Political reporter(wp/es):
Theresa May was today urged to bail out the four Londoners who brought down the corrupt mayor of Tower Hamlets but are facing bankruptcy over unpaid legal fees.
The four residents, who won a High Court victory against Lutfur Rahman last year, owe £210,000 to a solicitors’ firm that was employed to recover their costs. John Biggs, the new Labour mayor of Tower Hamlets, has written to the Prime Minister calling on her to change the law to protect election petitioners who “risk everything” to protect democracy.
He suggested the Ministry of Justice could consider setting an upper limit on their liability for costs, or protecting them against costs above that limit.
Mr Biggs had previously asked council officials whether the borough itself would be able to contribute, but was given legal advice which suggested it would be in breach of responsibilities. In his letter, seen by the Standard, he said the four voters — Andy Erlam, Debbie Simone, Azmal Hussain and Angela Moffat — had taken “great risks” to restore integrity to local democracy.
Mr Rahman, who was removed from office after breaking election rules, was subsequently declared bankrupt, leaving them facing “crippling” legal costs. As a result of their action, his election in 2014 was voided and he was barred from office for five years after being found guilty of “corrupt and illegal practices” including faking ballot papers, bribery and vote-rigging.
Mr Biggs wrote: “We are left in the perverse situation that those brave individuals who have successfully challenged corruption are now being punished for their service with legal costs in excess of £200,000.
“It is wholly unfair that those who challenge corruption and protect democracy are punished, and the plight of these petitioners may put off challenges to similar cases in the future.”
In his judgment last year, Election Commissioner Richard Mawrey said the policing of fair and democratic elections was being left “to the chance” that concerned citizens would become involved at their own expense.
The four have been billed for payment of £210,000 by a solicitors’ firm which they accuse of carrying out “massively overpriced” work that was not even central to the case.
The firm refused to comment, citing client confidentiality. Former local government secretary Sir Eric Pickles is among those to have proposed a change in the law to make it easier for residents to challenge elections if there is serious cause for concern.
Mr Erlam told the Standard: “We would obviously support a change in the law. We did this for the public interest, we had no financial gain or political advantage, we just saw what was going on and the authorities were doing nothing about it.
“We helped restore democracy when the authorities, the Electoral Commission and the police, looked the other way. Everyone knew what was going on for years but failed to carry out their legal responsibilities.”
