Labour have selected a candidate for a by-election in Tower Hamlets who is a fan of an Islamic hate preacher banned from the UK for praising Osama bin Laden. Asik Rahman is Labour’s official candidate for the Shadwell Ward by-election taking place on 7th February. His liked pages on Facebook include two pages for Dr Zakir Naik, a hate preacher who was barred from the UK in 2010 for saying “all Muslims should be terrorists” as well as praising bin Laden.

Rahman is also a fan of Mufti Ismail Menk, a vehemently anti-gay cleric who has been recorded as saying “With all due respect to the animals, [gay people] are worse than those animals.” Voters will be hoping he prioritises bin collection over bin Laden…