Apsana Begum’s trial yesterday saw the Poplar & Limehouse MP accused by Tower Hamlets council of defrauding them out of £64,000 in social housing claims over three years. She supposedly “withheld information” to boost her chances of getting on the list, specifically the fact she was no longer living in an overcrowded home at the time of her application. Begum claims she kept housing officials informed “as best she could”.

Begum applied for the social housing list in 2011, remaining on it until March 2016, at which point she was awarded a studio flat tenancy. Her 2011 application was on the basis her family home was overcrowded, however it’s claimed she failed to tell the council after her circumstances changed. Given she worked for Tower Hamlets from 2011-13, the whole affair must be rather awkward for her…