Disgraced Lutfur Rahman endorses Rabina Khan for Tower Hamlets mayor

The former mayor of East London’s Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, has endorsed another Bangladeshi Rabina Khan to run for the office from which he was thrown out for corruption and illegal practices.

London Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 1 May 2015, 08:41 PM
Updated : 1 May 2015, 08:41 PM

Councillor Khan, elected in the May 2014 election, of Tower Hamlets First, the party Rahman leads, represents Shadwell ward.
 
Rahman, who is also of Bangladeshi origin, introduced Khan at a rally on Thursday (local time). 
 
It was his first public appearance since he lost his office and was banned from contesting again following a court order.
 
He announced to challenge the court order. “I have fallen, but haven’t broken yet.”
 
He announced Khan’s name at the programme as an independent mayor candidate with his party’s support.
 
Khan will fight it out against Labour Party candidate John Biggs in the re-run of Tower Hamlets mayoral election on June 11.
 
“All I have achieved so far is because of Lutfur Rahman,” said the councillor at Thursday’s programme.
 
A form seeking donation for Rahman’s ‘legal fund’ to challenge the court order was also distributed among the audience at the event.
 
Meanwhile, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles on Wednesday appointed two more officials to join a commissioner team that was sent to oversee the borough’s works.
 
In a letter, he said ‘close cronies’ of Rahman were still in influential positions, according to media reports.

The reports further said the secretary ordered actions to stop them from destroying ‘potentially damning documents and emails’ of the former mayor and his favoured councillors.
 
The Electoral Commission has already cancelled the registration of Lutfur Rahman’s Tower Hamlets First, which was harshly criticised by the court in its judgment for not being transparent as a political party.
 
The court removed Rahman from office on Apr 23 after he was found guilty of the charges levelled against him, including rigging the vote.
 
The results of his re-election as mayor of Tower Hamlets last year were declared ‘void’ because of the corruption and electoral fraud.
 
The court said Rahman influenced the locals and played the ‘race’ and ‘religious’ cards to gain ground against Labour Party rival Biggs.
 
It also slapped a £250,000-fine on the Bangladesh-born politician and barred him from contesting any more elections for five years.
 
He was also accused of telling local Muslims during his re-election campaign that it was a ‘religious duty’ to vote for him.