Theresa May ‘must help residents facing £210,000 bill after ousting Lutfur Rahman’

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.”

Alleged serial killer 'murdered four young men to pursue sexual fetish'

Crime reporter(wp/es):

Alleged serial killer Stephen Port brutally murdered four young men to “selfishly" pursue his insatiable sexual fetish, a court heard. 

Mr Port, 41, is accused of slipping his victims copious amounts of date rape drug GHB, before raping them and dumping their bodies near his flat in Barking, east London. 

He is on trial for murder at the Old Bailey and also faces further sexual assault charges including administering a substance and rape in relation to eight more men he met through gay dating websites.  

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC told jurors: "The prosecution case is not hard to understand because we say this defendant was driven by his seemingly insatiable appetite for sex with Twinks while they were unconscious.

"If, as we suggest, the defendant was motivated to penetrate unconscious young men, he needed to find a way of raping them against their will. The obvious solution was drugs."

Mr Rees said the evidence showed all four alleged murder victims died shortly after being with Port in his flat and eight more young men complained he had - or had tried to - take advantage of them sexually.

The prosecutor queried if it could be a "dreadful series of coincidences" resulting in the defendant being wrongly accused, as Port claims.

Port denies all 29 charges against him.

Three jockeys arrested 'over gang-rape of woman, 18, at Swindon house party'

Crime reporter(wp/es):

Three jockeys have reportedly been arrested over the alleged gang rape of an 18-year-old woman at a house party.

The trio, all aged in their early 20s, were detained by officers after the alleged attack on November 3 at a house in Chiseldon, Swindon, police said.

One of the jockeys was arrested while weighing in for a race due to take place last Saturday, The Sun reported.

The three men have been bailed until December pending further inquiries.

A Wiltshire Police force spokeswoman said: "Detectives from Wiltshire Police are investigating an allegation of rape of an 18-year-old woman that occurred on November 3 at a residential address in Chiseldon, Swindon.

"Two men, aged 21 and 20, were arrested on November 4 and a third man, aged 20, was arrested on Saturday 5 November. All were taken to a local police station.

"They have since been bailed to return on a date in late December.

"Enquiries continue."

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Motorcyclist dies after collision with car

Staff reporter(wp/es):

A motorcyclist died after crashing into the back of a car on a busy east London road.

Emergency services were called to the site of the collision on East India Dock Road in Poplar at around 2.15pm on Saturday.

The 29-year-old man was rushed to an east London hospital but died from his injuries just after 4pm.

The driver of the car stopped at the scene and there have been no arrests in connection with the incident.

Police are now appealing for witnesses who may have seen the collision or the events leading up to it.

A Met Police spokesman said: “Officers were called at approximately 14:15hrs on Saturday, 5 November to reports of a motorcycle in collision with the rear of a car in East India Dock Road, at the junction with Poplar Bath Street, E14.

“London Ambulance Service attended and the motorcyclist, a man aged 29, was taken to an east London hospital for treatment to his injuries. He died in hospital at 16:03hrs.

“Anyone who was in the area and witnessed the collision, or the events leading up to the collision, is asked to contact police via 101.”

Officers from the Met’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit based at Chadwell Heath continue to investigate.

Thousands of customers targeted by fraudsters at Tesco Bank

Business reporter(wp/es):

Thousands of Tesco Bank account holders have been targeted by fraudsters.

Customers have reported large sums of money vanishing from their accounts while others said their accounts had been blocked.

The bank has alerted some customers that their cards have been blocked as a “precautionary measure” after identifying “suspicious activity”.

Alan Baxter complained that £600 had disappeared from his account, leaving him with almost nothing left.

He tweeted: “£600 short here, £21 left. Going to Tesco to get shopping, will just walk out with it #seewhattheysay.”

Another customer, Nikki Jones added: “Read on twitter about fraud, checked balance, money gone, no communication from them.”

Tesco Bank, which is owned entirely by Tesco, said the number affected was “in the thousands, but less than 10,000.”

A spokesman told the Standard:  “We have taken steps to protect a small proportion of customers’ current accounts from fraud following an alert yesterday.

"All our customers can continue to access their account as normal through online banking and can make chip and pin transactions.

"For those impacted, we are working to re-establish a full banking service and we apologise for any inconvenience."

Tesco Bank has more than seven million customer accounts and employs 4,000 staff across offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle.

Boy, 16, charged with attempted murder of his mother

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the attempted murder of his mother in a London commuter town.

The woman, who is reportedly in her 40s, was repeatedly stabbed in her back, neck and shoulder in an attack in Woking, Surrey.

The teenager was then arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The Sunday Times reported that the victim was 42 and was the mother of the boy who was arrested.

She is now said to be in a serious but stable condition after the incident on Friday.

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said: "A 16-year-old boy from Wallington, Sutton has been charged with attempted murder following an attack on a woman at a property in Woking.

"The boy appeared at Redhill Magistrates Court on Saturday and has been remanded in custody to appear at Guildford Youth Court on 9 November.

"The woman, who sustained multiple stab wounds, remains in a stable condition in hospital."