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Campaigners for Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman threatened council staff and bribed religious groups to secure votes in knife-edge elections, an explosive High Court dossier claims.

The controversial mayor oversaw a “systematic campaign of intimidation” including widespread postal vote fraud in order to triumph in May’s election, documents seen by the Standard claim.

He, or those acting on his behalf, allegedly told activists for his party, Tower Hamlets First, to collect and fill out 250 postal vote application forms each at a meeting held in a Bangladeshi restaurant ahead of May’s election, which he won by 3000 votes.

Supporters of Mr Rahman, who is Britain’s first Muslim directly-elected mayor, told voters that backing Mr Rahman’s rivals would be “un-Islamic and sinful” and said a vote in his favour would be a “virtuous and Islamic act”.

The dossier claims Mr Rahman authorised bribery of religious groups in exchange for leaders promising him votes at the election.

It alleges that the Mayor’s Labour rival, John Biggs, was smeared as a “racist” in Bangladeshi-language newspapers within the borough.

A group of four petitioners lodged the 70-page dossier yesterday after a High Court judge blocked Mr Rahman’s request to throw out a case probing claims of fraud.

In the dossier, the petitioners allege that Mr Rahman “knew or suspected corrupt practices were being carried out and took no or insufficient measures to prevent them” and was therefore himself guilty of corruption.

It alleges that Tower Hamlets staff were threatened at a meeting to support Mr Rahman’s re-election that they “may lose their jobs at the council” if they did not obtain 100 votes each for him. It was made clear that these votes should be obtained illegally, “including through postal vote fraud”, the documents claim.

The council’s Conservative group leader Peter Golds said: “The election petition indicates the long held concerns by residents about ongoing electoral malpractice in this borough. It is right and proper that this is tested publicly before an experienced judge.”

The petitioners are calling for the chaotic election – which saw the announcement of some results delayed by five days - to be declared invalid. Mr Rahman last month failed in a bid to have the case thrown out and is now set to face a High Court trial over the claims, which he denies.

A spokesman for Mr Rahman said: “The allegations filed with the court yesterday don’t come as a surprise. They repeat allegations made before and which have never been proven, despite thorough investigations by the Metropolitan Police and Electoral Commission. We look forward to vigorously contesting them in court.”