Labour MP Apsana Begum Found Not Guilty On Three Counts Of Housing Fraud
Apsana Begum was elected as MP for Poplar and Limehouse in 2019 (Alamy)
2 min read
Labour MP Apsana Begum has been found not guilty of housing fraud following claims she withheld information to access social housing.
The Poplar and Limehouse MP, who was elected to Parliament in 2019, was acquitted on three counts of housing fraud between 2013 and 2016 at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.
Tower Hamlets council had accused Begum of falsely claiming she lived in “overcrowded conditions”, as was the case when she first sought housing, despite having moved in with her partner Ehtashamul Haque.
Prosecutors claim multiple applications were made from her housing account after her change in circumstances, and that failure to notify the council had cost it almost £64,000.
But during the week-long trial, Begum told jurors the multiple applications for council housing had been made by her “controlling” former partner Haque.
She reportedly collapsed and wept in the dock after the verdicts were returned.
Following the verdict, Begum said in a statement: “I would like to say a sincere thank you to all my legal team and all those who have shown me solidarity, support and kindness.
“As a survivor of domestic abuse facing these vexatious charges, the last 18 months of false accusations, online sexist, racist, and Islamophobic abuse, and threats to my safety, have been exceedingly difficult.”
“I also thank the jury for vindicating me, and the judge for presiding over this trial.
She added: “I will be consulting and considering how to follow up so that something like this doesn’t happen again to anyone else.”
“I would now like to get on with the job of representing my constituents — opposing the negligent Covid decisions made by Johnson’s reckless Tory Government which has caused so many families to lose loved ones.”
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