While Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney was conducting his latest purge in Westminster, back in his old stomping ground of Lambeth, a Labour councillor was suspended yesterday after being charged with a criminal offence.
Charged: Clapham Park Labour councillor Irfan Mohammed was arrested and charged by police
Irfan Mohammed has been a Labour councillor at Brixton Town Hall since 2018, having been elected to represent Clapham Park ward in 2022.
A statement issued by Lambeth Labour said: “We have been made aware by the police that Councillor Irfan Mohammed has been arrested and charged.
“He has been suspended from the Labour group, removed from all responsibilities as deputy cabinet member and removed from all council committees with immediate effect.
“We understand the police investigation is ongoing and we are unable to comment further.”
According to the always-excellent Brixton Buzz’s Jason Cobb: “This isn’t the first time Mohammed has found himself in hot water. In 2018, he hit the headlines after sharing a Facebook post which claimed Jews were warned about the 9/11 attacks.
“He somehow survived his position with a grovelling apology.”
The Buzz goes on to speculate how a ward by-election in Clapham Park might play out, were Mohammed to resign as a councillor. With Labour nationally polling at an all-time low of 15%, “The Greens will likely see this ward as winnable if it comes back into play.”
The Metropolitan Police have been approached for details of the charge, or charges, brought against Councillor Mohammed.
Meanwhile, Clapham and Brixton MP Bell Robeiro-Addy was among those chosen for public punishments by the Labour Party at Westminster yesterday, as Keir Starmer’s Orwellian enforcer, McSweeney, is believed to be behind having four MPs suspended and others sacked from minor jobs for their involvement in last week’s back-bench rebellion over welfare cuts.
Sacked: Clapham and Brixton MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy opposed welfare cuts to the disabled
Ribeiro-Addy was until 2024 the MP for Streatham, but was shunted aside to make way for Steve Reed OBE.
Yesterday, Ribeiro-Addy was removed from her role as the UK’s trade envoy to Ghana in what has been described as “a sweeping and politically motivated cull of left-wing MPs”.
MPs Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff all had the party whip removed, as lobby journalists were briefed by shadowy Labour figures that they were “persistent rebels”.
Like Ribeiro-Addy, Rosena Allin-Khan, the MP for Tooting, also lost her trade envoy status, as did Mohammad Yasin (MP for Bedford).
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