Canvassing Redbridge Councillors for support to investigate Cllr Jas Athwal MP stressing the need to respect Awaab's Law

I sent this email to Cllrs earlier today


Dear Councillors


Concerns over a potential misconduct in public office charge re no investigation of Cllr Jas Athwal MP and his rental properties re Awaab's Law.

 

Recently, a cross party group visited 10 Downing Street to urge Sir Keir Starmer to order an independent investigation into the conduct of Jas Athwal MP regarding his rental properties and that of his managing agent at the time. 


Yesterday, I personally delivered another cross party letter to the Chief Executive, the monitoring officer, and the Leader of the Council, outlining concerns regarding a potential offence of misconduct in public office which listed three court cases as for why an investigation into Jas Athwal should have taken place


The letter to the Prime Minister and the letter to senior Redbridge staff can be found on my Twitter. Today, I am reaching out to inquire if any Councillor is interested in supporting the campaign to investigate Jas Athwal.

 

Particularly, whether you share my concerns regarding the apparent misconduct in public office by senior council officers.


 The Crown Prosecution Service gives factors for successful prosecutions for misconduct in public office. One of these factors is cut and pasted below:


"What was the severity of the actual or likely consequences? Was there a risk of death or serious injury?"


 The BBC has reported the presence of black mould in Jas Athwal's properties, a hazard particularly detrimental to children's health, which has led to the enactment of Awaab's Law.


The Council appears to have been negligent by not inspecting the properties highlighted in the BBC report on Cllr Athwal, and by failing to investigate the remainder of Cllr Athwal's 15 rental properties in Redbridge. A sample of Mr Athwal's former agent's properties should have been investigated too.


A thorough investigation would have examined whether any residents of Mr. Athwal's flats were hospitalised with respiratory issues potentially caused by black mould. While child deaths are very rare, there is a substantial number of child admissions to local hospitals with breathing difficulties every year. Black mould may have been a factor in some of these admissions.


 Labour is advocating for a renters' charter in parliament; however, the commitment to enforcing these new rights may be questioned if there is no investigation into Mr. Athwal and his former managing agent.


 Any public statement of support from you for the campaign to investigate Jas Athwal would be very welcome. This email is mine only and should not be taken to have the agreement of anyone else in the campaign.

 

Everyone who delivered the campaign letter has been blind copied in.

 

Regards

 

Andy Walker


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