London Councillor Continues to Receive Taxpayer Allowances While Based in Bangladesh
A councillor in east London’s Tower Hamlets receives more than £20,000 annually in taxpayer-funded allowances despite spending the past eight months primarily in Sylhet, Bangladesh, over 5,000 miles away.
Sabina Khan, elected to represent the ward in Mile End, joined the council as a Labour member before switching to the Aspire party. She plans to remain in her position until the local elections in May, after which she intends to step down. Her extended stay abroad stems from her pursuit of a parliamentary seat in Bangladesh, and she has informed her party and the council’s monitoring officer of her situation.
Details of Earnings and Attendance
Tower Hamlets Council confirms that Khan’s basic allowance stands at £11,898 per year, supplemented by £8,702 for her role as Scrutiny Lead for Resources, where she oversees council expenditures. This brings her total to £20,600 annually. Since departing for Bangladesh in May, she has largely remained there, participating in council and committee meetings via remote access, delegating proxies, or occasionally absenting herself. With one or two in-person appearances, her arrangement allows her to claim a full year’s allowances despite her primary residence abroad.
Council insiders describe the arrangement as problematic, noting the challenges of fulfilling duties from such a distance. One source highlighted the visibility of her remote participation, stating, ‘When she has joined meetings online you can see where she is – on her balcony in Bangladesh. It’s scandalous.’
Pursuit of Political Role in Bangladesh
Khan’s relocation aligns with her efforts to secure candidacy for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) in the upcoming general election on February 12, the first since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster in a student-led uprising. She traveled to Bangladesh, where many of her constituents also have family ties, alongside fellow Tower Hamlets councillor Ohid Ahmed, to launch campaigns for parliamentary seats—a practice permitted under UK electoral rules.
Social media videos from Khan’s channels depict her addressing BNP rallies and distributing leaflets in Sylhet during December and January. While Ahmed returned to London after an unsuccessful first-round selection and resumed local duties, Khan persists in campaigning, hoping for a spot on a shortlist for women and minority candidates.
In one video, Khan criticizes local infrastructure, standing on a bridge in Sylhet and pointing out potholes, while another clip sees her decrying the high cost of cooking gas and government spending, remarking, ‘The money they spend, it’s not their own. That’s the hard earned money of the people.’ Her UK allowance equates to roughly ten times the average annual wage in Bangladesh, or about £390,400 in British terms.
Government Response and Past Controversies
Communities Secretary Steve Reed expressed dismay, stating he was appalled that Khan would ‘abandon [her] commitment’ to residents amid Tower Hamlets’ ongoing issues with fraud scandals. The borough, led by Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s Aspire Party since his 2022 re-election, has faced persistent allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Rahman himself was barred from office for five years in 2015 following findings of electoral irregularities.
In November, Khan publicly announced her resignation from her Tower Hamlets role to focus on public service in Bangladesh, telling reporters, ‘It is not unlawful under UK law for a councillor to engage in political activity abroad. I have continued to serve my constituents remotely and returned when required. Nonetheless, I have now stepped down to dedicate myself fully to public service in Bangladesh.’ However, the council reported no formal resignation, and she attended a subsequent meeting.
A fellow councillor emphasized the impracticality, saying, ‘It’s staggering. It is unfair on everybody… You can’t do casework by Microsoft Teams, I’m sorry it’s ridiculous!’ Khan previously served on Brent Council in west London, where she drew criticism for residing outside the borough. Her 2024 defection to Aspire, along with another councillor, secured the party’s control of Tower Hamlets.
Social media activity indicates Khan’s prolonged stay in Bangladesh, interrupted briefly for trips to London in June for Eid-al-Adha, September, and a two-day Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca in October. Neither Khan, Ahmed, the Aspire Party, nor Tower Hamlets Council responded to requests for comment.
