An anti-fraud investigator has filed a race and sex discrimination case in the UK, claiming he was sacked from an east London council, with a majority Bangladeshi-origin population, for being white.
Mark Edmunds wants damages of around £529,000 for allegedly being intimidated over his investigations into a Tower Hamlets council department staffed mostly by British Bangladeshis.
The 54-year-old says in his witness statement to the East London Employment Tribunal this week that he was made redundant, effectively sacked, because he was “a white man investigating a service predominantly staffed by Bangladeshi employees, where the allegations of corruption were predominantly against Bangladeshi employees”.
The council, which has a history of scandal, had elected Britain’s first Muslim mayor in Bangladeshi-origin Lutfur Rahman in 2010. But he was removed by a court for rigging his 2014 re-election, a charge he has always denied. Following serious concerns of fraud within the system, Edmunds conducted a review leading to the dismissal of a number of Bangladeshi-origin employees.
His witness statement before the tribunal reads: “The threats and intimidation were very real and serious given the history of many of those I was investigating (i.e. 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.”
The legal counsel appearing on behalf of Tower Hamlets council challenged the accuracy of his allegations and interpretation of events and the hearing remains ongoing, with a conclusion expected in coming weeks.