THE London Labour Party says it has lost a battle in the High Court to stop Tower Hamlets former council leader Lutfur Rahman getting on its shortlist as candidate for the East End’s first-ever elected mayor. Party members vote on August 7 on who they want for mayor when Tower Hamlets goes to the polls on October 21

By Mike Brooke

THE London Labour Party says it has lost a battle in the High Court to stop Tower Hamlets former council leader Lutfur Rahman getting on its shortlist as candidate for the East End’s first-ever elected mayor.

The battle now hots up as rank-and-file party members vote on August 7 on who they want for their candidate when Tower Hamlets goes to the polls on October 21.

The final selection was set to go ahead tomorrow evening (July 31), but the party’s national General Secretary Ray Collins last night postponed it for a week because of today’s impending hearing.

Today’s ruling means Rahman, slammed in the Channel 4 Dispatches programme over allegations of links with Islamic Forum for Europe, is now on the shortlist after being rejected twice.

He launched his campaign last Monday with a news-conference in Brick Lane believing he was already on the list, only the find out just hours later that he had been excluded a third time.

The list now has seven names, including Sirajul Islam who went to the High Court with Rahman after his name had been dropped previously.

Also included is the current Tower Hamlets council leader Helal Abbas, who ousted Rahman for the leadership in May, and two other former council leaders, John Biggs, the GLA’s current budget chairman, and Michael Keith. The remaining two are council children’s services cabinet member Shiria Khatun and health expert Rosna Mortuza.