Bangladeshi origin Mayor of London Borough of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman has been put under an investigation over allegations of governance failure, poor financial management and fraud.
British Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles yesterday appointed inspectors to look into the allegations at the Tower Hamlets, where Rahman was elected in 2010.
“It is a matter of public record that I have long been concerned about a worrying pattern of divisive community politics and alleged mismanagement of public money by the mayoral administration in Tower Hamlets,” Pickles said through a press release issued by UK Department for Communities and Local Government yesterday.
Following the receipt of a number of documents, the British government has taken legal steps in the public interest, by appointing inspectors to look into the allegations in respect of Tower Hamlets, the statement said.
The inspection, which will be carried out by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, will look into evidence of the authority’s payment of grants, the transfer of property, spending decisions in relation to publicity, and other contractual processes from 25 October 2010 to the present day.
PricewaterhouseCoopers will report its findings to Pickles by June 30.
“I hope this sends a strong signal that robust processes are in place to investigate allegations of failures in financial management and governance in local government, under the new regime introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act which replaces the Audit Commission,” Pickles said in the statement.
Meanwhile, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on April 1 broadcasted an investigative documentary, which alleged that Lutfur Rahman had more than doubled funding for Bengali and Somali-run charities and cut funding for other organizations,
The mayor of Tower Hamlets refuted the allegation and said the claims were driven by racism and Islamophobia.
