The wait for that Lib Dem inquiry goes on ...
More than two months have passed since Elections Commissioner Timothy Straker QC criticised the character and motives of Birmingham Lib Dem cabinet member Ayoub Khan and the party’s Aston council candidate Saeed Aehmed.
Khan was found to have taken part in a “scurrilous” attempt in court to wrongly accuse Labour councillor Muhammad Afzal of witness nobbling, while Aehmed was found to have “grossly exaggerated” his medical condition in order to claim more than £16,000 in grants for improvements to his house.
Serious findings from a judge against two public figures, undeniably.
You might think, therefore, that the internal party inquiry into the conduct of both men announced by Birmingham Lib Dem leader Paul Tilsley on March 3, the day after the Commissioner’s withering judgement, might be somewhere near concluding its business.
As Tilsley put it at the time: “There will be an investigation by the regional party to look at all aspects of the evidence and the claims.”
But has this investigation actually got under way?
Tilsley tells me he is not involved in the process and the whole thing is being handled by Lib Dem officials in London.
“As far as I am aware it is in hand and things are progressing,” he added helpfully. Several conversations with a charming young man called Jamie at the party’s Cowley Street headquarters shed little light on the matter.
Jamie, a press officer, always begins our little chats by warmly greeting The Birmingham Post and expressing the hope that we are going to publish “some positive news” about the Liberal Democrats.
But what about the inquiry, Jamie?
Ah, well, Jamie thinks the whole thing is being dealt with locally in Birmingham under the chairmanship of someone called David Morrell.
Who is Mr Morrell? Jamie doesn’t actually know but he will find out and get back, honest.
But our conversations are a one-way street since Jamie never returns a telephone call.
My suspicion, and I am sure this is widely shared across Birmingham, is that the inquiry announced by Tilsley was simply a knee-jerk reaction in the aftermath of Straker’s report and does not exist in any real form whatsoever.
Or if it does exist, it will take so long to report back that the Government investigation into the collapse of MG Rover will resemble a quick sprint by comparison.
Rumours continue to circulate about unease over Khan’s behaviour among Conservative members of the council’s controlling Tory-Lib Dem coalition.
It is said that a delegation went to see Tory council leader Mike Whitby urging him to suspend Khan from the cabinet until the result of the inquiry is known.
Whether this is true or not, Whitby shows no sign of taking any action. Khan easily retained his Aston seat at the council elections on May 1 and was re-appointed a cabinet member with the unanimous support of the Lib Dem group.
As for Saeed Aehmed, he as far as anyone knows remains a Lib Dem election candidate for Aston and continues to hold the health portfolio on the Aston Pride New Deal for Communities board.
The one person who could shed some light on this is the elusive Mr Morrell. If, indeed, there is any such person.
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It’s difficult to make money in these recessionary times, unless you happen to be former Birmingham Labour city councillor John Clancy.
Tipster to the stars Clancy says he is “on” the following nags in today’s Derby:
Doctor Fremantle 10/1
Tartan Bearer 13/2
Top Outsider: Alesandro Volta 25/1
Clancy, who gave Iron Angle readers the 1st and 4th places in the Grand National, has also selected “political bets” for Labour members wishing to make a point about the party’s dismal fortunes.
Honest John says: “I suppose Gordon’s had to bear a lot recently, so Tartan Bearer 13-2 fits the bill. Or is it, as rumoured, another Scot bearing a dagger - in the shape of the good Doctor Reid? Curtain Call is 4-1, perhaps it’s curtains for Gord?
“ But I think a Curtain Call is a good thing in the theatre. Perhaps what we need in the party nationally (and locally) is a New Approach at 9-2?”
