Former Redbridge councillor jailed for electoral fraud

Chaudhary Mohammed Iqbal has been ordered to pay compensation back to Redbridge Council. (credit: Google Maps)

A former Labour councillor for Loxford has been jailed after committing electoral fraud.

Chaudhary Mohammed Iqbal, 51, from Barking was sentenced for three counts of making false statements in candidate nomination papers and one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The charges relate to false declarations made regarding his address when applying to be a councillor in the 2018 local government elections in Redbridge.

Iqbal had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of causing or permitting a false statement to appear on a nomination form and one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

At Southwark Crown Court on Monday, 4 January, Iqbal was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £10,422.54, plus more than £28,000 compensation back to Redbridge Council.

As well as paying costs, Iqbal was sentenced to 17 months in prison and a five year ban on holding elected office.

He was reminded of Sec 173 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 setting out the requirements of a person convicted of a corrupt practice in relation to his current elected post.

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah McConnell, of the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, said: “This is a significant sentence for this type of offence.

“It reflects the seriousness with which the court viewed the wrongdoing in an electoral setting.”

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