MPs from both main parties have given speeches at events in the House of Commons organised by the British Bangladeshi Community Alliance (BBCA), a political organisation which campaigns against alleged human rights violations by the Government of Bangladesh.  The BBCA’s self-proclaimed chief adviser is Mozaquir Ali, who speaks at these events, seated prominently and usually introducing the other speakers. Mozaquir Ali was jailed for 18 months after being caught falsifying dozens of proxy votes, whilst a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Burnley.

The Judge said that his “corrupt practices” were part of a “culture… which accepts that rules may be bent to maximise votes”, and that his crimes “revealed the exploitation of the unsophisticated, uneducated and in some cases confused people”. 

Arguably confused MPs from all parties speak at his events, including Government Whip Andrew Stephenson and Shadow Minister Chi Onwurah, with one event chaired by Christian Wakeford, the Bury MP who defected from the Conservatives to Labour in 2022. Other MPs speaking alongside Ali at these events have included Bob Blackman, Sara Britcliffe, Afzal Khan, Apsana Begum, Anthony Higginbotham, Robbie Moore and Debbie Abrahams. It is not a good look for MPs to be at events chaired by a man convicted of vote fraud.

The BBCA’s Secretary, Foyzun Nur, has posted highly offensive remarks on Facebook offering a “salute” to Jeremy Corbyn for remarks he supposedly made where he “defended ISIS and Islam and described Israel and the Jews as the main source of global terrorism”. Real charmers these campaigners…