Met Police set to face investigation over dropping Tower Hamlets election fraud case

The Metropolitan Police looks set to be investigated itself over its truncated inquiries into election fraud in Tower Hamlets.

London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden has written to HM Inspector of Constabulary, Matt Parr, inviting him “to carry out an inspection into this case and make recommendations for future improvement”. In making the request, she is using her powers under Section 54 of the Police Act 1996, as amended by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

The Inspector of Constabulary looks likely to agree to some form of inquiry in response to this official request. A spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have received a letter from the Mayor’s office, requesting an inspection. This request relates to the police investigation of electoral fraud in Tower Hamlets in 2014.  We will respond to the Mayor’s office in due course.”

In the 2014 election, Lutfur Rahman of ‘Tower Hamlets First’, won 43 per cent of the vote and was elected as mayor of the borough. He was removed from office in 2015, after the Election Commissioner found him guilty of election fraud. The Commissioner, Richard Mawrey QC, said in his 200-page judgment that Mr Rahman had “driven a coach and horses through election law and didn't care”. Despite this, the Metropolitan Police dropped their investigation into the allegations in March 2016, saying they had “insufficient evidence that criminal offences had been committed”. There are now concerns that Mr Rahman is hoping to make a return to politics.

In her letter, Ms Linden says: “A number of concerns have been raised with me about the conduct of the police investigation into these, and connected, matters.” She goes on to say: “I am keen to ensure that the investigations can command the trust and confidence of Londoners and particularly residents of Tower Hamlets, who are keen to see the integrity of the democratic process robustly secured. The public need to have the highest level of confidence that any and all criminal prosecutions have been considered and pursued.”

Mr Rahman was debarred until 2021 from elected office but there are media reports that he is supporting the candidacy of his former deputy mayor, Ohid Ahmad in the 2018 mayoral elections in Tower Hamlets.