By Sam Rucker and Sonal Nain

Employers and political parties should have a duty of care obligation to domestic abuse survivors to ensure they do not face further harassment, Tower Hamlets MP Apsana Begum claims.

Begum, the MP for Poplar and Limehouse said that she was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, Ehtasham Haque, a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets, before he was suspended from the party in 2021.

In a debate in Westminster Hall, Begum said: “[I] call for a duty of care to be placed on employers and political parties to ensure the survivors of domestic abuse are not exposed to further harassment.”

In June 2021, Begum signed off sick as a Labour MP, after tweeting: “As a survivor of domestic abuse… it has had a significant impact on my mental and physical health”

Begum, the first hijab-wearing MP, only returned as a working member of the Labour Party in September. In a written statement she said: “The Labour party has failed in its duty of care in relation to my health and well-being.”

She added that she had suffered “undemocratic trauma” because of a “trigger process”, called by her local Labour party. This process means she is at risk of being deselected as a Labour MP at the next election. 

Begum told the debate on Tuesday: “I do not accept the legitimacy of a trigger ballot… the Procedure Secretary, who oversees the whole trigger process, was conducted by someone who is close to my ex-husband and has publicly credited him with one of the reasons they were elected to the role.”

In an exclusive interview with Eastlondonlines, Begum said: “The Labour Party has a duty to ensure that it is an inclusive, democratic and safe environment and it saddens me deeply to continue to be placed in a position where I am prevented from being able to participate accordingly.” This was in light of a Labour fundraising event in Tower Hamlets earlier this month, where she claimed that the party didn’t reassure her safety so she couldn’t attend the event.

Begum also said in the parliamentary debate that she was a victim of “abusive litigation” – the process by which a victim’s abuser repeatedly takes them to court in order to cause emotional or psychological harm.

Her campaign team said they are aware of at least 50 procedural complaints against her that have been submitted to the Labour Party.

Last year, Begum was cleared of housing fraud, following accusations made by Tower Hamlets Council.  She told the debate: “I’ve since found out that the complaint that led to the investigation was made by my ex-husband’s brother-in-law… to coincide with the deadline for when final nomination papers [for the general election] were to be submitted “

She added that her lawyer, Raj Chada, had found a “series of conflicts of interest” during the legal proceedings: “My ex-husband was a member of the council’s audit committee in the same year as the audit investigation which had government and oversight of the fraud team itself.”

She told parliament that Chada had said: “Prosecutors and investigators need to better understand and consider how victims of coercive control and domestic abuse behave and how they are treated by the criminal justice system.”

Begum’s ex-husband has denied the accusations of domestic violence against him. Haque told the BBC: “[I am]steadfast in being given an opportunity to defend myself against these false allegations.. I am grateful to those who are treating me as innocent until proven guilty,”