CV error gets big whatever

01 July 2008

Ted Jeory puts East End politicians in the dock

CALL me anal, but any CV that passes my way containing glaring mistakes goes straight into the bin.

But in La-La Local Government Land, different rules seem to apply.

Tower Hamlets council issued the following statement last week: "Following an objective and rigorous selection and recruitment process, Mr Lutfur Ali has been offered and has accepted the position of Assistant Chief Executive."

Personally, I've never met Lutfur Ali (shucks, let's give him his full name, Lutfur Rahman Ali, the one he used on his Labour manifesto leaflet in 2002), but the Town Hall has many who have met him.

These include the four councillors who declared they knew him at this month's seven-strong selection panel when he was hired on a majority vote of one.

As longstanding Labour stalwarts, council leader Lutfur Rahman (no relation), his deputy Siraj Islam and Ohid Ahmed would have come across him many times... during Mr Ali's failed campaign to become the party's Parliamentary candidate for Bethnal Green & Bow last year, for example.

As for active Abjol, he's extremely well-connected in the borough, especially among the leading lights of the Muslim community like Mr Ali.

As I've written before, Mr Ali has had a glittering career in the field of diversity and he must have been a strong candidate; but I'm not sure he's a great master of detail.

A peek at the CV he submitted to the panel has him working from July, 1999, to July, 2001, as the head of diversity policies at the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.

Which is a bit strange because in May, 2002, he was forced to resign as a councillor (after just six days) when he realised he held a politically restricted job at the, er, London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.

Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd be fairly meticulous on my CV about major events in my life like that.

However, Mr Ali assured the panel it was just a 'typo', an explanation accepted by the four councillors who voted for him who, it just so happens, were the very ones who knew Mr Ali before the interview.

Tory Opposition leader Peter Golds, who was on the panel, said he has "serious concerns" about the process and is understood to be preparing a complaint to the Standards Board and the Audit Commission.

But, as the council says, the selection was entirely "objective"...ahem.

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Ted Jeory

ted.jeory@archant.co.uk