Councillor’s image used in fake story about heist
ABIRMINGHAM councillor has been the victim of a fake news smear after a social media troll maliciously linked him to a £3 million heist.
Images of Councillor Mohammed Aikhlaq and two other men were included in a fake Facebook post about three arrests in the Jaguar Land Rover engine heist – making it look like they were the thieves.
The forged story, which was mocked up to look like a story on the website of the Post’s sister paper, the Birmingham Mail, has been shared tens of thousands of times on social media.
Cllr Aikhlaq, who is a manager at JLR’s Lode Lane plant where the raid took place, was immediately inundated with messages, phone calls and comments on social media over the affair.
The father-of-two, from Bordesley Green, said: “I’ve had calls from Pakistan, from Saudi Arabia, colleagues have asked me about it, it’s been a very distressing time.
“It’s been shared thousands of times all over the place. I work at JLR so some people have believed it.
“My son Ibrahim, who is 14, came home from school upset – he was told by other kids that his dad is a thief.”
His wife and daughter, a teaching assistant, have also received comments.
As well as being councillor for Bordesley Green, Mr Aikhlaq is a long serving governor at Leigh Primary School Trust and was awarded an MBE in the recent New Years Honours for services to education.
H e was also a governor at Alstom Primary School in Bordesley Green and Wyndcliffe Primary School in Nechelles as well as the Heart of England NHS Trust. Cllr Aikhlaq said that parents had contacted the school to check the story.
The smear has been reported to the city council’s legal team and Labour Party.
Cllr Aikhlaq, along with all Labour councillors in Birmingham, could be facing a re-selection contest in the next few weeks ahead of the 2018 elections.
Friends of Cllr Aikhlaq said the smear will be reported to West Midlands Police, although no formal complaint has yet been made.
A spokesman for the West Midlands Labour Party said it was looking into the incident.
The fake post was copied from a Birmingham Mail Facebook link to a story on the three arrests – although the men were not named.
Birmingham Post & Mail editor-inchief Marc Reeves said: “We take this misuse of the Birmingham Mail’s brand and reputation very seriously and will be looking at our own legal options very closely.”