Tuesday 31 March 2015

Ibrahim Taguri confirms he will not stand as an Independent in Brent Central

As Brent Green Party was meeting across the road, the signage at Ibrahim Taguri's temporary campaign office in Walm Lane was being taken down last night. Earlier Ibrahim had confirmed to me that he would not be standing as an Independent in the General Election. He had anticipated a quick resolution of the allegations about donations made in the Daily Telegraph but this has not happened.

Lauren Keith was last week selected as the Liberal Democrat candidiate for Brent Central.

On March 26th the Electoral Commission made the following statement:

The Electoral Commission has today (26 March 2015) provided an update on its consideration of two separate allegations regarding donations to the Liberal Democrat Party.

Daily Telegraph allegations

Following the allegations that appeared recently on The Telegraph online (11 March) and subsequently in the newspaper regarding Ibrahim Taguri and donations to the Liberal Democrats, the Electoral Commission requested information from the newspaper, the party and Mr Taguri to help it establish the facts in the case.

Based on the information that the Commission has seen, one alleged offence centres on the potential evasion of restrictions on donations in contravention of section 61 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA). Offences under this part of PPERA are ultimately a criminal matter and fall outside of the Commission’s civil sanctioning powers.

The Electoral Commission has therefore passed the information that it has received to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS have confirmed to the Commission that they are also aware of the allegations and that they are considering them.

Channel 4’s ‘Dispatches’ 

Following the allegations that appeared as part of Channel 4’s Dispatches programme (23 March), the Electoral Commission requested further information from the programme to help it establish the facts in the case.

Based on the information that the Commission has seen, the alleged offence in this case centres on the potential evasion of restrictions on donations in contravention of section 61 of PPERA and is ultimately a criminal matter. As a result, the Commission has also passed the information that it has received to MPS who are aware of the allegations and are considering them.

Donations received in the course of both cases

In both of these cases, the Liberal Democrat Party received a number of donations.

One donation in the Telegraph case, a cheque for £7,650 was delivered to the party. However, it had not been banked and the funds had not cleared and as a result no offence was committed under the donation rules set out in PPERA.

The other donations included one of £1,450 made by the undercover reporter in the Telegraph case that was received and accepted by the party; and another of £10,000 received from the ‘step father’ of the undercover donor in the Dispatches case, Mr Paul Wilmott. The Commission is in contact with the Liberal Democrats about the actual source of these donations and will provide a separate statement about this matter once these further facts have been established.

Next steps

Any decisions about what further steps to take at this stage in relation to potential evasion of restrictions on donations in either case rest with the Metropolitan Police Service.

Should further facts emerge in relation to The Telegraph allegations or Channel 4’s Dispatches, which could lead the Electoral Commission to consider any other potential breaches of PPERA, the Commission will do so in line with its enforcement policy.





16 comments:

Anonymous said...

R.I.P Brent Lib Dems

Anonymous said...

Hi Martin - do you agree with Sam Stopp that the Brent Greens are more of a threat to Brent Labour than the Brent Lib Dems? Please reply.

Anonymous said...

My pet rabbit is more of a threat to Brent Labour than Brent LibDems

Unknown said...

Not speaking for Martin but as I see it the facts are as follows:

In the local elections The Green Party polled higher than a Lib Dem in the majority of Brent Wards.

In England & Wales The Green Party has the third most members after Labour and Conservatives.

When canvassing in Brent Central I've come across Libdem canvassers but none of them have been from Brent.

Brent Green Party membership had also been on the rise - its policy is decided from the Bottom up democratically not from the top down in darkened rooms with influence on manifesto based upon the size of your wallet. Which we saw from Labour as well as Libdems in the recent dispatches episode.

Where Sarah Teather was right on issues such as Guantanamo or Palestine, Green Candidate Shahrar Ali is her natural successor.

Where Sarah Teather was wrong on issues such as gay marriage, disability rights, siding with the blue tories on most things or criminalising members of the Somali community as opposed to treating khat as a health issue.. Then Shahrar Ali is the only challenger to Dawn.

We saw before when Sarah Teather first got in that you can win from third in Brent. The signs are there at the moment that Shahrar Ali can be our next MP in Brent Central.

Bw,

Scott Bartle

Anonymous said...

Hi Scott - do you wish you'd stood in Brent Central?

Anonymous said...

Dodgy Lib Dem Candidate stands down - I blame the Agent What on earth was she doing?

Unknown said...

As a voter of Brent Central I feel I'm entitled to comment on the goings on as much as anyone else? Happy to speak about Brent North to you if you wish to break the veil of anonymity. I'll say one thing for Barry, despite inconsistency when it comes to his position on the environment or tax dodgers he hasn't got involved in any scandal. Expect perhaps since trying to nobble Gordon Brown as leader, but Labour being left with Ed Miliband now is enough karmic retribution.

bw,

Scott.

Martin Francis said...

But see http://wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/gardiner-faces-his-critics.html

Alison Hopkins said...

You've not seen this, Scott?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5298359/Barry-Gardiner-195500-profit-from-a-flat-renovated-with-public-money-MPs-expenses.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6781236/MPs-expenses-Barry-Gardiner-bought-property-with-taxpayers-help.html

There's also his links with Modi.

Alison Hopkins said...

Who do you think was his agent?

Anonymous said...

Have they brought over Lauren's shop sign from Barking then? Brent and Barking have three letters in common so a bit of rearrangement and some yellow paint should do it

Unknown said...

Ok yes retracted: I forgot about the Harrods linen and the modi connections for a brief moment.

Alison Hopkins said...

I'm delighted to remind you. ;) Seriously, people do forget and his arrogance bears reminding. Two peas in a pod, him and Butler. And Butt, come to that.

Anonymous said...

Will Dawn's shop be on expenses? Or will the people paying for it have the same chance to influence the Manifesto that Chris Leslie was offering?

Anonymous said...

3 peas in a pod Alison, not 2. You seem to have forgotten the content of the article underneath which you are posting comments

Alison Hopkins said...

Not in the least. I welcome the Met being involved.