LONDON: A local authority with a large South Asian population has found that Independent Councillor Noor Jahan Begum breached the Councillor Code of Conduct after making a series of unfounded and serious allegations against Labour Councillor Tanweer Khan — using the issue of Palestine for local political gain.

The Redbridge Council Standards Committee’s ruling follows a detailed independent investigation and a formal public hearing. The Committee concluded that Councillor Begum misled the investigation, lied during the process, and colluded with her niece, who had submitted a separate complaint against Councillor Khan. Both women failed to disclose their family relationship, despite living at the same address.

Councillor Khan had alleged that on April 10, 2025, Councillor Begum distributed misleading leaflets against him in a local ward; that she behaved in a stalking manner outside the Ilford Islamic Centre on 18 April 2025; and that she engaged in misconduct while responding to this complaint, supporting her relative’s complaint on the same matter. The leaflets falsely alleged that Khan, as Chair of the Council’s Pension Fund Committee, was not supporting the “divestment” campaign relating to the Local Government Pension Scheme. They implied that he was pro-Israel, pro-Zionism, and anti-Palestine.

Councillor Begum denied all allegations. However, the Council found that on April 10 she was in her ward distributing leaflets and speaking to residents, and that she had made claims — including that Councillor Khan had behaved in a misogynistic manner — that were not supported by evidence. Regarding the allegation that she distributed leaflets outside the Ilford Islamic Centre in order to harass Khan, the Sub-committee made no findings, citing a lack of evidence that harassment had occurred.

The Sub-committee concluded that Councillor Begum made statements and allegations that were inconsistent with incontrovertible evidence. It agreed with the Investigator that she had deliberately minimised her involvement with the Redbridge Palestine Solidarity Campaign; falsely claimed she was not leafleting; downplayed her relationship with a member of the public by stating she only knew her from demonstrations, despite them being related; claimed Councillor Khan approached by car when CCTV showed he was on foot; denied delivering leaflets despite photographic evidence; and altered her statements during the investigation.

The Sub-committee found that in all these instances, Councillor Begum was acting in her official capacity. She used the title of councillor when making her complaint, her conduct related to her role as a councillor when making allegations against another councillor, and she participated as an elected member in a formal process concerning alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct.

The Council found that although the language used in the leaflets about Khan was extremely harsh, it fell within the bounds of freedom of speech. However, Councillor Begum’s dishonesty and her failure to act with integrity when making and supporting a complaint did breach the Code in relation to respect—because she made untrue claims capable of causing both personal and professional harm—and disrepute, as her dishonest behaviour brought her role and the London Borough of Redbridge into disrepute. Her actions eroded public trust by involving a closely related witness whose relationship with her was concealed.

Without offering her a right of appeal, the Committee recommended that Councillor Begum be removed from all committees for six months, attend training arranged by the Monitoring Officer within six weeks, and that the Monitoring Officer consider any further necessary action.

The investigation also raised concerns about the misuse of sensitive international issues to inflame local politics. Throughout the dispute, Councillor Begum portrayed Councillor Khan as aligned with pro-Israel positions, despite his long-standing, publicly documented support for Palestinian rights.

Speaking after the decision, Councillor Khan said: “The Committee’s ruling highlights how such claims can be weaponised to cause reputational and personal harm. My record on Palestinian rights is clear and a matter of public record. What my family and I have endured over these months has been deeply distressing, but I am grateful that the truth has now been established. I have supported the cause of Palestine all my life and I will always stand by the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. I was hounded and defamed.”

He added that Councillor Begum had publicly demanded that Redbridge Council divest from companies such as Amazon, yet “records show that her own by-election campaign was financially supported by Capumen, a recruitment company that lists Amazon as a major client. This raises serious issues of political and moral hypocrisy.”

Councillor Begum said in a statement: “The Council did not follow due process. They failed to correctly investigate my complaint against Mr Khan and have publicly censured me for making a retaliatory complaint. I strongly disagree and will be making a complaint to the Local Govt Ombudsman.”

DUBAI: The Dubai Airshow 2025 opened at Al Maktoum International Airport on Monday, bringing together global aviation leaders, defence officials and industry experts for one of the region’s largest aerospace events.

Aircraft from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates were parked side by side in the static display area, drawing attention from visitors who noted the close proximity of the two fleets.

The arrangement was seen as a symbolic reflection of strong ties between the UAE and Pakistan in defence and aviation cooperation.

The skies above the airshow were dominated by colourful aerobatic displays as military and commercial jets performed precision manoeuvres throughout the opening day.

Crowds gathered around the runway and viewing stands as teams showcased high-speed turns, formations and signature stunts.

Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder remained a major attraction. The multirole fighter impressed aviation enthusiasts with its agility during the aerobatic segment and later drew large groups of visitors at the static display.

Many attendees stopped to take photos of the aircraft and ask technical questions from the Pakistan Air Force officials present.

Pakistani pilots also became a highlight, with participants lining up for pictures and selfies following their performance. Visitors praised the professionalism and display routine of the PAF team, calling it “one of the best crowd-pullers” of the day.

The five-day airshow will continue to feature defence announcements, aircraft showcases and daily demos from international manufacturers and air forces.

• India diversifies LPG sources with new US supply deal.
• India-US talks continue despite tariff, oil import disputes.
• US tariffs seen denting India’s GDP by up to 80 bps.
  

India said on Monday it had signed a “significant” deal that will see the United States supply nearly 10% of the Asian giant’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports, as it seeks to diversify its energy sources.

Relations between Washington and New Delhi plummeted in August after President Donald Trump raised tariffs on India to 50%, with US officials accusing the country of fuelling Russia´s war in Ukraine by buying its discounted oil.

Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to cut its Russian oil imports as part of a prospective trade deal — something New Delhi has not confirmed.

India and the United States remain in talks, despite disagreements over a range of issues, including agricultural trade and the Russian oil purchases.

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India had signed the one-year deal for 2.2 million tonnes per annum of LPG, sourced from the US Gulf Coast, providing “close to 10%” of India´s annual imports of the fuel.

Puri said it was “the first structured contract of US LPG for the Indian market”.

“In our endeavour to provide secure, affordable supplies of LPG to the people of India, we have been diversifying our LPG sourcing,” Puri said in a statement, adding that “one of the largest and the world´s fastest growing LPG market opens up to the United States”.

In October, Indian state-backed refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy said it halted purchases of Russian crude after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies.

Reliance Industries, the privately owned main Indian buyer of Russian crude, has also said it is assessing the implications of the US restrictions, as well as those imposed by the European Union.

India’s economy, the fifth-largest in the world, grew at its fastest pace in five quarters in the three months ending June 30, helped by higher government spending and improved consumer sentiment.

But US tariffs continue to overshadow the economy, with experts projecting that they could shave anywhere between 60 to 80 basis points off GDP growth this fiscal year, if there is no relaxation soon.