Report says Tower Hamlets council slow to act over Palestine flag concerns
Damning government inspectors report says it is 'not clear' east London council, led by mayor Lutfur Rahman, has managed community tensions over Gaza effectively
Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor
The government is set to appoint “ministerial envoys” to oversee Tower Hamlets Council after inspectors found a “toxic” political environment which included a failure to manage tensions caused by the on-going conflict in Gaza.
Decisions now made by the east London town hall will be monitored by a Government-appointed envoy following a series of complaints and controversies under the borough’s independent executive mayor Lutfur Rahman.
A Best Value Inspection of the London council, published on Tuesday, noted how: “Since 7 October 2023, some members of the small Jewish community have found the issue of Palestinian flags to be a major worry.
After receiving a letter from lawyers outlining “serious concerns on behalf of the Jewish residents in Tower Hamlets” over the flags, as well as concerns raised about active community Facebook and WhatsApp groups where “fierce online conversations” took place about Gaza there was an unexplained delay in the Council’s response, after they sought their own legal advice.
Their report states: “The council received legal advice on this matter initially, from its in-house legal team shortly after the flags had started to be displayed.
“On 12 February 2024, a conference was held with King’s Counsel, the Mayor and officers to discuss the legal advice received.
“We have been provided with the King’s Counsel legal advice on a strictly confidential basis, with no waiver of privilege in respect of the advice, but it does seem to us that the matter was not overly legally complex.
“We were not provided with the brief to the Kings Counsel and therefore were unable to ascertain the date of instruction.
“However, we were informed there were delays in sending the brief to the barrister, due to a number of officers, and the Mayor, wanting an opportunity to make comments.
“In any event, it is unclear to us as to why there were such large gaps between the issue arising, advice being sought and received and action being taken.”
It is confirmed that on 5 January 2024, the Council received an email from the Chief Executive of the UK Lawyers for Israel outlining concerns raised by the Jewish community, including the flying of Palestinian flags throughout the borough.
The inspectors report continues:”Clearly the Gaza conflict has been a difficult time for many and it is not within the power of a single Council to remedy matters.
“However, it is not clear that the Council has acted particularly effectively to manage tensions.
“We are not aware of any corporate communications from the Council’s leadership to its staff or with schools about the conflict and impacts in the local area, and understand some Jewish staff members to have felt uneasy as a result of this omission.
“The report notes that Tower Hamlets is home to the largest Bangladeshi community in the UK, and as a community they have faced “shameful discrimination” in the past.
It notes that these experiences have clearly been a driving force for many in their desire to achieve positive change through public action on behalf of their community.
“The Mayor is a member of the British Bangladeshi community, as are all Aspire group Councillors,” adds the report.
“They are considered community leaders by many in the borough.”
But it also emerged that the Aspire group Councillors “are men and the majority of Aspire candidates at the May 2022 Council election were also men.”
“Some of our interviewees saw this as representing a problematic lack of diversity,” adds the report.
In a worrying development, the report continues: “There are some residents and community members within Tower Hamlets who feel that political attention is focused on some communities more than others. These concerns are often but, not exclusively, focused around resource allocation – particularly housing.”
Other issues to be raised in the report include a “lack of respect and cooperation between political parties at the town hall “prevents councillors from engaging in a culture of genuine improvement” which contributed to “officer churn at the top levels” of the organisation.
Local Government Minister Jim McMahon said the council was “failing to comply with its Best Value Duty” and he would appoint a “ministerial envoy and assistant envoy to act as advisor, mentor and monitor to the council, and to oversee its improvement work”.
Rahman and his Aspire party beat Labour to be re-elected to lead Tower Hamlets in 2022 – seven years after he was dramatically ousted from office following a vote-rigging scandal.
He was previously barred from politics for five years after a damning election court judgement, which upheld allegations of bribery, false statements and undue influence in relation to his win in the borough at the 2014 local elections.
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