An Express investigation has revealed that Tower Hamlets Council awarded a £2 million contract to a charity co-run by one of its own senior managers, a deal described as "very odd" by a former Cabinet minister. The council, which has faced repeated controversy, insists all rules were followed and there is no conflict of interest.
The council agreed last year to pay the Bangladeshi Drugs Project (BDP) just under £2 million for drug and alcohol outreach and treatment tailored for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the area. The charity has three trustees, one of whom is a former council worker and another, Mohammed A Jolil, who is Tower Hamlets' current Head of Children and Family Services.
Contract Details and Dual Roles
Contract documents show that the drug service is required to work directly with family hubs and child protection teams - the exact areas Mr Jolil helps run at the council. There is no suggestion that Mr Jolil was involved in the council's decision on the tender.
Official records released by the council originally listed BDP as the sole bidder for the £2 million scheme, despite the charity having had no employees for seven years. This changed after the Express contacted the council for comment, and the council admitted that these details, which were reiterated in subsequent freedom of information requests, were in fact an "error."
Joint Company and Transparency Concerns
The contract, it said, was actually awarded jointly to BDP and a larger youth outreach group in the area called the Osmani Trust. To run the service, the two organisations - which share the same Treasurer - formed a new joint company called Bridgepoint Recovery Ltd, and delays in filing the paperwork for this business meant inaccurate information was published.
Links between the two groups were already known from public accounts, which showed that while BDP appeared to be inactive, it was actually lending tens of thousands of pounds in interest-free loans to the Osmani Trust - including as recently as last year. Prior to the Express's investigation, the council submitted documentation that there was no conflict of interest regarding the contract.
Calls for an Independent Audit
After viewing responses to freedom of information requests, the Express approached the council, which denied any conflict of interest, adding Mr Jolil had "told the council that he has never and will not receive any remuneration" for his position at BDP and had disclosed the interest to them. However, the Charity Commission said it was "assessing concerns" about whether the Tower Hamlets employee's dual role might breach its governance standards.
Former Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said the decision by Tower Hamlets to award a contract worth seven figures to a charity co-run by one of its own senior managers was "not normal activity." Lord Pickles said the whole situation "looks very odd," and it would be in the interest of the council's reputation to have this independently audited. He added: "I can't think of any parallel with that amount of money involved, and it's not within my experience. This is not normal activity; it needs to be properly audited and looked at without prejudice."
Lord Pickles previously sent in two government-appointed commissioners to take control of specific areas of Tower Hamlets council in 2014 after an independent report revealed a "culture of cronyism." He said: "The council has a duty to produce best value for the taxpayers and, if something has gone wrong, it's better to find out now than later."
Red Flags and Political Backdrop
Sir Alistair Graham, former chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said errors in the transparency process around the arrangement showed "some worrying red flags. You could list about 20 questions that need to be answered," he added. "The Opposition party should be putting the pressure on, and if they're not getting satisfaction, they should go to the Minister for Local Government and ask him to intervene."
In 2014, a BBC Panorama programme on the embattled council also alleged that Mayor Lutfur Rahman had diverted charity money for political support. A year after the investigation was broadcast, Mayor Rahman was removed from office by a civil court for "corrupt and illegal practices" related to the 2014 election. Despite being banned from office for five years and expelled from the Labour Party, he was re-elected in 2022 and 2026 as an Aspire Party candidate.
Andrew Wood, a former Conservative Tower Hamlets councillor, said the findings by the Express were "particularly concerning." "Last year, [an independent] report was really scathing about Tower Hamlets not meeting its value-for-money obligations."
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman said: "The council is satisfied that a fully compliant procurement process has been followed to award the contract to run a culturally sensitive drugs misuse recovery centre. We are satisfied that there were no conflicts of interest in the contract award."
In a letter from its lawyers, the Bangladeshi Drugs Project said: "BDP partnered with the Osmani Trust to tender for the contract. The Osmani Trust has substantial experience of delivering larger community-based contracts and has the organisational capacity, governance, financial management, and operational infrastructure required to manage such a contract. BDP brought its specialist knowledge of substance misuse and recovery, drawing on many years of experience. As regards Mr Jolil, there has been no conflict of interest. The recovery service falls under a separate directorate from Children and Families Service [for which Mr Jolil is responsible]. Mr Jolil had no involvement in the tender process or contract. At all times, Mr Jolil has disclosed his role as an (unpaid) trustee of BDP."
The Express contacted Mr Jolil directly for comment and hasn't received a reply.
