Disgraced former mayor Lutfur Rahman (pictured) is said to have played the race card to silence opponents - and his deputy today reiterated claims there is deep seated racism in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in east London

A deputy of disgraced former mayor Lutfur Rahman yesterday appeared to blame the vote-rigging scandal on ‘institutional racism’.

Oliur Rahman, who took over from the deposed leader yesterday, insisted there was deep-rooted racism within the East London borough of Tower Hamlets.

His comment was at odds with a devastating legal ruling that condemned his predecessor for bribery and ballot fraud and found he had repeatedly ‘played the race card’ to silence critics.

The two men – who are not related – are both members of the Tower Hamlets First party. Political opponents said they were playing the same ‘cracked record’ by seeking to blame racism and Islamophobia for their problems.

Oliur Rahman told the BBC: ‘If people say there is no racism in Tower Hamlets, then they are very much mistaken because there is institutional racism.

‘If people want to turn a blind eye to the racism then that’s their decision but they are very much mistaken if they turn round and say there is no racism in Tower Hamlets, and that people are not judged because of their skin colour and their religion.’

On Thursday, electoral judge Richard Mawrey QC found that Lutfur Rahman, 49, and his cronies had rigged the 2014 mayoral ballot by creating an army of ‘ghost voters’, forging postal votes, bribing Muslim voters and using religious intimidation against them and branding opponents as racists.

He found that all the councillors from the Tower Hamlets First party were elected corruptly.

Oliur Rahman, 34, a former councillor for George Galloway’s Respect party but now a Tower Hamlets First councillor, emailed his fellow members yesterday to declare himself acting mayor until new elections.

He said: ‘Following the verdict, I have assumed the executive role within the council, until a mayoral election is held.’

Peter Golds, the leader of the Tory group in Tower Hamlets, said: ‘Oliur Rahman ought to be hanging his head in shame and apologising to the borough, but I don’t think he gets it.

‘It’s ludicrous to play the race card again. They roll out this hoary old chestnut every time anything happens. The real unpleasant racism has come from the ranks of Tower Hamlets First.

‘They’ve got one cracked record, that any criticism of them is Islamophobic and racist. Now they’re playing it again, despite the court case. Nothing has changed.’ Lutfur Rahman, who was Britain’s first elected Muslim mayor, has met lawyers to discuss seeking a judicial review of the Election Court’s decision that he was responsible for bribery and voter fraud. Supporters said he continued to deny any wrongdoing.

Police have been urged to launch a fresh investigation into fraud in the 2014 mayoral election, which will be re-run in June. Lutfur Rahman, a Bangladesh-born former Labour council leader, has been banned from running for public office, or even voting, for five years.

Four voters launched legal action against him after complaints that police and the Electoral Commission had failed to act.

Andy Erlam - who launched legal action against the mayor with Angela Moffat and Azmal Hussein (pictured left to right) - said Oliur Rahman was in 'complete denial'

The group was headed by Andy Erlam, who stood as a councillor on an anti-corruption ticket.

Mr Erlam said Lutfur Rahman’s supporters – including Oliur Rahman – were in ‘complete denial’.

He added: ‘They are still claiming Rahman didn’t do anything wrong despite a devastating judgment by a respected High Court judge who spent six weeks considering the dreadful evidence.