28 Jul 2023
Did officers at St Albans district council impose a gagging order on any discussion of a serving Liberal Democrat councillor facing accusations of child sex offences?
Disgraced former Sopwell Ward representative Shakir Rahman, 46, of Creighton Avenue, St Albans, has now been convicted of the rape of a child under 13 years old and subsequently sentenced to eight years nine months in prison with an extended 12 months on licence.
St Albans Crown Court heard how the victim, who was aged just six years old at the time, was raped by Rahman in St Albans in June 2018, shortly after he was elected as councillor in May 2018.
St Albans council leader Cllr Chris White said Rahman was suspended from the council group and the Liberal Democrats as soon as he was charged and expelled when he was convicted.
It is not known why Rahman did not resign from his position until the following year, even though he was not active as a councillor during this period.
New evidence has come to light which shows Rahman continued to be paid a basic allowance of £4,553.12 right up to March 2019 despite never attending any meetings, and other councillors were warned not to discuss the case publicly.
Former Conservative group leader Mary Maynard told the St Albans Times: “When I became Conservative leader at the district council in May 2019, I asked officers about Cllr Rahman, about his absence from council in the preceding year and about the gossip circulating about him regarding child abuse.
“At that time, I thought he had been a member of the Liberal Democrat Group at council. That group had never announced he was not in any council meetings. As far as I was aware, council was never asked to approve his absence. He had stood down at the May 2019 election.
“I was told by officers that he was the subject of a police investigation into possible child abuse. They quite rightly warned me that there were court reporting restrictions about this case, and that I should not discuss it/bring it into the public domain to protect the child/families involved.
“At the time, I was not aware of the timeframe of the case or that Cllr Rahman had continued to be paid an allowance, despite apparently not attending meetings or epresenting his residents. His attendance record is not on the council website, so it is not clear what the situation was.
“I am not aware of him having being given permission to not to attend by council in November/December 2018 or February 2019, or what the reasons given for his absence were, or which committee had approved his non-attendance (and continued payment) or why a by-election was not triggered by his absence.”
Reporting restrictions relating to sex offenders are imposed to protect the identity of any victim, not
someone charged with any offence, so it seems unlikely that Rahman could not have been named when he first appeared in court.
In response to suggestions that Rahman received a councillor’s allowance after his arrest, a spokesperson for SADC confirmed that he received an allowance of £4,553.12 in 2018/19 during his time as a councillor, as was his legal entitlement.
The spokesperson went on to clarify SADC’s formal response to his arrest: “Shakir Rahman was elected at the May 2018 elections as a councillor for the Sopwell ward and arrested the following month.
“Under the law, a councillor is not disqualified until convicted of and sentenced for a criminal offence, but given the seriousness of the accusations, he agreed to stand down from all council activities while under police investigation.
“He resigned his seat in March 2019 as it became clear the police inquiry would take some time to be resolved.”
Rahman was also the founder and director of Sopwell Community Trust, and very active in the local area organising events including an Islamic festival in Westminster Lodge meadow in 2015.
He resigned from the trust in 2014 to pursue other interests, including running as a councillor. He has had no active involvement with the trust since then.
Rahman worked for Thameslink on the platforms at St Albans City Station, and in 2015 represented Great Britain in the European Iaido Championships, a modern Japanese martial art sport, having previously competed in jodo, where competitors hit each other with short staffs.
