Suspended Labour member’s ‘relief’ as party allows him back a third time
HASSAN AHMED WAS OUSTED ALMOST A YEAR AGO
HASSAN Ahmed has described his “relief” at being allowed back into Labour almost a year after being expelled over allegations of supporting a banned organisation.
Mr Ahmed, who previously represented the Radford ward on Nottingham City Council, was suspended shortly before last year’s local elections.
Mr Ahmed, a former executive member of the city council under Jon Collins, claimed he was suspended because of his intention to challenge David Mellen for the role of leader – a contest he said he was set to win. Labour denied this claim, with a source saying at the time that Mr Ahmed was expelled for his alleged support of Labour Against The Witch Hunt.
The group was founded in 2017 to oppose what it described as a “purge” of pro-jeremy Corbyn supporters. The group, now proscribed by Labour, also calls for the party to reject the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-semitism.
Mr Ahmed always denied knowledge of signing a petition organised by Labour Against The Witch Hunt and after an original appeal against his suspension failed, he says Labour has now re-considered. Mr Ahmed said: “They have reconsidered the case and decided to let me back in. I’ve served a lot of my life in the Labour movement and it’s a relief.”
Mr Ahmed said he was told about Labour’s decision on Monday. Labour has confirmed that Mr
Ahmed is a Labour Party member once again. Mr Ahmed says it is too early to say whether he would ever stand as a candidate again, with the next Nottingham City Council election not due until 2027.
It marks the third time that Mr Ahmed has been suspended by Labour before being allowed back in.
His council career began when he was elected to represent St Ann’s in 1987 and his first expulsion came in 1995, with allegations of rules being broken at a candidate selection meeting. Nottingham County Court eventually ruled in 1997 that Mr Ahmed should be reinstated as a member, declaring Labour’s previous decision void and ordering the party to pay his court costs. Mr Ahmed made a return to Nottingham City Council in 2007, but his time as a portfolio holder was briefly suspended after just two years when he stepped down in 2009. He had been arrested in July of that year on suspicion of assault and sexual assault.
The Crown Prosecution Service said in November 2009 that there was “insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of a conviction”. He then returned to his portfolio holder role and also to the Labour Party. Mr Ahmed says he would have taken Labour to court after his original appeal failed, but the decision by the party’s National Executive Committee means Labour has avoided legal action.
It comes after Councillor Mellen confirmed that he will be stepping down as the city council’s leader in May, with Mr Ahmed having previously called on him to resign after the authority’s effective declaration of bankruptcy.
Speaking about his leadership, Mr Ahmed added: “I’ve known David for a long time and even before he was a councillor, when he was a school teacher. David was a hard-working man and he was committed to his job, we have really got to give that to him.
“I do feel that the challenges became too big for him and he wasn’t able to climb that mountain.”
Labour said it would not be commenting any further on its decision.