TOWER Hamlets welcomed a new British citizen at the third annual Citizenship Ceremony at City Hall.

Sheikh Shohidul Islam, 31, beamed as he received a certificate of naturalisation after taking the oath of allegiance in front of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the chairwoman of the London Assembly Dee Doocey and his friends and family last Tuesday.

He moved to Tower Hamlets from Bangladesh six years ago and currently lives in Bromley-by-Bow with his wife and two sons, aged six and one.

“It’s lovely to be a British citizen,” he said. “Now life will be better for me. I can spend time working on creating a successful business.

“I came to this country because there are a lot more opportunities here,” he explained. “When you are a British citizen you get a lot of facilities and no trouble or problems.

“You can also get a better job,” he added.

Mr Islam said that he was happy living in Tower Hamlets and has no plans to leave. “There is a big Bangladeshi culture here and I feel like I’m really part of the community. It’s like my own village,” he said.

He is currently studying chemistry at Tower Hamlets College and plans to start his own fast food business when he is finished with the course.

He explained that he loved London because it was such a varied and multi-cultural city.

Mr Islam was one of just 32 residents from across London to attend the ceremony. Mayor Boris Johnson said: “This ceremony makes me exceptionally proud to be Mayor of a city which encompasses such an instinctively optimistic attitude towards immigrants.

“London does not just accept and tolerate diversity – it thrives on, celebrates and derives an incredible richness from the differences of the many cultures residing here.”