The Evening Standard publishes new revelations about the Cllr. Ahsan Khan affair UPDATED

The Evening Standard yesterday rendered a public service by publishing further information about Cllr. Ahsan Khan’s proclivity for surepticiously handing out community ‘awards’ (as he describes them), using the Mayor’s Parlour, with the Mayor of course present.

The full story is here:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/east-london-council-gives-award-to-leader-of-extreme-islamist-party-a3284671.html

The headline and first paragraph give a flavour:

So the full truth is gradually beginning to emerge.

Cllr. Khan’s beneficiaries included the repulsive, the undeserving, and on occasion people who were simply his friends.

However, we now learn that, though Cllr. Khan was the front man in this circus, the two individuals who were doing the leg work, lining up the recipients, were, on the one hand, his father and, on the other, the convicted fraudster and ex-Sherriff of Nottingham, Mr. (sometimes ‘Lord’) Shaukat Khan.

When the Evening Standard first broke this story in April, LBWF’s Chief Executive Martin Esom hired the barrister Jonathan Auburn to investigate and make recommendations.

Mr. Auburn’s report for the time being remains secret.

But the revelation that Mr. Shaukat Khan was involved clearly raises new questions.

For Mr. Shaukat Khan’s story is well documented, having been covered in the national and local media, while he is also an ex-employee of LBWF, who departed the Town Hall in controversial circumstances.

Yesterday, I wrote to Mr. Esom as follows:

‘Dear Mr. Esom,

I draw your attention to the following:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/east-london-council-gives-award-to-leader-of-extreme-islamist-party-a3284671.html

Mr. Shaukat Khan’s antics across the years of course will be well-known to you, encompassing as they do, beyond his conviction for fraud in Nottingham, inter alia disclosures in a Dispatches investigation, and an unfortunate episode at the Town Hall which was subsequently used by your erstwhile audit and anti-fraud colleague Rachael Tiffen as a case study in disaster-management (‘The day Khan was employed by Tiffen’s Borough is probably one she’d rather forget…It merely reinforces the fact that employers need to be so, so careful these days. Even City Sheriffs may not be what they seem’).

Against this background, please will you reassure me that:

(a) you made Mr. Auburn aware of this history during the course of his recent investigation; and

(b) Mr. Auburn subsequently established beyond reasonable doubt that Mr. Shaukat Khan’s ‘arranging’ of events in the Mayor’s Parlour for Chinese ‘visitors’ did not result in personal gain for any of the parties who were involved?

Yours sincerely,

Nick Tiratsoo’

I will post his reply.

UPDATE

And here is his reply. In full.

‘Dear Mr Tiratsoo,

Thank you for your email dated 30th June. This request falls under our freedom of information procedures and your email has therefore been forwarded to the relevant department. To speed up responses to your future enquiries, I recommend that you use our online portal https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/content/make-freedom-information-request.

Best wishes,
Hannah

Hannah Ram
National Management Trainee, Chief Executive’s Office
Room 111, Waltham Forest Town Hall
Forest Road, Walthamstow, E17 4JF’