Breitbart News has published two articles on monies received from sources tied to the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK by former Labour peer Manzila Pola Uddin (Baroness Uddin), a Bangladeshi-born life peer and community activist who was the first Muslim and Asian woman to sit in the British House of Lords. According to the first report:
A former Labour peer who repaid £125,000 in wrongly claimed expenses, was given an interest free loan of £124,000 partly funded by a businessman accused of being a part of the Muslim Brotherhood. Baroness Uddin made the £125,000 payment despite previous claims from her husband that she was “too poor” to raise the money.
In 2009 she was exposed as having claimed the money by falsely stating she lived with her brother in Kent. In reality she lived at a property in Wapping, but her deception enabled her to claim £174 a night for hotel stays she never needed.
The House of Lords suspended her for 18 months and demanded she repay the £125k but she said she was unable to do so. In the end a spokesman confirmed she had paid the entire bill “in a lump sum”, something that had not been expected given her husbands claims about their financial situation.
But Uddin’s register of members’ interests declaration may shed some light as it shows she received a £124,000 interest-free loan from three sources. Two businessmen from the Islam Channel, Mohammed Ali Harrath and Sufyan Ismail contributed £10,000.
Mr Harrath was accused of being a “leading member” of the Muslim Brotherhood by the group Stand For Peace. He was also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice for what the Guardian said was related to a conviction in Tunisia for terror related offences.
The notice has since been dropped but Harrath is believed to be close to the Hamas Leader, Ismail Haniyeh.
Read the rest here.
The second report says that a staffer who works in the office of Baroness Uddin received travel money from the Cordoba foundation, headed by Muslim Brotherhood leader in the UK Anas Altikriti.
However, both reports fail to note Baroness Uddin’s activities in support of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UK which included posting a November 2014 Parliamentary written Question seeking clarification on the UK government’s assessment of the recent list of terrorist organizations released by the UAE, a list that included both the Cordoba Foundation and the Muslim Association of Britain, also part of the UK Brotherhood. In addition, Baroness Udi has been highly active in support of the Cordoba Foundation itself. That support has included:
- Being featured as a speaker at numerous events hosted by the Cordoba Foundation at the House of Parliament including a 2009 event titled ‘Commemorating Peace in The Sudan’.
- Co-hosting a 2012 event in Westminster Hall to coincide with the publication of the Cordoba Foundation’s Occasional Paper, Sustainable Peace for a Sustainable Future’. In attendance were a number of Islamic centres, including the Muslim Council of Britain, yet another part of the UK Muslim Brotherhood. (Anas Al-Tikriti can be seen speaking at the event here.)
- Signing the 2014 Cordoba Foundation-led open letter campaign that criticised the Government’s investigation into the Muslim Brotherhood. Other signatories included many individuals tied to the Global Muslim Brotherhood.
- Serving as a moderator at the February 2015 Cordoba Foundation’s National Conference which explored ‘the Strategies of Political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood’s Contribution.” The event featured a number of prominent Muslim Brotherhood supporters in the UK, including Azzam Tamimi and Daud Abdullah.
