Lutfur Rahman. Pic: Lutfur Rahman’s Website

An aide to Mayor Lutfur Rahman has said he strongly disagrees with the allegations that the Mayor unfairly handed out grants.

Mayor Rahman’s election agent and Tower Hamlets cabinet member Councillor Alibor Choudhury said he strongly disagrees with the allegations that the council gave grants on biased terms.

“There was a fair process. The grants underwent a process by which they were assessed,” said Choudhury. “[Rahman’s] focus was to reach out to everybody that lives in the borough.”

Rahman has been taken to election court by local voters who say he has unfairly distributed council grants.

The four voters, who have proceeded with legal action for electoral fraud against Rahman, will attempt to annul his win in court.

The mayor won a second term as leader of the borough in May of last year.

A spokesperson for the Mayor told Eastlondonlines: “The politically-charged [Price Waterhouse Coopers] audit that cost our residents £1m found no bias in grant distribution and no evidence of corruption.”

“I have been happy to work with all those suggesting how the grants system could be made more precise and transparent, but there was a clear process and I utterly reject the spurious claim that grants unfairly favoured anyone.”

Rahman has also been accused of smearing rival John Biggs as a racist. Last week, he had said that the Labour party bears “hallmarks of institutional racism.”

The mayor has denied all allegations.