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Council's speaker runs up £9,000 taxi bill after being stripped of his official car
Ross Lydall25 Jan 2012
The ceremonial head of Tower Hamlets has gone to war with the borough's top politician after running up a £9,000 taxi bill.
Mizan Chaudhury, who is the council's independent "speaker", says he has been forced to take minicabs after directly-elected mayor Lutfur Rahman scrapped his official car.
He claims this puts him at risk of being robbed while wearing his diamond-encrusted ceremonial chain and has made him a laughing stock among other mayors who ask whether he has come by bus.
Figures seen by the Standard show that Mr Chaudhury, 35, spent £3,913 on taxis in four months attending engagements across London.
He also took Addison Lee minicabs to two events in Birmingham, costing £845 and £875 respectively.
The total bill since the Labour councillor became ceremonial mayor in May - the job was renamed speaker in November - was £8,972, including the cost of a chauffeur-driven Chrysler between May and September.
But Mr Chaudhury told the Standard he was the victim of a plot by Mr Rahman, elected an independent after being ousted by the Labour party, to discredit him.
Mr Chaudhury said: "Lutfur had his own taxi bill and he wanted me to exceed that. The way he did it was to remove the car I had, which we were paying £600 a month for.
"It was all a set-up. It was never to save money. It was to undermine the civic office.
"Every other borough has a civic car. I go to events and don't get the same respect because I'm not using the borough crest because I don't have an official car. It's become the talk of every event I go to. People joke: 'Did you not take the bus today?'"
Mr Chaudhury claimed that Mr Rahman had also evicted him from the mayor's parlour so he could claim it as his own office.
Mr Rahman attracted controversy last year when it emerged he had leased a £1,500-a-month chauffeur-driven Mercedes to take him to meetings rather than taking the Tube.
The borough of Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived in the country.
A council spokesman said: "As part of the efficiency drive at Tower Hamlets we have sought to support councillors in discharging their duties in a cost effective manner.
"As such the speaker of the council was offered the use of a Toyota Prius to conduct his civic and ceremonial duties.
"This offer was declined and instead the Speaker chose to use more expensive taxi transport."
Reader views (20)
Bosh Talukdar, Newham, London, 26/01/2012 15:05
It is not part of this man's remit to spend our cash swanning all over the country in a hired car like some latter day Antony in his golden barge.
If he is using Council Tax money taken from the residents of Tower Hamlets he should stay in Tower Hamlets and focus on the children who live here. The children of Birmingham benefited not one jot from his presence. I'll say again, he was grandstanding. Showing off.
There is growing concern about how our money is being squandered and a rising anger about the arrogance of elected and non-elected officials who seem to see the public purse as their own personal bag of gold and the wearing of a gold mayoral chain as the mark of a great man. Neither is true.
Send in a forensic auditor. Let's see what else he is spending our money on.
- Jack Drummond, Bow, 26/01/2012 19:10
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I just checked through my sources and the trip to Birmingham was to an event to present awards to young people who have acheieved highly in their GCSE's. The Speaker was invited as the special guest. There is nothing wrong with giving confidence to young people who have done well surely they deserve the recognition. As a Civic representative of Tower Hamlets (or any other borough) the Speaker (Civic Mayor or Chair of Council) also have the duty to promote their boroughs accross the country. The point remains, the Mayor, Lutfur Rahman stitched Mr Chaudhury knowingly removing the leased car which was the cheapest form of travel, so costs exceed his own taxi bill. The Mayor of Tower Hamlets is the irrepsonsible one and should explain himself of his decisions - lets not be stupid here, the costs of taxis were incurred only because the Mayor allowed this to happen.
- Bosh Talukdar, Newham, London, 26/01/2012 15:05
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Looks like everyone is missing the point here. The main culprit is Mayor Lutfur Rahman who removed the cheapest form of travel for Mr Chaudhury and left him no choice but to use taxis. If Mr Chaudhury really was offered a car he won’t be able to refuse it as it will be the Mayor’s decision, so not sure I believe what the council spokesperson said. Every borough has a civic car for their civic representatives so this was not exclusive to Tower Hamlets.
- Bosh Talukdar, Newham, London, 26/01/2012 11:14
I've just checked my map and it tells me that Birmingham is nowhere near Tower Hamlets.
He took a hired car because he wanted to show off. He was grandstanding.
Once again I'll say, send in the auditors. Let's see what else he is charging for.
- Jack Drummond, Bow, 26/01/2012 14:20
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I understand that the trip to Birmingham was to attend the opening of a restaurant. Could someone explain to me what this has to do with Tower Hamlets, and why council tax payers are expected to pay his taxi fare?
- Andrew Conway, London, UK, 26/01/2012 14:20
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Tower Hamlets is a wonderful place to live,
- Johnny English, London, UK, 25/01/2012 17:23
Oh lordy - this is priceless - made me laugh all morning.
I would rather live in Basra.
Best joke this year so far.
- david west, west london, 26/01/2012 11:29
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Looks like everyone is missing the point here. The main culprit is Mayor Lutfur Rahman who removed the cheapest form of travel for Mr Chaudhury and left him no choice but to use taxis. If Mr Chaudhury really was offered a car he won’t be able to refuse it as it will be the Mayor’s decision, so not sure I believe what the council spokesperson said. Every borough has a civic car for their civic representatives so this was not exclusive to Tower Hamlets.
- Bosh Talukdar, Newham, London, 26/01/2012 11:14
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Make him pay it back and get public transport instead.
- serox, London, 26/01/2012 11:04
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Did he take any of the Tower Hamlets "children in poverty" for a ride to cheer them up?
- BJ, East London, 26/01/2012 11:00
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Send in the auditors. This man has used our hard earned cash to take himself off on a jolly (?!) to Birmingham whereas most families living in and around my practice don't have the wherewithall to take their children off to the Tower of London for a day out.
- Jack Drummond, Bow, 26/01/2012 08:11
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And the reason this jumped up nobody can't take a bus or the tube is ????????????????????????????????????
You suckers are mad !
well at least those stupid enough to work and pay taxes !
- Duncan W, Ex Peckham now Samui Thailand, 26/01/2012 06:28
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The Government need to send in the auditors / officials to investigate what is going on in Tower Hamlets Council. The people of Tower Hamlets do not deserve to have people like this as their representatives. Clearly, there is a very putrid stink emanating from the council chambers, and if TH council won't put itself in order, then as much as I loathe the thought of this government interfering in local politics, interfere in TH it must.
- Gatedweller, People's Republic of Newham, 25/01/2012 19:30
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"Ceremonial"? I thought all of the Tower Hamlets council were 'ceremonial' only. It's not like they know what they're doing, after all (with apologies to the statistically probable one or two that DO).
- Rogan, Irving, 25/01/2012 18:32
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Marian, your comments about the East End being a "dump" are bang out of order.
The East End IS one of the poorest boroughs in the UK, and is being back by a gang of tinpot dictators masquerading as politicians, but thousands of people actually love living there and do not thank you for your lazy narrow-minded criticism.
Tower Hamlets is a wonderful place to live, but it is despite not because of our (barely) elected officials.
- Johnny English, London, UK, 25/01/2012 17:23
Well said.I agree. One hundred per cent.
- Nora Kane, London, 25/01/2012 18:18
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Marian, your comments about the East End being a "dump" are bang out of order.
The East End IS one of the poorest boroughs in the UK, and is being back by a gang of tinpot dictators masquerading as politicians, but thousands of people actually love living there and do not thank you for your lazy narrow-minded criticism.
Tower Hamlets is a wonderful place to live, but it is despite not because of our (barely) elected officials.
- Johnny English, London, UK, 25/01/2012 17:23
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Under that picture should be the words 'Spiv'
- What Happened To London?, Essex, 25/01/2012 16:36
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This is only the tip of the iceberg in Tower Hamlets. It's an absolute dump with filthy pavements, people spitting left right and centre with no regard to pedestrians, groups of teens wandering around at all hours intimidating people, particularly females. And they have the gall to want City status for a once thriving borough that has become a cesspit. Most councillors bleed the few working residents of Tower Hamlets bone dry whilst ensuring their snouts are firmly in the trough.
- Marian, London, 25/01/2012 16:12
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The key sentence is "The borough of Tower Hamlets is one of the most deprived in the country", This nonsensical dispute between Mr Chaudhury and Mr Rahman over perks and prestige demonstrates why.
The council tax and rate payers of the borough might want to consider investigating the cost to them of this pair "discharging their duties". It might be revealing.
- len moss, brighton, 25/01/2012 15:34
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What an absolute joke the labour party have become.
And i might add there is no stronger supporter of this mob in Tower hamlets than your own nutty RED KEN .
Haha you have to laugh don't you.
Ordinary working people haven't got the price of a pint and this Labour lot are stealing as much as they can.
Where's that Baroness Uddin these days?
My god the Blair's and New Labour were a curse on this country.
RED KEN WILL RAISE YOUR TAXES
- the pigeons, Muswell hill, 25/01/2012 15:18
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More waste from wastrels, what is this doing to London, the laughting stock and worlds dustbin!
- Ed, London, 25/01/2012 14:33
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Shocking. What on earth was an East End Mayor doing in Birmingham?
- Don McIntyre, Victoria Park Village, 25/01/2012 13:16
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