It’s now been almost a year since Jas Athwal MP was accused of being a rogue landlord following a BBC investigation in August 2024. The investigation revealed serious issues in several properties linked to Athwal, including unlicensed rentals, ant infestations, and dangerous black mold. Since the report, Athwal has publicly shifted blame onto his property agent—an individual he still refuses to name. As concerned residents and members of the public, we have every right to ask: Has Jas Athwal been fined? Was he investigated at all? Why the continued silence? A Trail of Freedom of Information Requests Since the initial report, several Freedom of Information (FOI) requests have been submitted to Redbridge Council in an effort to determine whether Athwal has been held accountable. Unfortunately, these requests have revealed more about the opacity of the system than about the case itself. The first FOI response claimed that the council held no paper or electronic records indicating whether ...
The ICO have published decision notices for five requests. This is the first, the good news is that Redbridge have been ordered to disclose correspondence as to whether Jas Athwal should have been fined for his unlicenced slum flats. The decision is at the bar code. The Council can appeal, a process that can take years. If Redbridge won't supply the information requested, I will be canvassing for a referral to the police at midday on 18th April. It is unacceptable that the suspicion of criminal activity could fester for years. First page below;
I sent this to Claire Hamilton and Councillor Rai yesterday. I will write more after the 27th November. Dear Claire Hamilton and Councillor Rai Recent developments suggest Redbridge should carry out and publish the outcome of any investigation into whether Jas Athwal MP should have been fined for not having a landlord licence and his sub-standard flats. I rely on breaches of the Nolan code which led to investigations into the conduct of David Lammy MP, Angela Rayner MP, Rachel Reeves MP and Cllr Michael Situ. Cllr Situ's lack of a licence has led to a report in the Evening Standard which stated - “ The matter has also been referred to the council’s Monitoring Officer for investigation.” So far Redbridge is refusing to say if an investigation into Mr Athwal has taken place following the Joe Pike BBC story last year. This is unacceptable; there should have two investigations, one by the monitoring officer and another by your landlord enforcemen...
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