Fraud investigator claims he was sacked ‘for being white’ at East London council
AN anti-fraud investigator has claimed he was sacked from an East London council for being WHITE.
Mark Edmunds, 55, is suing scandal-hit Tower Hamlets for £529,000 in a landmark race and sex discrimination case.
He helped the borough successfully host the 2012 Olympics after joining in 2010 - before moving into fraud investigation.
He claims he was removed from his £63,000-a-year job because he was "a white man investigating a service predominantly staffed by Bangladeshi employees where the allegations of corruption were predominantly against Bangladeshi employees".
Edmunds worked on a review of the council's youth service, which revealed crooked ex-mayor Lutfur Rahman used youth grants to bribe voters.
Twelve senior Asian employees were sacked following the investigation.
AXED AFTER UNCOVERING VOTE-RIGGING SCANDAL
A witness statement submitted to the tribunal claimed he was faced with "threats and intimidation" from ex-gang members as he probed
He said: "The threats and intimidation were very real and serious given the history of many of those I was investigating (ie ex-gang members and drug dealers).
"Additionally, while conducting investigations I was regularly accused of being a racist and a bully, when all I was doing was my job, in an attempt to intimidate me and derail the investigation process."
A Tower Hamlets spokesman said: "We strongly dispute the version of events put forward by Mr Edmunds.
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"[He] was made redundant in a transparent process which was part of a service-wide restructure.
"Every allegation... was fully investigated and appropriate action was taken against members of staff where there was proven wrongdoing. Mr Edmunds was fully involved in that process.
";The council does not tolerate intimidation of its staff and we took all appropriate steps to ensure Mr Edmunds and his family were safeguarded."
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