Inquiry into local Tory group

ALOCAL Welsh Conservative association is facing an inquiry after it allowed its former chairman to rejoin after he was jailed for mortgage fraud.

Next week a party panel will convene during which senior officials will seek to establish whether Newport East Conservative Association requires intervention.

A number of local members have spoken to the Western Mail expressing concerns about how the association has been functioning.

One told us: “Proper accounts have not been produced, meetings have been held in a mosque to which non-Muslim members have not been invited, and recently there was a situation where 40 lapsed members rejoined in a very short space of time.

“One of the rejoining members was Omer Mian, the association’s former chairman, who earlier this year was jailed for mortgage fraud. It seems he was allowed to rejoin from prison, but his renewed membership was revoked after a complaint was made to Central Office.”

Mian received a two year and five months sentence in March this year and remains in custody.

Another party member said: “There appear to have been multiple membership applications to rejoin the party with the same signature on each application form and the fees paid from one credit card.

“The whole association needs to be suspended and reformed with a lengthy period of supervised meetings.”

Next week’s panel will be chaired by Monmouthshire county councillor Jane Pratt, who chairs the party’s south east Wales region.

She said: “This is an internal party matter and I have no comment to make.”

The Newport East association is chaired by Muhammad Tariq, who several party members said was a former air commodore in the Pakistan Air Force.

Last year he was an unsuccessful election candidate for Newport council. When we asked him about the concerns of party members and next week’s panel hearing, he refused to comment.