A councillor has attempted to gag an independent news website for publishing a string of unfavourable stories about him.
Husain Akhtar, who sits on Harrow Council, registered the complaint with the local constabulary claiming that iharrow.com had been “harassing” him by publishing several articles about his recent conduct.
Stories included an online poll asking if Coun Akhtar should resign for what the website described as ‘an apparent history of bullying other councillors’ – with 98pc of readers agreeing he should vacate his seat.
The website also introduced a #HusainGate page to make it easier for readers to track archived stories relating to him.
iharrow.com has set up its own page for stories relating to Husain Akhtar
Harrow Police confirmed that Coun Akhtar had made a complaint which is currently being investigated, while Coun Akhtar told HTFP that he did not wish to comment further because of the ongoing investigation.
But in an article on iharrow.com, editor Paul Boakes, claims the police have already decided no crime has been committed.
“Husain Akhtar has lodged a complaint against iharrow.com with Harrow Police, claiming harassment, presumably for all the articles we’ve produced about him and his antics. Incredible, huh?,” he wrote.
“It will come as no surprise to most of us that the police, having had a look at the site, have reached the conclusion that no crime has been committed. Which is almost a shame, given that Akhtar provided them with a rather natty little file filled with clippings of us saying what he probably thought were mean things about him.”
The website also criticised the councillor for switching political allegiances on several occasions and described him as a ‘turncoat’.
Paul told HTFP that he had not spoken to the councillor personally but had exchanged emails with him several times.
“Whether he wanted iharrow.com shut down or for me to get a good telling off, I don’t know. I would, however, say that I have a fairly well-known profile across Harrow, being recognisable at a glance by around 50pc of the borough’s councillors, by a number of the council’s directors and I’m on first name terms with the police borough commander,” he said.
“What I hope comes across on iharrow is that I speak as I find. I have no political bias, or at least, I aim to have none. I feel that iharrow varies between pro-Labour and pro-Tory fairly evenly, depending what happens in a particular week.
“What it does aim to do is encourage engagement of local residents, whether that’s by publicising local events, businesses or council matters both good and bad.”
Coun Akhtar was first elected as a Conservative member in 2007 but left the party in November last year to become an independent councillor.
He then switched to the Labour Party in March but he was one of the nine councillors to break away to form the Independent Labour Group just three months later.
He then resigned from that in July and has since announced plans to run as an independent candidate in Harrow’s Wealdstone ward for the elections in May.
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Good to see an editor without an ego…
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The “independent news website” iharrow is in no way journalistic and has about as much in common with a regional newspaper as a man in the street wearing a sandwich board and screaming the end is neigh.
Their coverage, which is about 70 per cent opinion and 30 per cent actual reporting, all jumbled up together in the same articles, includes awarding Cllr Hussain the “douchebag of the week award”.
I have no doubt that some of cllr Hussain’s conduct has been reprehensible, great local newspaper fodder, but the shoddy way in which is has been reported is citizen journalism at its worst.
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I sympathise with this councillor – Paul Boakes clearly has no concept of impartiality when he discusses cllr Hussain. His tirade/rant about the subject shows he clearly does have a person agenda. He, does not, however have a modicum of class or modesty.
And any “news source” that describes itself as ‘pro-Labour’ then ‘pro-Tory’ is not an impartial news source at all, but a blog.
To correct the Jackel, journalism does indeed account for opinion pieces; however the time when quality could be attached to such pieces just from being categorised as ‘news’ has dwindled massively thanks to self-styled ‘citizen-journalists’ such as this.
A shame, however, HTFP didn’t give the councillor his right to reply.
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As it made clear in the story Stav, we did give the councillor his right of reply. He declined to comment on the grounds that the police investigation was still ongoing.
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Hmm.
The councillor’s ever-changing political stance is certainly worth comment, but the creation of HusainGate does make it seem he is being targeted by the editor.
Saying that, if Boakes is quoted accurately, he comes across as a right egotistical plonker. Does he refer to himself in the third person?
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As a Harrow resident (and former editor of the Harrow Times Series) I subscribe to iHarrow as a useful source of news, especially about recent shenanigans at Harrow Council, which haven’t always been covered well (if at all) by the borough’s two newspapers.
Yes, the site does carry a lot of opinion. But so what? So does every national and local newspaper and publications such as the Spectator and News Statesman, and these are journalism.
But it also breaks important stories, regularly scooping the local press.
If may not be perfect, but it is an invaluable addition to the local media in this borough, complementing our two traditional papers.
Finally, to declare an interest: it was I who tipped off HTFP about the Hussain affair.
Charlie Harris
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PS Cllr Husain also approached UKIP about adding it to his list of political labels. A friend of mine close to the UKIP leadership told me his overtures were politely declined because the party didn’t think he was serious, given his record of party-hopping.
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