Latest news with #AyoubKhan
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Postmistress Rooprit Gill back at work after Post Office IT scandal
A postmistress wrongfully prosecuted for non-existent shortfalls in her Post Office accounts, based on unreliable Horizon data, has returned to her former Gill is the first in the UK to return to work at her old branch - at the Wattville Road Post Office in Handsworth, Birmingham - after the IT scandal that saw hundreds wrongfully she cut a celebratory ribbon alongside her family, MP Ayoub Khan and Post Office chairman Nigel Railton. "This is a very joyous day getting Wattville Road Post Office back and being able to celebrate this occasion with family, customers and special guests," she said. Ms Gill's father, Nirmal Singh Kailey, was one of the first Asian postmasters outside of London before his daughter took the helm in 2005. He had always been convinced of his daughter's innocence and it was his long-held wish that she would one day return to work - but he died before he was able to celebrate her being back in charge. Referring to the reaction to her return, Ms Gill said: "There have been cheers of delight from customers when they found out that I would be the postmistress again – they are over the moon, and so I am."It's great to be back serving my Post Office customers again." Post Office chairman Nigel Railton said: "I wanted to attend this event to warmly welcome Roopie Gill back as the postmistress for Wattville Road Post Office. "Her experiences were part of a shameful time in Post Office history and I sincerely apologise to her and everyone affected by this scandal. "I know Roopie is now focused on the future, serving her customers and running a successful branch." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nine MPs in Birmingham and Black Country make money renting out homes - is yours one of them
Smethwick's Labour MP Gurinder Singh Josan is the second biggest housing landlord in Parliament, co-owning eight homes in Birmingham and Sandwell that are rented out. The MP co-owns three of the properties with relatives and is a co-owner in five others, with each of the homes bringing in rental income of at least £10,000 a year. Birmingham Perry Barr Independent MP Ayoub Khan co-owns three properties in Birmingham. READ MORE: Homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigns after 'ejecting tenants and hiking rent' Light has been shone on the housing interests of sitting MPs following the resignation of Labour's homelessness minister Rushnara Ali after she was found to have evicted tenants from her London property, and then later re-listed the property with a higher rent. Campaigners have said it undermines the government's credibility in its efforts to reform the rental sector. In Birmingham and the Black Country, there is desperate concern particularly about the rocketing number of HMOs and exempt properties, with thousands of former family homes converted into units housing six or more individuals so landlords can max out their rental income. Thousands of children are currently living in B&Bs and temporary housing because of a shortage of family homes, while thousands more families are on council waiting lists because they can't meet private rents. Josan, elected last year, has a housing portfolio equal to former chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Cons. They both boast eight rental properties. Only one MP, Jas Athwal, MP for Ilford South, has more - he rents out 15 residential and three commercial properties in London. Of all Westminster MPs, one in eight declared a rental income from property in the last year, according to a recent Guardian analysis. The official register of interests, which shows any additional earnings and interests held by MPs, reveals that Josan owns five properties in Sandwell and Birmingham, and also co-owns with relatives another three properties in Sandwell. We have reached out to Josan to ask him if any of the properties are either HMOs or are leased as exempt supported accommodation - we had not received a response at the time of publication. But we can also reveal that several other MPs in Birmingham and the Black Country are in the private rentals business. Tahir Ali, Labour MP for Hall Green and Moseley, owns a rental property that he declares makes a rental income of more than £10,000 a year. It is a single property in Birmingham, according to the register. Saqib Bhatti, Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East, declares ownership of a property in Walsall that he has a 25% share in, and a second property in Walsall. Al Carns, Labour MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, declares a property in Aberdeen that he co-owns with his spouse that generates rental income to him. Sarah Coombes, Labour MP for West Bromwich, declares a flat she rents out in London. Warinder Juss, Labour MP for Wolverhampton West, declares owning two rental properties - a flat and a house - in Wolverhampton. Ayoub Khan, Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, declares his co-ownership of three properties, all in Birmingham. He says one is co-owned by him and his company; and two others are 'co-owned with a family member'. Sonia Kumar, Labour MP for Dudley, also declares a single property, in Birmingham, that she rents out. Wendy Morton, Conservative MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, does not own rental housing but does declare receiving rental income from small industrial units on a business park in North Yorkshire owned by a company DM Electronics.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Jeremy Corbyn hints at launch of new party as leftwing alternative to Labour
Jeremy Corbyn has hinted he could launch a political party alongside other leftwing independent MPs in an attempt to offer 'an alternative' to Labour, before the next general election. Speaking on ITV's Peston programme, the former Labour leader confirmed discussions were under way among the Independent Alliance group of MPs that he co-founded last year. Asked directly whether they were preparing to form a new party, Corbyn did not rule it out. 'That grouping [of independents] will come together, there will be an alternative,' he said. The Independent Alliance includes four other independent MPs who all beat Labour candidates and MPs over the party's position on Gaza. The group has the same amount of MPs as Reform UK and the Democratic Unionist party, which each have five MPs, and more than the Green party and Plaid Cymru on four. Corbyn, who sits as an independent after he was suspended by Keir Starmer in 2020, has long hinted at plans to create a vehicle for socialist policies and pro-Palestinian campaigning. But until now he has not openly suggested a party launch before polling day. The move could dismantle the left-of-centre vote and present a headache for Starmer, who has repositioned Labour in the political centre. Corbyn's group includes Shockat Adam, the MP for Leicester South; Ayoub Khan, the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr; Adnan Hussain the MP for Blackburn, and Iqbal Mohamed, the MP for Dewsbury and Batley. Corbyn said any new party would focus on poverty, inequality and a foreign policy 'that's based on peace rather than war'. Asked if he would lead the party, he added: 'I'm here to work – I'm here to serve the people in the way I've always tried to do.' 'The Alliance group of MPs has worked very hard and very well together over the past year in parliament, and we're coming up to our first anniversary,' Corbyn said.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rail regulator demands fairer ticket enforcement after The Bolton News probe
The rail regulator has called for a fairer and more consistent approach to ticket enforcement following an investigation by The Bolton News. The in-depth review, commissioned by the government, reveals the current system needs to work better for passengers, train operators and taxpayers alike. The regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), published a report that found travellers face 'inconsistent treatment and outcomes' for similar ticketing issues across the railway. The report has found that rail companies are losing around £400 million a year to fare evasion. And the report comes nearly a year after The Bolton News' landmark investigation into inconsistent ticketing, with passengers who purchased a train ticket advertised as being valid at "any time of day" have been taken to court and fined for using their ticket before 10am. In one instance, we reported that a £5 ticket to Bolton ended up costing a woman more than £100 after she selected an option for a "26-30 Railcard" on her phone while she was buying it – despite not having a railcard. READ MORE: What should have been a cheap trip up costing the woman much more than she bargained for – with an onboard ticket inspector charging her more than £100 for the journey after it turned out her ticket had a 26-30 Railcard discount, despite her not owning a Railcard. Other passengers affected included a 26-year-old man who was fined £462.30 for a £1.44 saving on a journey from Prescot to Liverpool. The ongoing issue was later picked up by national media outlets and was later bought to Parliament by Birmingham MP Ayoub Khan. As a result of the investigation, The Bolton News was also shortlisted for a regional press award. The ORR found there are 'a range of circumstances' in which passengers may innocently travel without a valid ticket, such as forgetting their railcard or simply making a mistake. The report stated: 'Making this more challenging is the railway's complex fares and ticketing framework. 'This has grown more complicated over time.' The inquiry found that rail staff described how 'fare evasion is becoming normalised among certain passenger groups', and it is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The inquiry made a series of recommendations to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and the Department for Transport, such as ensuring passengers have 'clearer information' about tickets, and creating consistency in how passengers are treated when ticket issues arise, particularly in relation to prosecutions. ORR director of strategy, policy and reform Stephanie Tobyn said: 'Effective revenue protection is essential for a sustainable railway, but it must be fair and proportionate for passengers. 'Our recommendations aim to protect both industry revenue and support passenger confidence. 'Our evidence shows a system that has evolved over time where the legal framework and enforcement processes are increasingly complex and appear weighted towards industry, leaving some passengers who make innocent errors vulnerable to disproportionate outcomes. 'But meanwhile, fare evasion remains a significant problem, and rigorous action should be taken against those who intentionally seek to defraud the railway.' A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group, which represents operators, said it welcomed the ORR's 'sensible recommendations'. She added: 'The rail industry will work on implementing the recommendations in line with our plans to create a simpler, better-value fares system. 'We need to strike the right balance addressing genuine, honest mistakes made by customers and taking firm action against those who deliberately and persistently seek to exploit the system.' Last week, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick posted a widely viewed video on social media in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford station in east London.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Birmingham bin collections not back to normal, politicians say
Opposition politicians have rejected claims that Birmingham's bin collections are mostly back to normal, as industrial action continues across the city. Refuse workers from the Unite union started an all-out strike in March due to a dispute with the city council over changes to roles and has attracted worldwide coverage with images of large waste piles and claims of rats as big as cats, but the council said it had cleared the vast majority of rubbish. However, speaking on the BBC's Politics Midlands programme, Birmingham's Conservative leader councillor Robert Alden and Independent MP Ayoub Khan both denied this was the case. Delayed collections during the initial weeks of the strike were down partly to picket lines blocking trucks from leaving waste facilities. Striking workers insisted they were only stopping lorries if they had safety concerns, but ugly scenes prompted Labour council leader John Cotton to condemn what he called "violence". Speaking on Friday - as a "mega picket" of union members was present at Lifford Lane depot in Kings Norton - Alden said he believed bin lorries had stalled again. He said: "What we've seen sadly over the last two weeks, since national support from the army has been withdrawn, [is that] bin lorries have not been going out again. "Indeed by the end of the week, barely any bin lorries were going out and that's leading to more rubbish starting to build up on the streets." Khan, who is a Birmingham councillor as well MP for Perry Barr, also claimed many thousands of tonnes of rubbish were still on the streets. "You see the frustration across the whole city," he said. "Recyclable material hasn't been collected."What [striking bin workers] are saying is very simple: 'We've got mortgages to pay, we've got children to raise. The cost of living is going through the roof and we just want a fair deal.'" Rachel Taylor, the Labour MP for North Warwickshire and Bedworth, accused the pair of trying to score political points. "The government [has] stepped in and put their weight behind the city council to get bin lorries out and rubbish collected," she said. "There's a reasonable offer on the table and it is in the interests of all the people in Birmingham that all parties get around the table and get this sorted." Birmingham City Council said it had cleared 100% of the large piles of waste in the hot spot areas and 85% across the rest of the city. While recycling collections remain suspended, it has urged residents to continue putting out household waste bins for collection. "Before industrial action began, our crews were collecting about 1,000 to 1,100 tonnes of waste per day," the local authority's website reads. "However, in recent weeks, our crews have collected 1,500 to 1,700 tonnes of waste each day, with a reduced team."This highlights the need for transformation in the service we provide to residents." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
