A false statement was provided to the press about when Ergin Erbil was first told about allegations against the disgraced ex-mayor, reports James Cracknell

Mohammad Islam as Enfield mayor (left) and council leader Ergin Erbil (right)

Enfield Council leader Ergin Erbil has denied accusations of a “cover-up” over the misconduct of ex-mayor Mohammad Islam – after it emerged a false statement was issued to the press.

The day after a conduct committee ruled on 12th August that Cllr Islam had “brought his office into disrepute” by breaching the members’ code on three counts, a council statement claimed that “the first time the leader became aware of the issue” was 9th June.

It has since been confirmed, however, that the council’s director of law and governance had told Cllr Erbil via email on 6th March about an external investigation she had launched into Cllr Islam’s behaviour.

It was during the three-month gap between Cllr Erbil being told about the misconduct allegations in March and when the council falsely claimed he had first learned about them, in June, that Cllr Islam’s one-year term in the civic role ended, on 14th May.

Asked to explain the delay, Cllr Erbil argues that he needed to wait for the external investigation report to be completed before taking action. The report, the council claims, was not finished until 6th June and was sent to the council leader on 9th June.

Cllr Erbil has not explained why a false statement was provided to the press about when he was told about the allegations, but claims the council has been “open and transparent” throughout.

While Cllr Islam was removed from the Labour group of the council on 10th June, it was not until after the Dispatch published an exclusive story revealing the ex-mayor was being investigated by the Home Office for suspected immigration offences, on 26th June, that Cllr Erbil finally submitted an official conduct complaint, on 7th July.

The Home Office had first contacted the council to ask questions about Cllr Islam’s behaviour on 1st May 2024, two weeks before he became mayor. He was deputy mayor in the year prior to becoming mayor.

Chris Dey, a Conservative member of the conduct committee, told the Dispatch: “It is disappointing that the leader of the council clearly knew about this earlier than he has claimed to have done.

“It beggars belief that it has only come out after Cllr Islam’s mayoral term, and it stinks of a cover-up. But the public can draw their own conclusion.”

Alessandro Georgiou, the opposition group leader, added: “Thanks to Enfield Dispatch we found out about Mohammad Islam’s attempt to use council resources to get friends and family from abroad into the UK, which is a clear breach of the rules and possibly the law.

“We have now discovered Ergin Erbil covered up all of this and knew back in March of this visa scandal. Cllr Erbil should resign for this disgraceful cover-up.”

Cllr Islam finally apologised last month for his behaviour, which he admitted “did not meet the standards expected of an elected member”.

As mayor the Ponders End councillor had used his position to support visa applications for friends and family in Bangladesh, against the advice of council officers.

The Home Office continues to investigate him, although no charges have been brought.

For several months the Dispatch has been attempting to use the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to obtain the contents of emails sent to Cllr Erbil regarding Cllr Islam’s conduct, to reveal what he knew and when. The request was eventually refused last month, using Section 36 of the act, which allows information to be withheld if it is determined to “prejudice” the “effective conduct of public affairs”.

Monitoring officer Terry Osborne explained in her FOI response: “I am of the reasonable view that disclosure of the requested information would inhibit the free and frank provision of advice and would be likely to otherwise prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs.

“The reason for this is that it is important for the monitoring officer to be able to give free and frank advice to a group leader about conduct issues relating to their members and for the leader of the group to be able to respond and ask questions and seek further advice in order to help them promote and uphold high standards of conduct in their group.”

Despite the refusal of the FOI request, a council report published ahead of a conduct committee meeting on 17th November revealed that Cllr Erbil had been told about the allegations against Cllr Islam three months earlier than claimed.

In response to the accusations now being made by the Conservatives, Cllr Erbil said: “Enfield Council strongly rejects any claim of wrongdoing in how it handled the investigation into Cllr Islam’s misconduct. To call this a ‘cover up’ is simply wrong.

“The council followed rules and procedures throughout, taking action as soon as the facts were established by an independent external report.

“An external investigation was commissioned so that the circumstances were examined by an independent expert.

“The investigation report was completed on 6th June 2025 and shown to me on 9th June. It is important to be clear that it would not have been appropriate for me to have acted before the investigation was concluded and the findings reported to me.

“Once the external investigator’s findings were confirmed, I took action. Cllr Islam was removed from the Labour group on 10th June. I then submitted a formal complain to the monitoring officer on 7th July, enabling a report to be prepared for the council conduct committee to consider in early August.

“The members of the committee were unanimous in their decision concerning Cllr Islam’s conduct and he has now apologised.

“The council has been open and transparent throughout this case, and details about it are publicly available on its website. Group leaders are always informed when investigations are taking place involving members of their groups.

“The council would never – and could never – pre-determine the outcome of any investigation or the issues it might uncover.”

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