Matthew Smith who stood as the Conservative candidate in the Spitalfields & Banglatown by-election on the 19th April 2012 caused by former Councillor Shelina Akhtar being jailed for fraud.
Spitalfields Conservatives are concerned about the lack of regulation, mismanagement and the reduction of standards of Petticoat Lane Market and the surrounding area. Waste is not effectively managed in the area. The market, including the food court, creates an unreasonable level of rubbish and food waste as any resident walking along Goulston Street and the surrounding area on Sunday afternoon will know.For too long Tower Hamlets Council has neglected Petticoat Lane. If the borough is not careful then the reputation of this legendary market will be lost to future generations.
Convicted and jailed benefit fraudster still hangs on to Tower Hamlets Council Seat Shelina Akhtar is a twice convicted benefit fraudster. In May 2010 she was elected to Tower Hamlets, giving an address in Spitalfields on her nomination papers. In fact she was actually the tenant of a property in Blackwall Way, which she was illegally subletting for £1,000 per month. Shortly after her election, when she used the name Akhtar, she instructed officers to change official documents to Aktar. This was just before she was first convicted for the first time under the name of Akhtar.
There are serious questions to be answered that in a borough with 23,000 on the waiting list, how a healthy 32 year old was allocated this property when she already had plenty of living space at 37 Toynbee Street. Indeed, space could scarcely have been at a premium in 37 Toynbee Street, since she and her mother have been joined by four additional adults, all of whom are included on the electoral register.
I am writing regarding Cllr Shelina Akhtar, who has now been convicted for the second time for benefit fraud. It has also been revealed that she was illegally renting the property that Swan Housing owns and manages for £1,000 per month, whilst actually residing in Toynbee Street under a variation of her name.
Public Life, the former public toilet sold off in mysterious circumstances by the council on Commercial Street, has long blighted Christchurch Spitalfields and the most prominent thoroughfare in our area.Residents have been complaining about its flouting of licensing laws for many years. The Police raided the club before Christmas and found drugs all over the club including on the staff. Residents saw security staff on the door being led away in hand cuffs.
At our Dinner on Thursday 13th October 2011, the Bethnal Green and Bow Conservative Association were joined by Bob Neill MP, Minister for Local Government, to talk about a range of issues affecting the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the wider East End area.
Zara Davis, Conservative councillor for Millwall, said: "These THEOs are supposed to be patrolling the streets and keeping us safe, but when looting and violence broke out, they were nowhere to be seen. It turns out that in the borough's moment of need, not a single THEO was on duty."
