"Envoys were sent to Tower Hamlets after a team of government-commissioned inspectors published a report last November that uncovered a toxic and secretive culture dominated by the inner circle of the local mayor, Lutfur Rahman. It is understood Reed plans to meet the envoys to discuss their work so far, and to find out whether they think there has been sufficient change in the council and what else could be done."
"The planned meeting follows a letter to the council from Reed, who said he was appalled to learn that two Tower Hamlets councillors, one with Aspire and a former Aspire member who now sits as an independent, were seeking to become parliamentary candidates in Bangladesh. I am appalled that any councillor elected by local people to serve their interests would even consider abandoning that commitment to campaign in another country, he wrote in the letter, which the Guardian has seen."
Steve Reed, the communities secretary, has called a meeting with envoys overseeing Tower Hamlets council to assess governance concerns. Government-commissioned inspectors reported a toxic, secretive culture dominated by the mayor’s inner circle. Envoys were dispatched after that report and produced an initial July progress report that welcomed improvement steps while noting a perceived lack of cooperation from the mayor’s office. Lutfur Rahman previously served as Labour leader, became mayor in 2010 as an independent, was removed and banned for five years in 2015 for electoral fraud, and was re-elected in 2022 under the Aspire party. Aspire holds a small majority of councillors on the authority. Reed criticised councillors seeking to campaign in another country while local leadership is expected to focus on reforms.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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