Sunita Hirani: I am not under police investigation

 Cllr Sunita Hirani standing as an Independent in Kenton posted this statement on Next Door today:

STATEMENT BY CLLR. SUNITA HIRANI – INDEPENDENT COUNCILLOR FOR THE KENTON WARD OF BRENT COUNCIL – DATED 5th MAY 2026 

 

This afternoon, Tuesday 5 May 2026, I spoke with PC Oliver Price, the Metropolitan Police liaison officer for Operation Ford, regarding the safety of candidates in the local elections scheduled for 7 May 2026. 

 

During this discussion, I asked whether I, Cllr Sunita Hirani, am subject to any police investigation. Following his checks, PC Price confirmed that I am not under police investigation. 

 

I am therefore concerned about the circulation of statements or allegations suggesting otherwise. 

 

I will be seeking appropriate advice regarding any continued dissemination of inaccurate or misleading claims and their potential impact on the integrity of the electoral process.

Tragic death of young man in Kingsbury Green altercation in the early hours of Sunday morning. Murder investigation underway.

 Kingsbury Road was closed off between Uphill Drive and Chuch Lane

 

Locals speculated this morning when they found the 83, 302 and SL10  buses were diverted in Kingsbury, and they saw the  Kingsbury Green  open space was sealed off by blue police tape.

The police have now issued the following statement about the incident which, sadly, includes a fatality:

A murder investigation is under way following the fatal stabbing of a man in Kingsbury, North West London.

Police were called to reports of an altercation in Kingsbury Road, NW9 at 03:31hrs on Sunday, 18 May. A 26-year-old man was later confirmed to have been taken to hospital with a stab wound. Shortly after, despite the best efforts of medical staff, he was sadly pronounced dead.

His next of kin have been informed and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Formal identification and a post-mortem examination will take place in due course.

Detective Chief Inspector Allam Bhangoo, who is leading the investigation, said:

Our team of detectives and forensic specialists are working at pace to establish the full circumstances that led to the tragic death of a young man.

We understand this incident will cause concern within the Kingsbury community, and we’re grateful for their continued patience and co-operation. Residents can expect to see an increased police presence in the area, along with a crime scene, as we carry out the early stages of our investigation.

We urge anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any information that could assist us, to come forward as soon as possible.

Anyone who can help is asked to call police on 101, quoting reference: 1052/18May. Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Kinsgsbury Road, between Uphill Drive and Church Lane, remains closed at this stage. Please avoid the area where possible.

No arrests have been made at this stage.

What do Brent councillors think about deferral of Kensal Rise planning application?

A lively and at times passionate debate is taking place on these pages over the redevelopment of the Kensal Rise building.

The article has attracted more comments than  almost any other on this blog and I am posting this to invite readers who may have missed it to join in.

In particular I am inviting councillors and council election candidates to respond to what is clearly an important local matter.

One major theme is whether the planning application should be deferred until after police have completed their investigation into the alleged fraudulent emails submitted in support of the developer Andrew Gillick's previous planning application. LINK

Other matters include whether the space offered to the trustees of Friends of Kensal Rise Library for a community library is sufficient, and how robust that agreement is.

The original article by the trustees of the Friends of Kensal Rise Library and subsequent comments can be seen HERE

Since this was written responses have started coming in via Twitter. I will update here:

1. Martin Francis ‏@WembleyMatters 1h

   .@CllrButt What do you think? http://www.wembleymatters.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/what-do-brent-councillors-think-about.html …
2. Cllr. Muhammed Butt ‏@CllrButt 1h

   .@WembleyMatters we have a statutory responsibility to look at application. 1000's apps in Brent. Do we check the person or application

   
   

    Vicky Zentner ‏@vickyzentner 56m

   @WembleyMatters @CllrButt isn't ignoring the suspicion over fraudulent emails at very least morally wrong and at worst, collusion?
3. Meg Howarth ‏@howarthm 47m

   @CllrButt Both person& app.need flagging up.Planning cmtee statutorily independent&can vote to defer hearing>
4. Alex Colas ‏@AlexWG2014 18m
   

   .@WembleyMatters Planning cmtee should defer decision on this application until investigation into fraud allegations are completed.

@WembleyMatters 1/2 Strongly agree planning app should be deferred until outcome of investigation. Result might invalidate, for example. Alison Hopkins  @Hopkins_Alison   @WembleyMatters 2/2 FKRL know if space enough. I want VERY watertight legal guarantees. I've bad experiences with developers (Brent X!

Kensal Rise campaigners celebrate but reservations remain

The agreement between the Friends of  Kensal Rise Library and All Souls College and Andrew Gillick of Kensal Properties Ltd has been widely welcomed as it provides D1 space for a community library in exchange for support for that aspect of the developer's planning application. LINK

Clearly to have got this far is a tremendous achievement for a campaign that has kept going through thick and thin, including dawn raids by both Brent Council and the developers and the demolition of the pop up library.

The main fly in the ointment is that police investigations into alleged fraudulent emails has still not been concluded. As the outcome of the investigation is not yet known, and criminal proceedings against persons yet unknown are possible, it seems clear to many that the planning application should not be heard until the matters is cleared up once for all. It would be a disaster if the planning application, incorporating the community space agreement,  was heard and was successful, only to be thrown into doubt by court proceedings.

The alleged fraud was perpetrated not just against Brent Council and the planning department, but also against those whose identities were stolen or hijacked. The question remains: who stood to benefit?

Other reservations voiced over Twitter during the afternoon concerned thecommunity library being accessed via a door cut into a chimney flue, rather than the main building door and the amount of main space used as a circulation area restricting flexibility of use. There was also worry that the agreement is far from watertight with the developer treating the Friends of Kensal Rise Library as preferred tenant for a limited period only.

The campaign wll continue until a satisfactory outcome is safely in the bag.