Exclusive: Victim A condemns Starmer’s cover-up of abuse by Labour staffer

West Midlands woman feels ‘saddened and let down’ by Starmer’s repeated cover-up of whistle-blower’s disclosures

As Skwawkbox revealed exclusively in 2021, Keir Starmer and Labour general secretary David Evans repeatedly ignored whistleblower Elaina Cohen’s ‘protected disclosures’ alleging that right-wing (then-)MP Khalid Mahmood’s staffer and alleged lover was abusing and exploiting Muslim women domestic violence victims through a now-defunct charity that she ran. Cohen was wrongfully sacked by Mahmood after making the disclosures – Mahmood remained on Starmer’s front bench until he chose to leave later over ‘political differences’.

West Midlands Police last week told Cohen that Mahmood was their ‘prime suspect’ behind a Twitter account that was abusing and harassing her, because of IP addresses and other information their investigation had uncovered.

During Cohen’s successful employment tribunal case against Mahmood, one of the victims of the abuse came forward to give evidence as ‘Victim A’. Her testimony of the ‘criminal’ and ‘sadistic’ abuse she and others had suffered was not contested by Mahmood or his lawyers. Now Victim A has come forward to condemn Keir Starmer’s cover-ups and to question whether he will ever take action.

After thanking Skwawkbox for its coverage of the abuse and subsequent cover-ups, she said:

I am grateful to Chief Constable of West Midlands Police Craig Guilford for ordering a review of Operation Aureus [the abandoned investigation into the criminal abuse, including rape and blackmail]. I hope this time [the alleged perpetrator] and her accomplices face justice.

I feel saddened and let down by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has promised to help and make women and girls who have been criminally abused feel safer. As a victim and survivor of criminal abuse, by a member of the Labour Party, will Keir Starmer keep his promise and help me get justice?

Emails obtained by Skwawkbox in 2021 proved that Ms Cohen had repeatedly made both Keir Starmer and Labour general secretary David Evans aware of her protected disclosures about the abuse, which included sexual abuse, blackmail and orders to shoplift and to take penalty points they didn’t incur. Mahmood himself also admitted during the tribunal case that he had personally told Starmer about the allegations.

Neither Starmer nor Evans took any action and Mahmood remained on Starmer’s front bench until he chose later to step down over political differences. Neither they nor the party responded to Skwawkbox’s enquiries to deny their part in the cover-up.

Despite this cover-up, Starmer has continued to claim to be a champion of domestic violence victims and has claimed he will halve violence against women. In March last year, Cohen was blocked from standing for Labour because she had blown the whistle on abuse of women. She subsequently quit the party in disgust at Labour’s protection of abusers and racists. The so-called ‘mainstream’ media continue to ignore the matter.

The cover-up of the Perry Barr abuse allegations is far from the only issue in Starmer’s appalling track record regarding the protection of women. He sheltered at least two alleged sex pests in his [then-]Shadow Cabinet – and took no action against disgraced MP Chris Matheson after Matheson was placed under investigation and ultimately found guilty by Parliament of sexual harassment. Matheson instead resigned after the finding.

Starmer took no action when a female MP reported one of his front bench team to the Metropolitan Police for alleged sexual harassment – and allowed a ‘senior staffer’ to keep his job despite two separate investigations finding he had sexually harassed an intern. The victim of that assault condemned the sexual harassment she said is rife in Starmer’s party.

Starmer also welcomed Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle back into the party last year, despite Parliament finding Coyle guilty of at least one count of sexual harassment and of making racist remarks – and Starmer’s lackeys tried to silence two female party staff to protect an alleged ‘senior’ sex pest.

And when Muslim MP Apsana Begum faced malicious prosecution by allies of her abusive councillor husband for supposed housing fraud, Starmer offered her no support, even after she was rightly acquitted – but found time on the day of her acquittal to tweet about the Tokyo Olympics. Efforts to remove her continued but ultimately failed.

Starmer’s people on Labour’s national executive also ignored their own barrister’s legal advice that the party should fully investigate allegations of serious sexual assault against then-Redbridge council leader Jas Athwal, an ally of right-wing Health Secretary Wes Streeting and that the disciplinary process against Athwal should continue until the investigation was completed. Instead, the investigation was abandoned, allowing Athwal to become a parliamentary candidate. He is now Labour MP for Ilford South. Party insiders told Skwawkbox in 2022 that:

Once Keir Starmer took over, the allegation of serious sexual assault disappeared.

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