LABOUR peer Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green, already under investigation for Parliamentary expenses over a second home, is under investigation for another property as well, it has emerged.
LABOUR peer Baroness Uddin of Bethnal Green, already under investigation for Parliamentary expenses over a second home, is under investigation for another property as well, it has emerged.
Lady Uddin claimed a total of �189,000 from the House of Lords by saying her main residence since 2001 was outside London when in reality she lived in the same property in Wapping, owned by Spitalfields Housing Association, according to a Sunday newspaper.
It was already known that Lady Uddin is being investigated over allegations she declared a flat in Maidstone, Kent, which she bought in 2005, her main residence despite neighbours telling newspapers it had been standing empty.
It has now emerged the former deputy leader of Tower Hamlets council declared another home in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, belonging to her brother, her main home between 2001 and 2005.
But her brother's wife, Toni Hayhow-Khan, is reported to have told a Sunday newspaper she never lived there.
When the Advertiser knocked on the door of Lady Uddin's three-story family house in Garnet Street, Wapping, this week it was closed by a man. A teenager girl later opened but slammed the door telling us to "Go back!"
It has not been possible to get a response from Lady Uddin's office over the latest claims but she previously issued a statement denying any wrongdoing over the Maidstone home.
Head of Press and Media at the House of Lords, Owen Williams, told the Advertiser, the Frinton-on-Sea property had always been part of their investigation along with Maidstone. But it had only become public knowledge following newspaper reports, he said.
Leader of Tower Hamlets Tory opposition, Peter Golds, said: "It's an utter scandal she is living in a heavily subsidised housing association property. There are over 20,000 people on the borough's housing waiting list."
Spitalfields Housing Association which owns the property received �37.8m in public subsidy in 2008.
Lady Uddin became the first Muslim female peer after being recognised for her work with women and disabled people.
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