Pervez Choudhry - Bigamy

Pervez Choudry (Tory at time of the charge)

The former leader of the Conservative party on Slough Borough Council has pleaded guilty to bigamy.

Councillor Pervez Choudhry, of Tuns Lane, Slough, was arrested and charged with one count of bigamy in August 2010.

The 53-year-old defected to the Tories in 2009 after being elected as the Labour candidate for Central Ward, but is now an independent councillor.

Mr Choudhry will be sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Friday 18 May.

His term of office runs until 3 May.

Mr Choudry said he was unable to comment because it was a "sub judice matter" but that "this case has no bearing or will have no bearing on my standing as a councillor".

Slough Borough Council said it was a "private matter".

Source

Lord Ahmed - Suspended from Labour

Peer Ahmed (Labour)

Peer Lord Ahmed suspended after 'offering £10m bounty on Barack Obama and George Bush'.

A peer has been suspended from the Labour Party amid reports that he offered a £10 million bounty for the capture of President Barack Obama and his predecessor President George W Bush.

Lord Ahmed, 53, who in 1998 became the first Muslim life peer, was reported to have made the comments at a conference in Haripur in Pakistan.


According to Pakistan's Express Tribune newspaper Lord Ahmed offered the bounty in response to a US action a week ago.


The British peer reportedly said: "'If the US can announce a reward of $10 million for the (capture) of Hafiz Saeed, I can announce a bounty of £10 million (for the capture of) President Obama and his predecessor, George Bush."


A former Pakistani foreign minister and a provincial education minister were said to have been present at the reception.

Lord Ahmed, who was born in Pakistan, became Baron Ahmed of Rotherham at the age of 40.


Source

George Lord: Sexual Assault (Sentencing)

George Lord (Conservative)

Former Worcestershire County Council leader George Lord has been jailed for four years for a series of sexual assaults.

The 79-year old was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court this morning (Tuesday).

It was reported last month how Lord had pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent assault on a girl in the 1970s when he was a lay minister of a church in Droitwich and performed a number of sexual acts on the teenager.

He had already been found guilty of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old in the council chamber at Worcestershire County Council in 2010.

Lord was told he will spend at least half of his four year sentence in jail.

Source

Milan Radulovic: Benefit Fraud (Hearing)

Milan Radulovic (Labour Cllr)

The former leader of Broxtowe Borough Council appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court this morning charged with benefit fraud.

In the short hearing Cllr Milan Radulovic – accused of a £45,000 benefit fraud – was told his case is too serious to be heard at Magistrates’ Court.

He will appear at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday March 30.

Cllr Radulovic stepped down from his position as leader when the allegations came to light.

Source

Peter Cruddas: Cash for Access

Peter Cruddas (Tory party co-treasurer)

Conservative Party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has resigned after being filmed apparently offering access to Prime Minister David Cameron in return for donations of £250,000 a year.

The senior Tory fundraiser told undercover reporters pretending to be business representatives that 'things will open up for you' if they donated that amount of money to the Tories.

In a meeting secretly recorded by The Sunday Times, he said: 'It will be awesome for your business.'

Mr Cruddas said he only took up the post at the beginning of the month and was 'keen to meet anyone potentially interested in donating'.

He said he had not consulted any politicians or senior party officials before the recorded conversation.

Mr Cruddas told the undercover reporters that 'premier league' donors - those giving £250,000 a year - could lobby Mr Cameron directly and their views were 'fed in' to Downing Street. He said there was no point in 'scratching around' with donations of £10,000.

According to The Sunday Times, he believed that any prospective donations from the reporters - pretending to be wealth fund executives - would come from Liechtenstein and would be ineligible under election law.

Source