Tower Hamlets Mayor stripped of powers to give grants, sell property

The mayor of scandal-tainted London Tower Hamlets council, Lutfur Rahman, has been stripped of his powers to dish out grants and sell property with a takeover squad moving in.

Two commissioners on Wednesday entered the council office to meet functionaries and the controversy-ridden Bangladeshi-origin mayor, reports ‘London Evening Standard’.

The commissioners have been appointed by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles.

Pickles told Parliament in a written statement: “I remain satisfied that the Council is failing to comply with its best value duty. It is disappointing that there is a culture of denial in the mayoral administration about its systematic failures.”

The commissioners, who moved in, are being led by Sir Ken Knight, a former London Fire Commissioner and advisor to the government.

He is backed by former council chief executive Max Caller, the chairman of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Pickles said the issue was merely not one of money. “The abuse of taxpayers’ money and the culture of cronyism reflects a partisan community politics that seeks to trade favours and spread division on the rates,” the Cabinet minister said.

“Such behaviour is to the detriment of integration and community cohesion in Tower Hamlets and in our capital city. This remains my view,” he added.

Sir Kent will take immediate control of the grants and will approve any property sale that may be needed, says the paper.

A highly damaging report last month had faulted Rahman on several counts.

He was charged with flouting spending rules, ‘highlighting’ grants against official advice, and the sale of the town hall to one of his supporters.

Rahman, however, stoutly denies any wrongdoing and the council stresses the absence of any evidence of criminality.

But Sir Ken has been quoted to have said: “We are determined to restore faith in how Tower Hamlets operates. Local people deserve a council that not only makes decisions in an accountable and transparent way but also with the benefit of all residents in mind.

“Today marks the start of a long but necessary journey to ensure public confidence in the council is restored, community cohesion maintained and that Tower Hamlets is no longer a by-word for poor governance.”

The report by the paper’s political editor Joe Murphy quotes a council spokesperson as saying: “The council looks forward to working with the commissioners who have met with senior officers this morning.

“In addition we look forward to demonstrating that the council runs high performing services from developing new housing to excellent school results to award winning parks.

“It is noteworthy that the directions do not seem to take account of detailed representations made to the Secretary of State and it is our understanding that the Mayor will be reviewing the directions to decide upon the most appropriate course of action.”