Breaking: Cllr Mohammed Ashraf thrown out of Labour Party

The news was confirmed minutes ago by an East of England Labour Party spokesman.

During a two day trial at Luton Magistrates Court, it emerged Cllr Ashraf, 59, fabricated a document to state his firm Luton Travel Services was covered by Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (ATOL).

Cllr Ashraf – previously portfolio holder for trading standards at the council– was also convicted of four other charges relating to breaches of ATOL and unfair trading regulations.

He was cleared of one alleged breach of unfair trading regulations.

Suspended from the Labour Party, Cllr Ashraf’s future hangs in the balance after the council ruled there was a suspected breach of members’ Code of Conduct.

His case has been forwarded to The Standards Committee, for a local assessment panel to decide whether an investigation should take place.

An East of England Labour Party spokesman said: “Cllr Ashraf has been excluded from the Labour Party.”