Fraudster mayor’s extraordinary return
CONVICTED fraudster Lutfur Rahman made a shock political comeback last night by taking the Tower Hamlets mayoralty back from Labour.
Mr Rahman, 56, unseated John Biggs with a combined 40,804 votes, seven years after the Electoral Commission found him guilty of ‘corrupt and illegal practices’ and banned him from running for five years.
He won the second round having run under his Aspire party with 40,804 votes to Mr Biggs’ 33,487. Mr Rahman, a former Labour councillor, became the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets when he stood as an independent in 2010.
He was re-elected in 2014, but the result was written off after it emerged his campaign bribed voters and falsely smeared his rival as a racist. In 2015 the election court found Mr Rahman personally guilty, or guilty by his agents, of charges including making false statements about a candidate, of administering council grants in a way that constituted electoral bribery and of spiritual intimidation of voters.
Tory peer Lord Moylan called the Tower Hamlets result an ‘absolute tragedy’ and said it had been the only seat he wanted Labour to win.
Former No10 adviser Will Tanner said ‘the nightmare returns’. Conservative Tower Hamlets councillor Peter Golds said: ‘Democracy is democracy – but can a leopard change its spots?’ He added that the Labour candidate had ‘spent his time foolishly attacking’ Mr Rahman.
Mr Rahman was Labour’s choice for mayor in 2010 but was removed over allegations he had signed up fake members, and won as an independent. Last month he said: ‘I have always maintained my innocence. I believe that [Electoral Commission] report was a travesty of justice.’