Tower Hamlets councilor quits Labor and goes independent over Keir Starmer’s Bangladesh comment

An East London councilor has resigned from the Labor Party after Keir Starmer singled out the country of Bangladesh when asked about deporting illegal migrants. Cllr Sabina Akhtar, who is of Bangladeshi heritage and was deputy leader of the Tower Hamlets Labor Group, resigned from the Labor Party last night (June 26).

Cllr Akhtar, who represents the Stepney Green ward in Tower Hamlets, said Keir’s remarks insulted his Bangladeshi identity and singled out his community. Labor has since said the viral video clip circulating on social media of Keir’s comments was “disinformation” and that he had “proudly supported” the Bangladeshi community in Britain.

During a debate hosted by The Sun, Keir was asked about how Labor would tackle the deportation of illegal migrants. He said: “In the first days of government, I will tell you what I will do, I will put the staff back in the returns unit. I will make sure that we have planes that leave, not like Rwanda because it is an expensive trick, they will go back to the countries where the people come from.”

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Asked where he was referring, Keir said: “Right now, people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being turned away, because they are not being processed.” He later defended the comment and rejected any claims that it was a derogatory remark about Bangladesh or Bangladeshis.

But the Labor leader’s comments angered the British Bangladeshi community, particularly in Tower Hamlets, where more than a third of the population was recorded in the 2021 census as being ethnically Bangladeshi. Two of Labour’s parliamentary candidates for the Tower Hamlets seats of Poplar and Limehouse and Bethnal Green and Stepney have expressed concern.

In a statement posted on X, Cllr Akhtar said: “I was the first female speaker of the Bangladeshi home council and I was a proud member of the Labor Party, but I find that I can no longer be proud of this party when the party leader it singles out my community and insults my Bangladeshi identity.

“I’ve defended the party all my life and I’ve been very proud of it. But it’s clear that the direction it’s going is unacceptable to me and my community.”

Apsana Begum, who represents Poplar and Limehouse, also condemned the remarks, which she called “dog whistle racism”. In a video posted on X, Ms Begum said: “I will never stand by and never let migrant communities be scapegoated. It is totally unacceptable for politicians of any party to use dog whistle racism against Bangladeshis or any other migrant community.”

Meanwhile, Rushanara Ali, the first British MP from Bangladesh and Labour’s candidate for Bethnal Green and Stepney, said she had been in “close contact” with Keir’s team as she aired concerns felt in her community. Earlier today (June 27), Keir said it was not his intention to offend British Bangladeshis.

He said: “I have many Bangladeshi voters in my own constituency that I have been working with for many years and I want to build on that in government. The reference in yesterday’s debate was a country example. which is considered safe in terms of asylum and one of the countries that actually has a return agreement with us, and that’s actually a good thing that both we and Bangladesh can be proud of.” He added: ” I certainly did not intend to cause any concern or offense to any Bangladeshi community here.”

Cllr Sirajul Islam, Labor Group leader in Tower Hamlets, said he was disappointed by Keir’s comments and said British Bangladeshis make an “invaluable contribution” to the UK and the Labor Party.

However, he went on to say that Keir’s comments had been “heavily altered” by people looking to divide the community. Cllr Islam said: “The comments made by Keir were quickly cut and heavily edited by those trying to sow division and discord in our community. Admittedly Keir was referring to an existing returns agreement and not what was in the viral hype.”

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He added: “However, I don’t think it was necessary to single out any community in the first place, let alone Bangladesh, to score political points on asylum and migration. I came to this country as a child when my family fled. conflict during the war of independence, which is why this feels so personal.”

He went on to claim that some Labor councilors in Tower Hamlets had already been attacked online by the far right following the viral video. A Labor Party spokesman said: “Keir has proudly supported the Bangladeshi community in the UK, who make a huge contribution to our country.

“This clip has been edited to make it appear as though Keir Starmer is suggesting the repatriation of British Bangladeshis. It’s misinformation.” They added: “Keir is actually referring to Labour’s long-standing policy of returning those who have no legal right to be in the UK to safe countries. Bangladesh was only used as an example because there is already a bilateral agreement. between the two countries”.

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