Labour's Kate Osamor accused of 'misleading public' over son's conviction for drug offences
2 min read
Shadow International Development Secretary Kate Osamor has been accused of misleading the public over her son's conviction for drug offences.
Ishmael Osamor - who is employed as a communications adviser by the MP in her parliamentary office - was found with £2,500 worth of drugs at Bestival music festival last year.
He later pleaded guilty to four charges of possession with intent to supply cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and cannabis, although the prosecution accepted that Mr Osamor was holding the drugs for a friend, and was not selling them.
Labour Party officials had previously claimed Ms Osamor was unaware of the case until after her son was given a community sentence of 200 hours' unpaid work.
But according to the Times, Ms Osamor wrote to the trial judge ahead of his sentencing asking for leniency and stressing his remorse.
The existence of the letters was revealed after a legal application by the Times and other newspapers, who argued there was a public interest in the reasons behind the sentencing decision.
The judge noted that the calls for clarity were justified, saying: "I accept that the public are entitled to understand the reasoning for a sentence being passed."
According to the Times, Ms Osamor told a reporter who approached her for a comment at her home that she "should have come down here with a bat and smashed your face in" before throwing a bucket of water on him.
The latest development prompted calls for an investigation by Parliament's standards watchdog.
Former International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: "There are many questions outstanding here and Kate Osamor and the Labour Party must make a full statement about what they knew about this case and why he continued to be employed on the public payroll at Westminster.
The Tory backbencher added: "Serious questions must be asked about whether she has misled the public in her account so far of what she knew and when she knew it."
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