{"id":540325,"date":"2025-10-31T17:59:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/540325\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T17:59:16","slug":"london-councillors-caught-campaigning-to-be-mps-in-bangladesh-politics-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/540325\/","title":{"rendered":"London councillors caught campaigning to be MPs in Bangladesh | Politics | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Councillors in a central London borough<\/a> where one in four people don’t speak English as their main language, have sparked outrage after being caught campaigning to stand as MPs in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

Cllr Shabina Khan and Cllr Ohid Ahmed, who both serve on Tower Hamlets Council, were revealed to have been seeking to stand in next February’s Bangladeshi general election for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), a party long dogged by corruption violence and extremism claims.<\/p>\n

The BNPs founding principles include \u201cfull faith and trust in Allah\u201d, \u201cBangladeshi nationalism\u201d and socialism.<\/p>\n

In 2006 it faced heavy criticism over corruption and political violence, and as recently as July this year its youth, volunteer and student wings were linked to the brutal murder of scrap trader Lal Chand Sohan, who was stripped and hacked to death in Dhaka. Five members were later expelled.<\/p>\n

Now both London councillors<\/a> have been photographed attending campaign events in Bangladesh, apparently seeking to impress local BNP figures and secure nomination to stand for office.<\/p>\n

Ms Khan, who quit Labour to join the Aspire Party run by convicted election fraudster Lutfur Rahman, has been slammed by critics. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice<\/a> branded the situation a \u201ccomplete farce\u201d, demanding that both councillors \u201cresign immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cCllr Khan and Cllr Ahmed were elected to represent Tower Hamlets, not Bangladesh. Many of their residents will rightly feel betrayed by these councillors\u2019 shameless lack of loyalty and integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joining the criticism was Conservative Politician Susan Hall, who asked \u201cHow can they represent London when trying to run for office in another country?\u201d. She added: \u201cThese councillors need to pick what country they want to stand up for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tory Chairman, Kevin Hollinrake described it as “beyond parody that councillors, elected and paid by the hard-working British taxpayer, are now seeking election in Bangladesh”.<\/p>\n

He added: “Not content with spreading their divisive, sectarian politics across the East End of London, they are travelling over 4,000 miles to spread it elsewhere in total abandonment of their duty. The people of Tower Hamlets deserve far better than this rabble.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rahman, who was struck off as a solicitor as well as being removed as Mayor, after being found guilty of election fraud, returned as mayor in 2022 when his ban on holding public office expired. Aspire made headlines that year for fielding only Bangladeshi or Bangladeshi-heritage candidates.<\/p>\n

Despite earning more than \u00a320,000 from her council roles, Ms Khan reportedly missed more than half of her official meetings last year. One resident told the London Standard she \u201ccannot answer\u201d local concerns because she is \u201calways overseas\u201d, adding: \u201cWe elected her to represent us, not Bangladesh.\u201d<\/p>\n

The same report found Ms Khan running a Facebook page titled Sabina Khan for Golapganj and Beanibazar, openly backing the BNP.<\/p>\n

Mr Ahmed, an independent councillor, has also been filmed addressing BNP events in Bangladesh. One Facebook post shows him speaking to supporters with the caption: \u201cThe path of change begins at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

A longstanding Tower Hamlets councillor said it was \u201cutterly ridiculous that these councillors are campaigning in Bangladesh when they are meant to be serving residents in East London\u201d.<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cCllr Khan is being paid extra to lead the financial scrutiny of the council. Lutfur Rahman and Aspire are more focused on feathering their own nests than delivering for people in Tower Hamlets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Government condemned the behaviour as \u201cunacceptable\u201d. A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: \u201cWe are clear that councillors must be able to effectively serve the constituents who elected them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman said: \u201cUK law does not automatically disqualify a person from being a councillor solely because they are running for or hold elected office in another country. The other country, however, may have laws that restrict dual mandates or foreign office-holding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, ministerial envoys were sent into Tower Hamlets to oversee what officials described as \u201cfailing governance\u201d. A report found decision-making \u201cdominated by an inner circle\u201d led by Mr Rahman.<\/p>\n

An Aspire Party spokesman reportedly said Ms Khan would resign from the council if she wins in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

Mr Ahmed said: \u201cI have always believed that public service is about integrity, not rhetoric. Since 2002, it has been an honour to serve the people of Lansbury. I will continue to do so until May, remaining focused on the needs of my constituents. My record of casework and community service reflects that commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Councillors in a central London borough where one in four people don’t speak English as their main language,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[174118,174123,748,174122,174121,174120,174119,393,4884,257,11508,46092,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-540325","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-bangladesh-nationalist-party","9":"tag-bangladesh-nationalist-party-bnp","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-cllr-ohid-ahmed","12":"tag-cllr-shabina-khan","13":"tag-councillor-integrity","14":"tag-dual-mandates","15":"tag-england","16":"tag-great-britain","17":"tag-london","18":"tag-politics-section","19":"tag-tower-hamlets-council","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115470084535575810","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=540325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/540325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=540325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=540325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=540325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}