Tower Hamlets mayor stripped of key powers

Lutfur Rahman, the mayor of Tower Hamlets council in London, has been stripped of his powers to dish out grants and sell property with a takeover squad moving in. Two commissioners on Wednesday night entered the council office to meet functionaries and the Bangladeshi-origin mayor. The commissioners have been appointed by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles. Pickles told Parliament in a written statement: ‘I remain satisfied that the Council is failing to comply with its best value duty. It is disappointing that there is a culture of denial in the mayoral administration about its systematic failures.’ The commissioners, who moved in, are being led by Sir Ken Knight, a former London Fire Commissioner and advisor to the government. He is backed by former council chief executive Max Caller, the chairman of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, according to London Evening Standard.