Tonight’s Panorama programme raised a number of concerns about the mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman. It was suggested that a paper produced by the council, East End Life, was used as a vehicle for inappropriate political advertising, and also that the mayor had an overly cosy relationship with Channel S, a digital channel aimed at the Bengali community. This claim would seem to be confirmed by Ofcom rulings.
The second half of the programme focused on Rahman’s interventions in favour of projects which would benefit Somali and Bengali groups. Apparently the mayor supported applications not initially backed by his advisors, whereas those they had recommended for funding were sometimes overlooked. [Harry’s Place] Read more
