend Lutfur. Jon Lansman, leading light of Momentum, apparently says there was never a shred of evidence against Rahman and our new Tower Hamlets neighbour, Christine Shawcroft, Chair of Lutfur’s legal fund obviously thinks the same. What world are these people living in? As a member of the Bengali community said to me: “The Left often overlooks corruption in the black and ethic minority comminities.” But the end never justifies the means – because the means corrupt the end.
The reasons why Luther was being and is being protected will now emerge.
andyerlam@ymail.com
Andy,
If your allegations of protection being given to Rahman by the Met are true (and I have no reason to doubt them) then we should all be very worried indeed. That the police leap to the defence of someone who was to be proved guilty is concerning. That that defence was sanctioned from on high is yet more concerning.
You have mentioned the other allegations on here before. Are you able to describe them in any more detail? More importantly, are there active steps being taken to get to the bottom of the whole rotten mess?
Bravo and thank you again for your work. The people of Tower Hamlets will remain in your debt.
Tim.
Tim,
Your comments are much appreciated. Glad to have been of service. Conditions came together and the opportunity to win through presented itself. It was a collective effort, though. A project not without its problems, of course.
As we have seen, corruption has not gone away, its more regrouped. There is no magic solution. John Biggs’ “Clean-Up Project” for sorting any remaining problems at the Town Hall is a joke. It’s only for complaints when Lutfur was appointed, sorry elected, and when he was removed from office last year.
Corruption in Tower Hamlets didnt start with Lutfur and it didnt end when he was sacked. He was a small cog in a very big wheel.
You cant trust the police, the Electoral Commission is utterly useless, the CPS never got any report from the police on election fraud, the MPs blow hot and cold, some elements of the Left back LR – god knows why or how they justify it to themselves. I know that the new Labour Left leadership were systematically lobbied on behalf of LR when corruption came to light. Some kept a distance. Can a socialist justify campaigners spitting at a young woman voter from the Bengali community voting because she voted her way?
We have certain honest journalists, an honest judge, a few remarkable lawyers amongst the voltures and people on the community. But look at what has been achieved already?
We just have a small problem of legal fees to sort out. Not connected with any of the above, of course.
To avoid libelling an INNOCENT person not yet convicted by a criminal court of a criminal offence, perhaps it should be something like there appears to be substantial evidence suggesting a criminal offence may have been committed by Mr Rahman ?
One becomes a criminal only on conviction.
CC.
> Our former solicitors, Richard Slade and Company
> presented us with a bill for £210,000 after we sacked
> them
Would be nice to know how much they charged per hour and how much they charged for each paperclip and each A4 photocopy etc.
Could the vast bill be publicly exhibited ?
Oh, and Thanks again, for taking on the TH mob.
CC.
PS its difficult to go into details about the new allegations for legal reasons and to protect sources. All I can say is that this is much biggest than election fraud and much bigger than Tower Hamlets.
We can always ask questions though:
Do you think that INTERPOL facilities at the Met could be abused?
Is the Thai government about the sue the Met?
Is Slough council in a corrupt relationship with LB Tower Hamlets?
Has an assassination attempt been made abroad against a foreign national witness of corruption linked back to the UK and to TH?
Is there an “industrial-scale” housing benefit fraud taking place between at least 8 UK local authorities?
Does the DWP Permanent Secretary know about it?
What was his previous job?
I remain convinced that hundreds of millions of pounds have been defrauded from LB Tower Hamlets over the years and continues to be so. It is part of a much bigger picture.
As they say, you couldnt make it up.
andyerlam@ymail.com
Andy wrote:-
It is said Slough is Tower Hamlets Little Sister. Some Slough Interims went to LBTH and some permanent staff too including Isabella Freeman and Jill Bell (whose husband John ‘worked’ for Slough Borough Council; his name appeared on that infamous National Front or BNP membership list some years ago).
What is that alleged corrupt hanky-panky ?
Don’t forget corruption is endemic in local government !
Curious Cat
Seems Slough BC has suspended their chief exec after a change in the Labour Leadership – shame LBTH is slumbering away when everyone knows changes are overdue.
http://sloughtimes.com/ns/ns16/ns16a19.php
By the way how is the energetic LBTH mayor these days ? Never thought he was the best and was disappointed Andy didn’t get the job.
CC.
Reading all this I feel I have to put things straight. From what Andy writes it appears that Labour were unhelpful with the Election Petition case. This is totally untrue.
Two of the petitioners are Labour members (for now -I’m not sure how much longer I can stay a member with Corbyn in charge) and the vast majority of the witnesses in the Election Petition case were Labour people.
I personally collected about 60 or more witness statements: all from Labour linked people/ If it wasn’t for the witnesses that Azmal and myself begged and encouraged to come forward we would not have had a winnable case.
Its true that on an official level the Labour party didn’t support us but when we first embarked on the Election Petition we were working with the Labour Party lawyer and to begin with the Labour party did hand over evidence to us and was gearing up to support us with helpers,etc but then Andy Erlam decided to sack the Labour party lawyer and it became more difficult for the party to work with us.
Of course I am angry that people didn’t help us with evidence. I know lots of people in Tower Hamlets Labour party who pretended it wasn’t their problem and looked away and didn’t want to get involved as they were too afraid of being labelled ‘racist’. Others were more supportive though many were too afraid to come forward which is why I decided I had no choice but to get involved myself.
My witness statement began with this and it summed the situation up really:
“I have chosen to come forward as a petitioner to support others who wanted to come forward but felt too frightened to do so as this could potentially affect their job and housing prospects, and that of their family members and affect their future political careers”
In many ways I wish I had never got involved in the Election Petition as it has not been an enjoyable experience for me on any level. I think the problems in Tower Hamlets politics are quite complex (though not quite as complex as the pictures Andy paints 🙂 )
Its over 2 years since we first signed the Election Petition and the stress of it still hasn’t ended as we still face a legal bill.
If anyone can contribute to our fundraising it would be much appreciated, thanks
https://www.gofundme.com/THElectionPetition
Debbie. I think you have to distinguish between ordinary decent Labour Party members and the corrupt shambles of the leadership of the leadership locally and nationally. John Biggs is a joke. A weak, vacillating non entity who is afraid of his own shadow and who now employs the crook Aman Dalvi.
Nationally Livingstone and Shawcroft should have been expelled along with Jon Lansman and Andy Newman as well as a whole raft of other scum bags who backed Lutfur Rahman.
Debbie. I understand that ordinary Labour Party members were helpful. What is being criticised is the attitude of the leadership. They did absolutely nothing except stand back and then claim they were involved. Biggs came in and should have sacked Aman Dalvi. Biggs was so cowardly that the crook, Dalvi, is still in post stealing money frm the tax payers of Tower Hamlets.
Fine inspiring appealing words are useless unless there is a skeleton to hang them upon, otherwise they lay dormant on the ground – an amorphous mass amongst forgotten detritus.
Perhaps “spineless” is more suitable than “cowardly”.
When a politician lacks the courage and tenacity to stand-up for what is Right, its time they retire. The public deserve better.
Never thought Biggs was up to the job. That is why national Labour supported him – they sought a controllable poodle instead of a Lion.
Curious Cat.
Yes Debbie I am sure that ordinary Labour members were supportive and I know many who were very anti Lutfur. I think Andrew Gilligan acknowledged that he was given most of the information about Lutfur Rahman by Bangladeshis and Labour Party members. The hierarchy were silent, as far as I can remember, all of the way through.
Institutional Met Police corruption is holding everything up and it affects everything.
The corruption is so bad that the only solution is that Met should be abolished and replaced with a new London Police Service firmly established on the basis of genuine adherence to the Police Assignation which sworn by every police officer after training and stipulates equal treatment of all in the enforcement of the law. A new police culture and a new type of Commissioner is needed. The Met’s Department for Profesional Standards should certainly be abolished. It covers-up corruption and misfeasance.
Freemasons’ Lodge 9179, the Manor of St. James’s, the police lodge, is where the big Met decisions are being made, I am told.
Police corruption is behind the Stephen Lawrence case and the murder of Daniel Morgan and many more scandalous police cases in London.
Institutional police corruption is also a national problem which infects the whole of public life in Britain. There are links to Tower Hamlets with most scandals to hit the Met in recent years. Slough is frequently mentioned in dispatches.
The long history of Tower Hamlets police is so bad that many will not turn to the police when in need of help. One internal confidential government report compared Tower Hamlets police to “Chicago and Al Capone in the 1930s”. Dedicated police officers in the area are tearing thier hair out in frustration. The Met is a big part of the problem in Tower Hamlets, especially at the Town Hall. Corrupt officials and others linked via land deals at the Town Hall enjoy immunity from prosecution.
Turning to the role of the Labour Party, of which I was a loyal and active member of for 38 years, working at every level, it is important to distinguish between the leaders, locally and nationally and officials on the one hand, and the rank-and-file membership on the other.
Quite a few Labour members did help but not because of party leaders – but despite the obstructive and, at best, luke warm attitude of the Party leaders.
To repeat: Labour “leaders” made every effort to obstruct the Election Petition. John Biggs sneered at the petitioners on several ocassions saying: “Im alright but you are all going to loose your houses!”. That was the level of support.
On one ocassion after such an outburst the Director of the London Labour Party personally phoned me to apologise. So John’s recent strong support for the petitioners is especially welcome.
Chris Weavers did very little indeed to help the Petition. No significant publicity in the members’ newsletters or any other serious support. There was some minimal “going through the motions” in the early days motivated by embarrasment and calculations and even that petered out.
Rachael Saunders and Rushanara Ali MP refused point blank to make statements about the chaotic, and now proven, corrupt election count at The Troxy, as did Sadiq Khan who was also there. I have also to say, fairness, that Jeremy Corbyn ignored a letter asking for support. Why was everyone so shy? Didn’t the issues matter? Did they all got more important things to do?
Everyone is frightened of alienating “the muslim vote”, wheras corruption diminishes the quality of life of everyone. There is no block vote in the muslim community.
One senior national Labour Party official contacted me confidentially to say that the powers in the Labour Party wanted the Election Petition to “crash”. I was also told that senior Labour officials received a running commentary on sensitive and confidential issues on the progress of the Petition. I have no idea who supplied that commentary.
Our then solicitor, whom we sacked, Gerald Shamash, was the retained solicitor of the Labour Party. There was a potential conflict of interest.
These are the facts.
The interests of the Labour Party Leadership then were and possibly, now are, in conflict with the Petition. They did not want it to succeed. That is a tragedy.
The reason is that Lutfur was, and is, a Labour man. Dont tell me that no-one knew about the election fraud – everyone knew about it and did nothing about it for years. Tower Hamlets Labour Party did nothing about corruption because it has itself been corrupt. In a figure of speech: “Lutfur knows where the bodies are buried.”
Not only were the 2014 mayoral and local elections corrupt, so was the 2010 local election, so was the referendum for an elected mayor and so was the petition for the referendum for an elected mayor. The whole bloody lot!
There are also international links to the corruption in Tower Hamlets. One critic of former Tower Hamlets regime was harrassed by local police abroad and an attempt was made to frame him falsely for a capital offence. Abuse of INTERPOL by the Met had been cited. A sensational legal case is about to break.
The fraudulent use of public money in Tower Hamlets to help fund terriorism is also a very serious possibility. I have received several credible allegations that local Tower Hamlets tax-payers money has been siphoned off to send to ISIS via Stockholm. Several local voluntary organisations are repeatedly cited as colluding with this. The Met Commissioner was personally handed a file of evidence by myself together with 20 witnesses prepared to co-operate with the police. That was in June 2015. The Commissioner has never responded and the 20 witnesses were never contacted.
So we have been sadled with a local government system that places a £1.2 billion annual budget in the hands of one individual who is more-or-less self-elected. That person may be a crook, a gangster or just incapable and there is nothing the voters can do about it.
The only local political leader to help was Conservative Cllr. Peter Golds and nationally, only Sir Eric Pickles. The rest led from the back.
We have inherited a corrupt police force sometimes on the same side as the criminals.
Freemasnry is another problem. Lodge 9179, the Manor of St. James’s, the Met police lodge, is where the big Met decisions are being made, I am told.
Police corruption is behind the Stephen Lawrence and the murder of Daniel Morgan and many more scandalous police cases in London.
One internal government report compared Tower Hamlets police with “Chicago and Al Capone in the 1930s”.
So, a Revolution is needed. A revolution in transparency, generating extreme democracy, which goes far, far, beyond sectarianism and political partisanship, sweeping away all barriers and all of the dissembling of the truth that goes on. The revolution will sweep away all leaders who lead from the back.
The revolution starts in Tower Hamlets.
Andyerlam@ymail.com. Secure mailbox at 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC2N 3AX.
Andy writes:-
But, the Met Police and the Met Commissioner, are not ordinary police in some of their activities.
The Met Police has some national, meaning UK, responsibilities other territorial police do not have. For example, down the road from the ubiquitous Slough Andy mentions, is Windsor. Inside the castle’s curtilage is guarded by the police but not Thames Valley but the Met despite Windsor being outside London.
The Met Police commissioner is the highest ranking UK police officer, and in rank superior to mere Chief Constables, whose equivalent Met Police rank is Assistant Commissioner.
Perhaps London should have a normal territorial police force. The Commissioner and national responsibilities transferred to a national police service ?
Until some years ago the British government’s chief internal affairs minister, the Secretary of State for Home Affairs (Home Secretary) was the boss of the Met Police. That responsibility appears to have been transferred to the London Mayor.
If anyone thinks the Met is bent, then why is no one moaning to the slowly improving IPCC ???
Curious Cat
Andy mentioned
My sister works in Slough and would like more specific details.
There is police corruption in Slough, and has been for years, linked to elements in the local Labour Party organisation and one higher and significantly wealthy person.
Some believe Thames Valley Police corruption is linked to Freemasonry; perhaps Upton Lodge frequented by local politicians many of whom are Labour.
Andy what dirt can you expose about Slough?
Curious Cat.
Will the ramshackle bunch of corruptly and illegally elected THINGs now be tweeting pictures from prison when they visit Shahed Ali?
What has happened to him Jay Kay? The story seems to have died a death.
A couple of ideas that might keep the pot boiling. A petition to Parliament or whatever organised on line for an investigation onto the police at Limehouse where I believe the cover up took place. Also a crowd funding site to raise money for a private prosecution of Rahman and the Chief Superintendents who were in charge of H Division during the relevant period.
For a start we could get a petition signed by all of the non THING cllrs the two MPs, the member of the London Assembly and the area’s MEP. If nothing else it would flush out those who want to take their salaries and do nothing.