19 August 2014

Lutfur Rahman 'secured Tower Hamlets election win with curry house threats and bribes'

Campaigners for Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman threatened council staff and bribed religious groups to secure votes in knife-edge elections, an explosive High Court dossier claims.

The controversial mayor oversaw a “systematic campaign of intimidation” including widespread postal vote fraud in order to triumph in May’s election, documents seen by the Standard claim.

He, or those acting on his behalf, allegedly told activists for his party, Tower Hamlets First, to collect and fill out 250 postal vote application forms each at a meeting held in a Bangladeshi restaurant ahead of May’s election, which he won by 3000 votes. [Evening Standard] Read more