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Acquitted Apsana Begum says her prosecution was ‘vexatious’ and ‘driven by malicious intent’

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MP says case, rather than accusations, driven by malice

Left Labour MP Apsana Begum

Apsana Begum has issued a statement following her acquittal on wrongful charges of housing fraud. The MP thanked her legal team and her supporters for their help through her ordeal and highlighted again the domestic abuse she had survived, which played a key role in the case against her.

And she condemned the ‘vexatious’ charges, saying that the case had been ‘driven by malice’:

“This case has been driven by malicious intent and has caused me great distress and damage to my reputation. I would like to say a sincere thank you to all my legal teani and all those who have shown me solidarity, support and kindness. As a survivor of domestic abuse/acing these vexatious charges, the last 18 months of false accusations, online sexist, racist, and Islamophobic abuse, and threats to my safety, have been exceedingly difficult. I also thank the jury for vindicating me, and the judge for presiding over this trial. I will be consulting and considering how to follow up so that something like this doesn’t happen again to anyone else. I would now like to get on with my job of representing my constituents – opposing the negligent covid decisions made by Johnson s reckless Tory Government which has caused so many families to lose loved ones who should still be with us today and so much hardship that could have been avoided. My comrades and friends, in Poplar and Liniehouse, and beyond, have stood by me, I have and will always stand by them.”

The original accusations against Ms Begum are understood to have come from a relative of her former husband. But she did not say merely that the accusations were malicious, but the entire case against her, including the decision to push the charges as far as criminal trial.

At the time of writing Keir Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, had still not publicly congratulated her on her acquittal or commiserated with her on her ordeal, despite finding time to tweet about Britain’s Olympic medals.

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