We are proud that the people of Tower Hamlets have created a harmonious borough where residents of diverse ethnic heritages, of all faiths and none, have twice participated in the democratic process of electing our own mayor.

After seven months scrutinising over 10 million items of information, Pricewaterhouse Cooper (PwC) auditors found some procedures needed improving but did not find fraud or corruption or criticise the Council’s core services – such as housing, education, social services and rubbish collection – on which the vast bulk of the Council’s £1.2 billion budget is spent and many of which have won national awards.

Mayor Lutfur Rahman has protected our young people, our senior citizens and the borough’s poorest and most vulnerable people from the effects of the Government’s austerity cuts. MPs acted as Judge, Jury and Executioner – criticising our mayor as if he was not “one of us”.

Secretary of State Eric Pickles stated that what is wrong with the mayoral system in Tower Hamlets is “the people that are chosen”. We say to Eric Pickles: if you disagree with the people’s choice of mayor, your party should take us on at the ballot box and not get round the democratic process by sending in un-elected commissioners to take over our Council – a response which is out of all proportion to PwC’s report.