Mayor of Tower Hamlets in east London found GUILTY of seizing power through corruption and 'playing the race and religion cards'
- Independent Lutfur Rahman elected for second term as mayor last year
- A judge has today declared the poll result void due to corruption
- Court finds Rahman used corrupt and illegal practices to seize power
- He is ordered to pay £250,000 costs and will not be able to stand in re-run
A
London mayor who 'cynically perverted' the religious feeling of his
Muslim community and 'silenced his critics with accusations of racism
and Islamophobia' has been removed from office after a bitter legal
battle with voters.
Disgraced
Lutfur Rahman repeatedly played the 'race card' in his bid to seize the
mayoralty of Tower Hamlets and later cling to power, Election
Commissioner Richard Mawrey found today.
The
judge ordered that last year's mayoral election be run again and Rahman
- who was re-elected to the position after forming his own party, Tower
Hamlets First - be barred from standing again.
Rahman,
who was not in court for the judgement, was ordered to pay £250,000
costs following an Election Court trial estimated to have run up legal
bills in the region of £1 million.
The
judge said the case 'starkly demonstrated what happens when those in
authority are afraid to confront wrongdoing for fear of allegations of
racism and Islamophobia'.
He
added: 'Even in the multicultural society which is 21st century
Britain, the law must be applied fairly and equally to everyone.
Otherwise we are lost.'
Lutfur Rahman has been found guilty of corrupt and illegal practices by an Election Court judge
On the conduct of Mr Rahman and his party during the election campaign, the judge found:
-
Rahman 'let loose a mob of excitable, politically committed, young men'
who 'approached voters, particularly Bangladeshi voters and harangued
them in a manner that appeared to some onlookers to be rather
aggressive'. Some voters said getting into polling stations was like
'running the gauntlet'.
- Up to 300 votes were 'dubious' or the result of 'personation', an electoral offence where someone votes as someone else.
- Rahman 'ran his campaign on the basis that it was the religious duty of faithful Muslims to vote for him'.
-
He ran his party, Tower Hamlets First, as a 'personal fiefdom', which
'had no other aim, objective or ideology beyond the continuation of Mr
Rahman in the office of Mayor of Tower Hamlets'.
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The judge said: 'The evidence laid before this court ... has disclosed an alarming state of affairs in Tower Hamlets,' he said.
'This
is not the consequence of the racial and religious mix of the
population, nor is it linked to any ascertainable pattern of social or
other deprivation. It is the result of the ruthless ambition of one
man.'
The judge added: 'The real losers in this case are the citizens of Tower Hamlets.'
The
judge said Mr Rahman and his supporters had accused opponents of
'dividing the community' when it was in fact they who had done so.
Petitioners Andy Erlam, Angela Moffat
and Azmal Hussein, who fought against the corruption, celebrate outside
the High Court this afternoon
Andrew
Erlam, one of those who brought the case against Mr Rahman, and John
Biggs, the Labour mayoral candidate, both welcomed the ruling today
He
added: 'The Bangladeshi community might have thought itself fortunate
to have been the recipient of the Mayor's lavish spending but in the end
the benefits were small and temporary and the ill effects long-lasting.
It was fool's gold.
'On
past form, it appears inevitable that Mr Rahman will denounce this
judgment as yet another example of the racism and Islamophobia that have
hounded him throughout his political life.
'It
is nothing of the sort. Mr Rahman has made a successful career by
ignoring or flouting the law (as this Petition demonstrates) and has
relied on silencing his critics by accusations of racism and
Islamophobia.
'But his critics have not been silenced and neither has this court.'
Four
voters who stood up to Rahman - Andrew Erlam, Debbie Simone, Azmal
Hussein and Angela Moffat - and brought the High Court legal action
which eventually removed him from office were praised for their
'exemplary courage' today.
Judge
Mr Mawrey said: 'The Petitioners knew that Mr Rahman would deploy all
his resources to defeat them and could rely on the Bangladeshi media to
back him all the way.
'The
Petitioners would be portrayed as racists and Islamophobes, attempting
to set aside the election (by a large majority) of a Mayor whose
government of the Borough had been inspirational, for no better reason
than the fact that he was a Bangladeshi.
'And so it proved. The Petitioners have been duly vilified - but they have hung in there.'
The group of voters was headed by Andy Erlam, who stood as a councillor on an anti-corruption ticket.
After
the judgement, Mr Erlam said: 'It is a fantastic result for democracy.
There will have to be a new election of mayor. Mr Rahman cannot stand.'
London
Mayor Boris Johnson said: 'I'm very glad that justice has taken its
course and that a cloud has been lifted from Tower Hamlets.
'It is vital now that we move on with new elections, and ensure that something like this can never happen again.'
Lawyers
for the group of voters made a series of allegations, including
'personation' in postal voting and at polling stations, and ballot paper
tampering.
Election
Petitioner, Amzal Hussain (left) and Tower Hamlets Returning Officer,
John Williams (right), arrive at court earlier this year
Mr Rahman formed his own party called Tower Hamlets First after he was kicked out of the Labour party
Rahman,
49, won the poll in May with 51.8 per cent of the vote. He had formed
his own party, Tower Hamlets First, after being expelled by Labour.
He had claimed there was 'little, if any' evidence of wrongdoing against him.
His
lawyers described the group of four's claims as invention, exaggeration
and 'in some cases downright deliberately false allegations'.
A
statement on Mr Rahman's website today said: 'Today's judgement has
come as a shock - the Mayor strongly denies any wrongdoing and had full
confidence in the justice system, and so this result has been surprising
to say the least.
'We are seeking further legal advice on the matter in relation to a judicial review.'
Labour
mayor candidate and London Assembly politician John Biggs said after
the ruling that it was 'a victory for honest politics'.
'By
setting out to break the rules and going to extraordinary lengths to
win last May's mayoral election, Lutfur Rahman and his allies robbed the
people of Tower Hamlets of the free and fair mayoral election they
deserved and betrayed everyone in our community who trusted and voted
for him.
'Enough
is enough - it's time to get democracy and accountability back in Tower
Hamlets and restore trust and confidence in our politics.'
Communities
Secretary Eric Pickles hailed the ruling that a mayor was guilty of
corrupt and illegal practices as a vindication of his decision to
intervene in the running of the council.
He
said the judgment against Lutfur Rahman - directly-elected mayor of
Tower Hamlets in East London - could mean extra powers being handed to
Commissioners sent in last year to take over some council operations.
That
could include transferring full executive control from the present
cabinet of councillors, as happened recently in Rotherham over its poor
response to child sex abuse.
Until
now the Whitehall-appointed troubleshooters had been in charge of areas
of particular concern such as grants, contracts and election
administration.
Mr
Pickles said he would also be seeking reassurances that steps were
being taken - including by the police - to ensure that there would be no
issues with the General Election.
'This judgment vindicates our action to intervene,' he said in a statement.
Barrister Francis Hoar, petitioners,
Angela Moffat, Andy Erlam, Azmal Hussein, who mounted a challenge under
the provisions of the Representation Of The People Act, and legal
adviser Bob R A Watt. Mr Erlam welcomed the ruling as a 'victory for
democracy'
'SEIZING POWER BY WHATEVER MEANS': WHAT WAS RAHMAN ACCUSED OF?
Lutfur
Rahman was accused of having 'subverted democracy' by masterminding a
campaign of corruption and intimidation to rig his re-election last
year.
Muslim
voters were left in tears at the ballot box after being warned it was a
'sin' not to back the controversial mayor, the High Court heard in
February.
Barrister
Francis Hoar told the court that anyone who challenged Rahman's crooked
practices was branded 'racist or Islamophobic'.
Rahman, pictured after his victory in 2010, was accused of intimidating voters when he stood in 2014
The
court heard that the children of electoral rivals received death
threats on their mobiles, postal ballots were doctored, elderly voters
were manipulated and an army of 'ghost voters' was registered.
Rahman allegedly funnelled hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money to organisations run by his cronies.
Before
election day last year, residents – 'often elderly and with little
English' – would be approached by canvassers with applications for
postal votes, Mr Hoar said.
'Supporters
of Lutfur Rahman told voters that 'you do not have to go and vote
yourself, just give us the card and we will sort it out for you'.' There
were numerous examples of men ordering women how to vote or voting for
them, it was claimed.
Mr
Hoar told the court in February: 'Since the beginning of his political
career, he has been prepared to take whatever steps, use whatever means,
recruit whatever support, to obtain power – power for himself, power
for his friends and most importantly, power over his community.'
The court was told Rahman used a range of corrupt and dishonest methods to win the election
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