Mayor ‘lived off family handouts’

TOWER HAMLETS mayor Lutfur Rahman has revealed he was living off handouts from family after he was booted out of office in 2015, writes Robert Firth.

Rahman said he lost everything after he was found guilty of election fraud. He denies any wrongdoing.

Rahman was re-elected mayor in May with 46.9 per cent of the vote following his five-year ban from standing for office. In an interview with Novara Media, Rahman said he struggled in the aftermath of the ruling that declared the results of the 2014 election void.

He said: “It hurt me, my family. I lost my job overnight. I lost my earnings overnight. I was living on handouts from my extended family. This is someone, I qualified as a lawyer, I secured a training contract in the City of London immediately and I was earning good money.

“Money was never a problem for me and my family. But overnight on the 22nd April, 2015 I go to bed as a mayor of Tower Hamlets and I awake up I’m no-one. I lost everything. It was a shock to me and my family. I was in a very dark period of my life.”

In 2015, deputy high court judge Richard Mawrey QC said Rahman had “driven a coach and horses through election law and didn’t care” and ordered him to pay £250,000 in costs. Mawrey’s ruling meant Rahman was removed from office part way through his second term as mayor. Rahman was first elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets in 2010.

In May, Rahaman returned to the top job with his new party Aspire after beating his Labour rival John Biggs in the mayor election. The party also took control of Tower Hamlets Council from Labour after getting the most councillors elected. Rahman, who was criticised by opponents for a lack of diversity after all 24 Aspire councillors elected were men, dismissed concerns his cabinet didn’t represent the borough.

He said: “I say to people, please judge me and my administration on our record. Judge us on our policies and our pledges...”

Rahman added housing would be one of his biggest focuses during his first six months in office. He said he was looking at the possibility of naming and shaming landlords who increase rent unreasonably through powers in the 2004 Housing Act.