A Labour politician who stood against Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor has won a High Court battle over claims that he was a ‘wife beater’. Helal Abbas, 55, lost his bid to become the mayor of Tower Hamlets in East London days after the claim appeared in an ethnic freesheet. The race was won by Lutfur Rahman, 50, a controversial figure who has been accused in a separate High Court case of rigging his re-election victory last year. Mr Rahman denies those charges. Helal Abbas, 55, lost his bid to become the mayor of Tower Hamlets in East London days after the claim appeared in an ethnic freesheet . During the 2010 campaign, the London Bangla ran an advert accusing Mr Abbas of assaulting his ex-wife. An article accompanying the advert was headlined A Right Mayoral Punch-Up. The weekly freesheet – written in Bengali and English – was a fierce supporter of Mr Rahman and was distributed outside mosques in the area. Mr Abbas lost the election by 12,000 votes. The victory by Mr Rahman – a former Labour councillor who stood as an independent after he was thrown out of the party over alleged links to Islamists – was seen as an embarrassment for Ed Miliband. The race was won by Lutfur Rahman, 50, a controversial figure who has been accused in a separate High Court case of rigging his re-election victory last year . Mr Abbas started court proceedings against London Bangla’s editor, Shah Yousuf, 35, soon after the election. After a four-year legal battle, Mr Yousuf has admitted there was ‘no truth to the allegation’ and has agreed to pay damages and legal costs. When The Mail on Sunday contacted Mr Yousuf, he asked for all questions to be emailed to him, which we did. However, he then refused to answer them.
Labour politician Helal Abbas lost bid to become mayor of Tower Hamlets.
The London Bangla ran an advert accusing him of assaulting his ex-wife.
After long legal battle, editor admits there was ‘no truth to the allegation’