Tower Hamlets councillor runs for election... 5,000 miles from London

A London councillor has continued to earn £20,000 from the taxpayer despite campaigning for political office in Bangladesh.

Sabina Khan is seeking to represent the Bangladesh National Party in the Golapganj-Beanibazar constituency in national assembly elections in February.

Yet she continues to serve Tower Hamlets in east London as a councillor, earning £20,600 a year.

This includes £11,898 a year as a councillor plus an extra £8,702 for her role as scrutiny lead for resources, a position that requires her to examine the council’s decision-making.

Ms Khan is not planning to stand for re-election in Tower Hamlets in May, The Telegraph understands.

Tower Hamlets council has previously said that UK law “does not automatically disqualify” a person from being a councillor solely because they are running for elected office in another country.

Ms Khan attended a recent council meeting on Jan 21, according to Tower Hamlets’ records.

However, she has failed to show up for several recent committee meetings, sometimes sending a proxy representative in her place or dialling in remotely.

Social media posts showed Ms Khan campaigning in Sylhet, a city in Bangladesh, earlier this month.

Other Tower Hamlets councillors have called for Ms Khan, who represents a ward in Mile End, to resign.

In a written question, Amy Lee, a Tower Hamlets Labour councillor, asked at a November committee meeting: “Does the Mayor agree with me that Councillor Sabina Khan should resign from her role as lead scrutiny member for Finance and Resources, now she has declared her intention to stand for election in Bangladesh so that someone who is actually spending their time in Tower Hamlets can undertake this important role?”

At a town hall in January, the council said in response that seeking political office in other countries was “unacceptable” but that Ms Khan remained committed to her constituents.

The council said: “Relevant councillors have been informed by the council’s monitoring officer that seeking political office in other countries while serving as councillors is unacceptable, and that councillors must focus solely on the residents they represent and on the roles they undertake in the council.

“Councillor Khan has assured the Aspire Group whip that she remains committed to her constituents and her duties to the council.”

Ms Khan was elected as a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets but later defected to the Aspire party.

Aspire has controlled Tower Hamlets council since 2022.

The party was founded by Lutfur Rahman, the Tower Hamlets mayor, who was banned from public office in 2015 after he was found guilty of electoral misconduct by an election court. He was re-elected in 2022 after the ban expired.

The Government sent three ministerial envoys to the town hall in January 2025 after an inspection in 2024 found that a lack of trust and respect between political parties meant the executive at Tower Hamlets remained unchallenged.

Ms Khan and Aspire were contacted for comment.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]