The Labour MP and former Jeremy Corbyn ally Apsana Begum has been charged with housing fraud following allegations surrounding how she acquired her London council flat in just six months. The 30-year-old has been charged with three offences in relation to the £300,000 one-bed flat in east London.
The MP for Poplar and Limehouse is due to appear in court on December 10. If found guilty she faces the prospect of losing her Commons seat and serving jail time. UNN’s Oliver Down understands that Ms Begum first made an application for a council house while living with her parents in Tower Hamlets in 2011. She then got married and moved in with her husband in 2014. However, following a split, she found council house again inside just six months despite having no children and there being a long waiting list.
Ms Begum had previously said: ‘I was so grateful to be housed, which provided me with the lifeline I needed to live independently and safely’. In a statement, Ms Begum has said she will ‘vigorously contests these malicious and false allegations’.
In 2017 she was elected secretary of the local Labour Party before winning a landslide 29,000 majority in last December 2019’s general election. A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson has said: ‘The council takes housing fraud very seriously. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on any specific allegations, but the public can be confident that any concerns are investigated by an experienced team, in line with our procedures’.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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