The council leader removed cabinet member Ammar Naqvi this afternoon following Barnet Post’s revelation that his employment claims were untrue, reports David Floyd

Former cabinet member for finance Ammar Naqvi, who was fired today

Barnet Council leader Barry Rawlings has fired his finance chief after the cabinet member made false claims about a university job.

After a day of high drama at the town hall, Cllr Rawlings took the decision to remove Ammar Naqvi from his cabinet while also withdrawing the Labour whip from the Burnt Oak councillor. This development led Conservative group leader Peter Zinkin to respond that Cllr Rawlings himself should be “carefully considering his position.”

Following Barnet Post’s revelation yesterday that Cllr Naqvi had fabricated an employment history at the prestigious University College London (UCL) Medical School, Cllr Rawlings had been facing calls from Conservative and independent councillors to take action.

However, neither the council nor the Labour group made an immediate response to the story.

That changed this afternoon (Tuesday 7th) when a Barnet Labour spokesperson contacted the Post with the news that Cllr Naqvi had been relieved of his role.

The spokesperson told the Post: “Since first being contacted by the Barnet Post, we have been working to establish the facts regarding Cllr Naqvi’s employment history.

“While we wished to give Cllr Naqvi the opportunity to address the concerns raised, the explanations provided by him have not proven satisfactory.

“As a result, Cllr Barry Rawlings, as leader of the Labour Group, has taken the decision to withdraw the Labour whip from Cllr Naqvi and remove him from the cabinet of Barnet Council.

“Cllr Rawlings will assume the responsibilities of cabinet member for financial sustainability and reducing poverty on an interim basis and will appoint a replacement in due course.”

Responding to the statement, Cllr Zinkin expressed concerns about both Labour’s due diligence for cabinet members and its ability to manage the borough’s current budget challenges.

The Tory leader told the Post: “Losing your Finance cabinet member in the middle of the worst financial crisis Barnet has been in for decades is extreme carelessness. The leader already has too many responsibilities and adding the finance portfolio is unsustainable. As more holes appear in the council’s budget, does the Barnet Labour Group not have anyone else capable of doing this critical job?

“On behalf of the long-suffering residents of Barnet, we ask that the Labour group do proper due diligence on their councillors if and when they do find a new finance cabinet member.

He added: “We are still waiting for an explanation of the largest saving (£1.8m) in the biggest spending department. If the Labour group doesn’t know the answer to that most obvious question, what hope do we have that they are capable of ever producing a credible budget?

“The leader of the Labour group who appointed Cllr Naqvi should be very carefully considering his position. We have been calling the Labour group to account for their complete financial mismanagement for two years and they need to take responsibility for the mess that they have created.

“They are bad for Barnet and must go.”

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