So what's the story here? Who tried to stitch up Cllr Ali?

....... and the band played "Believe it if You Like".

There's no stitch-up: what's been withdrawn was the SECOND fine for not paying the original fine for taking his child out of school in term time. It was claimed that it had in fact been paid, but LBWF had lost it in a cupboard, which is of course plausible, sadly. First time round the judge did not believe the excuse at all without further evidence, and even now his language doesn't ring with faith in the Mayor's spotless character. Why did Mr Ali, or someone else at the local court, not insist that the case was tried elsewhere?
So the Mayor's only impeccable if you think it's OK to take your children out of school without prior agreement: it still means three Councillors of the ruling group getting a court conviction inside nine months. Would Waltham Forest have gone back to court in this way to help any parent who did not happen coincidentally to be Mayor?

One rule for Muslim Asians and another for the indigenous population. If it were a white person, one images social services would have thrown the book at them.

Alleged bad practice from Asians in local government?! Shock horror, NOT

"One rule for Muslim Asians and another for the indigenous population. If it were a white person, one images social services would have thrown the book at them. "
What a pity that John O'Rourke's name obviously denies him the much-sought soubriquet of being a member of the 'indigenous population' . I seem to remember that 'No Irish or coloureds' was the way we used to see his idea expressed.

Thats good news.

Ive suddenly remembered that Ive got to go on a pilgrimage to Majorca next week & Ive got to take my kids with me :--) According to the council I might get fined but theyll withdraw it after.

And wheres khalid? Thought he'd want to comment on this.

Did we ever get to the bottom of why the Mayor thinks breaking the law about childrens' education is fine for him but not everyone else?

Or why it is a politically acceptable defense for a coucillor in Waltham Forest to demonstrate in a court of law that the council's administration is up the spout and the Mayor personally has not been on hand to sort out this mess?

Why did the council's officers spend their time and our money on defending the Mayor in court when he should have had his own lawyers to do that?

And how does the Mayor, who is also a magistrate intend to face defendants when he is also a known flouter of the law?

I'm afraid that the whole affair still looks very very odd. Where has Mr Ali been and what has he been doing? Has he been drawing his allowances as a councillor while clearly so indisposed, and if so, why?

ali must useded the inlowenceded to chenge this. if he narmal parson they do no think and he bring the sheme on he pepal to take the chids out the scool and act like the idot

well i think we are missing the point here guys.
cllr ali went on pilgramige with his whole family he could not leave a 14 year old child home alone
i think every parent would have done the same.i would appreciate if mr khalid can bloody spell you dont make sense you idiot
cllr ali is a hard working councillor who has seved lbwf for the last 14 years and is a wonderful person who whenever you meet meets with open arms.

i think ace you are right. i would have done the same thing i dont know cllr ali but the people who i have spoken to on his ward have told me he is a excellent councillor who has served his constituents with dignity and respectively.

i know cllr ali he is such a humble down to earth person very good councillor i have been to numerous functions which he has attended and like always cllr ali is there representing lbwf he is a excellent mayor and councillor who is doing a fantastic job

i know cllr ali he s such a humble and down to earth person who is a excellent mayor and councillor.
i have been to numerous functions on different occasions and like always cllr ali is there representing lbwf his theme for this year is working together.
bridging gaps between communities he is such a role model i salute you cllr ali.well done

Why has Cllr Ali's family hijacked this discussion and pretending he is a great Cllr. Even if he was, that is besides the point. He broke the rules. If he were not a Cllr he would have been dealt much more harshly.

no not at all.
justice has been done so you would leave a 14 year old child home alone. no i dont think so and as far as i am aware they did take permission from the school and i am not pretending ,he is a excellent councillor.

fair enough, if you go on a pilgramage you wouldnt leave your child at home, but If you go on holiday, or abroad to see relatives you wouldnt leave your child at home either, I cannot be one rule for one and one rule for others. Those in positions of authority should be setting an example.

* appologies for applaing spelling and grammar in that last post

He can't be that excellent: I have lived nearly 20 years in his ward and he has never bothered to canvas my opinion on anything or my vote, nor does he inform people through newsletters about what he does on the council or seek residents views. I'm told he does not reply when people write to him and he does not hold regular surgeries. You never see him at meetings where local people are being asked about things like the regeneration plans.

His silence on this and other important local issues like crime, the economy in the High Street, the lack of amenities and the closure of the St James St library is deafening.

"so you would leave a 14 year old child home alone?"

How about just postponing your trip? Doesn't take a genius to figure out, does it?

Martin,

Good call, delay your trip till the school holidays and then you will not be breaking the rules, Simple

if anyone wants to know wh mr khalid is email me at letsshootmrkhalid.co
m

Will the council please tell us why it has spent our money on defending Mr Ali, when he committed the offence as a private citizen?

Will Mr Ali tell us why he took his child out of school? why he did not have the fine paid correctly? why he said he would return with the correct TPI number but did not? or why he is spending so much time out of the borough despite being well-paid to represent it?

As for the comments about how wonderful he is -- he has ignored all requests for help on local issues by everyone I know, including me.

sceptic why are you always moaning i personaly think you have a vandetta against cllr liaquat.
liaquat is one of the most popular councillors in waltham forest and i have met him at his surgery and found him to be very helpful.
as far as i am aware he is the only labour cllr to get elected in high street ward with 2 lib dems cllrs.
i think if he was really as bad as you say he would not have got elected with the highest number of votes,i am sure he must be helping and speaking out for his residents thats why we have voted for him.
tell me sceptic what is your hidden agenda.

who are you sceptic, have you got something personal against liaquat.

darren wrote:
sceptic why are you always moaning i personaly think you have a vandetta against cllr liaquat.
liaquat is one of the most popular councillors in waltham forest and i have met him at his surgery and found him to be very helpful.
as far as i am aware he is the only labour cllr to get elected in high street ward with 2 lib dems cllrs.
i think if he was really as bad as you say he would not have got elected with the highest number of votes,i am sure he must be helping and speaking out for his residents thats why we have voted for him.
tell me sceptic what is your hidden agenda.

who are you sceptic, have you got something personal against liaquat.

Darren, my 'agenda' is exactly what I have said above and in other places. I'm surprised you think these matters are so unimportant that there must be something else behind them!

I object to the council spending our money on defending Mr Ali, when his offence was not committed in his role as mayor but in his personal capacity. In other words, he should be organising his own defence, the same as anyone else including you and me would have to.

The mayor paid the original fine but did not bring all the information with him that was needed, and agreed to return with it, but did not. Therefore, it's his own fault he was fined twice.

On top of what the council has paid in defending him, court cases themselves are a public expense. How much has Mr Ali cost the public, through his original offence (taking the child out of school) and second offence (failing to pay the fine correctly despite being clearly told how to)?

If you got, say, a parking fine, Darren, and through your own fault did not manage to pay it correctly and then got fined again, would you expect the council to swing into action on your behalf? I wouldn't. And the council wouldn't either.

On the original case: Mr Ali is not only mayor but a magistrate. He, more than anyone, should show respect for the law!

On Liaquat Ali as a local councillor: I have tried many times in the past to get his help on local community issues but he never so much as replied. He has failed to attend his own advertised surgeries. When I mentioned this to neighbours, they were surprised I had even bothered to try. He has not been a good councillor in my experience and that of many other people. You are entitled to have a different view. But your view does not invalidate my experience and that of many others.

We pay a fortune for councillors who do not bother to represent us, and who use the borough's services for their own ends. This is a bad thing, Darren. I want it to stop, and the best tactic I have, in a democracy, is to tell other people and hope they feel strongly enough to vote accordingly.

I don't know your situation, Darren, but I work hard, I pay income tax and council tax and I want my money spent on services that meet people's genuine needs, not wasted on this sort of nonsense. As for a vendetta, I've never even met Mr Ali despite trying to by going to his surgery!

What other 'agenda' do I need to have, Darren? This all seems outrageous to me. Is that not enough?

Sorry, it was Liaquat Ali's son who tried unsuccessfully to pay the first fine.

But that doesn't let the mayor off the hook. Like the rest of us, if he gets a fine he is responsible for paying it. How difficult can it be for a mayor to get to his own town hall?

yeh alright sceptic you say you are a labour party member and you have never met cllr ali what a joke.

No, sean, or darren, or whatever else you like to call yourself - I'm not a member of the Labour Party and never said I was. Joining the Labour Party might give me the honour of meeting Clr Ali, but somehow that's not enough of an inducement.