𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A Labour MP has said she won’t be hounded out of her home after it was alleged she still lives in a council flat despite condemning a lack of affordable housing in her constituency. Poplar and Limehouse MP Apsana Begum was accused of hypocrisy by the Conservatives after reports of her alleged living arrangements emerged on Saturday (January 31).

The Telegraph said Ms Begum is still living in a council flat in her constituency after telling the Guardian in 2021 that it was “probably not something” she needed. Conservative Party Chairman, Kevin Hollinrake, said Ms Begum’s “hypocrisy” was “staggering”. He said: “She has been speaking out about the need for more council housing while occupying a council flat herself, despite pocketing an MP’s salary worth more than three times the average wage.”

Mr Hollinrake added: “As ever, it’s one rule for Labour and another for everyone else. Council homes should be for those who really need them.”

Barrister, Dr Charlotte Proudman, founder of Proudmans Law Firm, said Ms Begum had been acquitted after a vexatious trial in 2021 with the matter being closed and no wrongdoing on her part.

She added: “We consider this harassment of her to be an abuse of power which highlights the unjust treatment she continues to have to endure as a survivor of ongoing domestic abuse and the first hijab-wearing MP.”

Ms Begum on Sunday posted a clip of herself telling parliamentarians safe and affordable housing was an urgent necessity for women and girls escaping domestic abuse, which she said was a housing issue.

She said some of her critics have tried to spur on the media and the far right to hound her over her living arrangements.

The Labour MP said: “I want to be clear, I will not be hounded out of my home.”

Ms Begum was cleared of housing fraud at Snaresbrook Crown Court after she had been accused of making dishonest applications to Tower Hamlets Council for council housing between 2013 and 2016.

After jurors found her not guilty, she said “vexatious” claims about her living arrangements sparked a year and a half of racist and sexist online abuse.

A spokesperson for Tower Hamlets Council said its allocations policy limits applicants with a sole or joint income of £90,000 or more from being added to its Housing Register.

They said once someone is assigned a council home, it is not the local authority’s policy to review their salary.

Government figures shared by think tank, Centre for London, shows Tower Hamlets has one of the highest number of people on its Housing Register at 23,609 in 2022-23. It is described by the think tank as the capital’s most densely populated borough, with 17,257 people per square kilometre and as having one of the most acute housing needs in England.

Ms Begum has not broken any rules in continuing to live in a council flat, as alleged. The basic salary for MPs was set at £93,904 in April 2025.