"GANGSTERISM" CLAIM AS KHAN BATTLES McCABE

29-07-2009

Birmingham councillor Ayoub Khan has accused Hall Green MP Steve McCabe of “supporting gangsterism in politics” in the latest row over inner city elections. McCabe has joined hue and cry against Khan, by calling for Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to sack him as a parliamentary candidate.

Two High Court judges last week condemned the Cabinet Member for Local Services and Community Safety for inventing allegations against labour rival Mohammed Afzal during the 2007 Council poll.

Khan told The Stirrer that he stood by his version of events and “would not let God take him down”.

Given that he’ll also be standing in the Ladywood parliamentary seat, currently held by the independent ex-Labour MP Clare Short who’ll be standing down at the next election, the stakes are high.

That’s promoted McCabe to intervene. In a statement he said: “Nick Clegg claims to be very concerned over standards in public life, if that's true he needs to return to his desk for a couple of days and address this unpleasant smell in his own backyard.

“We've had total silence from him on the damming judgement of the courts and now one of his MPs [John Hemming] s not only backing Mr Khan, he's publicly repeating his ‘unpleasant, unwarranted and unsubstantiated assertions.’

”This is a disgrace and Nick Clegg needs to show some leadership now. Surely he cannot allow Ayoub Khan to continue as a LibDem parliamentary candidate?

“He ought to reprimand John Hemming also; otherwise we are entitled to draw the conclusion that the LibDems only respect the courts when it suits them and Nick Clegg supports the contemptuous comments of Mr Hemming.

“Elected politicians should not be encouraged to go around making "scurrilous allegations" for which they admit they have ‘no evidence’.

“The LibDems credibility in Birmingham is hanging by a thread today. Their leader must act now to sack Ayoub Khan and censure John Hemming over his outrageous comments. If not, we have all learned the value of Nick Clegg's commitment to standards in public life.”

Khan, who says that he has been cleared by local Liberal Democrat leader Paul Tilsley following an internal enquiry, was in defiant mood when told of McCabe’s comments said:

“I am shocked Steve McCabe has jumped on the bandwagon, given the substantive issue – which is that a black Range Rover was burned out. Has he seen the evidence or asked who did it? As an MP isn’t it his duty to investigate what really went on?

“People are missing the main issue. I am trying to clean up politics, especially Asian politics. This isn’t a leafy suburb like Sutton Coldfield. This is Aston, where pillar boxes have been burned and postmen have been attacked for their postal ballots.

“He should be sticking up for the basic principle that people should be able to cast their vote in a free and fair election. Instead he’s supporting gangsterism in politics.

“The real judge is the people of Aston who turned out in great numbers to support me in 2007, but I am willing to go into any forum and answer questions because I have nothing to hide.”

To see the recent judgement against Ayoub Khan click here