The allegations against Mohammad Islam relate to visa applications by people known to him, reports James Cracknell

Mohammad Islam at his mayor-making ceremony in May 2024 (credit Enfield Council)

A report into misconduct allegations against a former Enfield mayor is set to be published on Monday (4th) ahead of a code of conduct hearing the following week, the Dispatch can confirm.

Mohammad Islam, who was suspended by the Labour Party in June after concerns around his conduct surfaced, is under investigation by the Home Office over suspected immigration offences.

The Dispatch can also now reveal that the allegations relate to visa applications for people known to Cllr Islam, who is accused of using his position as Enfield mayor to assist with these applications.

Serving in the civic role between May 2024 and May this year, Cllr Islam continues to be an independent councillor for Ponders End. He has not responded to requests for comment in response to the allegations against him.

After Cllr Islam was suspended by Labour, the Dispatch submitted several requests to Enfield Council under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. This included a request to release a copy of a report into the allegations around Cllr Islam’s conduct.

In its response provided last week, the council revealed there have been two reports written – one as part of an external investigation, which will not be made public because of the personal data it contains, and another written by the council’s director of law and governance Terry Osbourne, which will be published on Monday, 4^th August.

Councillors on the conduct committee will be able to view both reports as well as hear a range of evidence during a public hearing on Tuesday, 12^th August, before making a decision over whether Cllr Islam has breached the council’s code of conduct.

The Home Office investigation is entirely separate, although it’s understood the council has shared the information obtained through its own investigation.

The FOI Act request submitted by the Dispatch also asked the council to reveal when Terry Osborne first became aware of concerns around Cllr Islam’s conduct, when council leader Ergin Erbil was first made aware of these concerns, and when contact with the Home Office was first made. Although Cllr Islam was not suspended until around six weeks after he stood down as mayor, the Dispatch understands that the Home Office probe began during Cllr Islam’s term.

In response to the FOI request, Debra Norman, the council’s senior lawyer and deputy monitoring officer, said: “A summary of the investigation and the procedures followed in respect of it will be placed into the public domain. It is not considered to be in the public interest to place information into the public domain prematurely before pre-publication procedures have taken place.”

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