MP Apsana set for Crown Court trial after denying fraud

LONDON: A Labour MP has denied three counts of fraud after allegedly failing to say she had moved home after applying for social housing.

Apsana Begum, 30, applied to go on Tower Hamlets Council’s social housing register on July 22, 2011 because she was living in “overcrowded accommodation”, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday.

The Poplar and Limehouse MP is accused of failing to notify the housing service during three periods between January 18, 2013 and March 31, 2016 after she moved address. The council, which is bringing the prosecution, allege the cost to the local authority was £63,928 because someone else on the housing list had to be given accommodation elsewhere.

Begum, who won her seat in the general election last December, removed her facemask as she entered the dock wearing a dark hijab, and said “I plead not guilty” as each of the three charges was read in court. She stood to confirm her name but Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram allowed her to write down her address so it was not disclosed in open court, following an application from her lawyers.

Raj Chada, defending, told the judge there are heightened security concerns since the death of MP Jo Cox, and there had been a “campaign of harassment” against Begum over issues with “a member of the Labour Party and his supporters”. Ikram said: “I think she is safely identified for the purposes of press because she is an MP. There is not going to be any confusion of who she is.”

Begum faces three similar fraud charges alleging she dishonestly failed to disclose to Tower Hamlets Council that she was not living in “overcrowded conditions” after applying to join the housing list on July 22 2011. The counts relate to separate periods between January 18 and May 21 2013, May 21 2013 and March 23 2014, and October 28 2015 and March 31 2016, and allege Begum intended to “make a gain, namely social housing… for yourself”.

After a hearing lasting around 15 minutes, Mr Ikram said: “I’m going to send this case to the Crown Court at Snaresbrook. You will appear there on January 5 at 9.30am. You will have unconditional bail. That means you must be there on time. If you are not there at 9.30am that could amount to an offence in itself. Do you understand?”

Begum replied: “Yes.” She has previously said in a statement that she “vigorously contests these malicious and false allegations”. Begum, who sits on the Commons education committee, entered Parliament with a 28,904 majority in the 2019 elections, having beaten five other candidates for her seat. According to her website, she has pledged to support Labour’s position of negotiating a better Brexit deal, and backs the former leader Jeremy Corbyn’s opposition to military intervention overseas.

She has also spoken in Parliament about the impact of coronavirus on ethnic minorities. Tower Hamlets Council previously said in a statement: “The council takes housing fraud very seriously.

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment on any specific allegations, but the public can be confident that any concerns are investigated by an experienced team, in line with our procedures.”