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| Mohsin Hussain (circled) pictured last month with Tracy Brabin and Angela Rayner |
The criminal past of a Labour council candidate in West Yorkshire has come to light after local Tories highlighted the issue. Mohsin Hussain is standing for election in Keighley, but has a string of convictions behind him including actual bodily harm, resisting a police constable, dangerous driving and driving without insurance and a licence.
In 2014 Hussain was convicted of ABH alongside his twin brother, Hassan, and another man in relation to an attack on Ibrar Ahmed in Keighley. During that attack Hussain and his brother used pickaxe handles while their accomplice used a baseball bat. The motive for the attack was never divulged. While on bail, Hussain committed a further offence of dangerous driving. His earlier convictions were from 2013, when he was 18.
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| Mohsin Hussain (circled) pictured leaving Bradford Crown Court in 2014, alongside his brother and co-defendant Aqeeb Khalifa |
Mohsin and Hassan Hussain are sons of the late Abid Hussain, a Labour councillor and former lord mayor of Bradford who died last year after a battle with coronavirus. Ironically, both men were studying for degrees in criminology at the time of their ABH conviction. Now Mohsin is hoping to succeed his father by winning a seat in Keighley Central, a ward held by Abid for ten years up to his death.
Mohsin's convictions were brought to light by the Conservative MP for Keighley, Robbie Moore. Moore posted the following video on his Facebook page last week, using Hussain's criminal past to tarnish Labour's bid to make Tracy Brabin the first ever elected mayor of West Yorkshire.
Mr Moore told Yorkshire Live: "If Keir Starmer wants to show he’s tough on crime, he would kick this Labour candidate out of the party for good". However, Labour defended their candidate, saying: "We are delighted that Mohsin Hussain is standing for Labour in Keighley Central. Mohsin has been open and honest about his past. He has sincere regrets but has since turned his life around and is now a pillar of the community".
It is true that Hussain made no secret of his past when he was put up for election. In February he told the Keighley News: "I made a poor decision a long time ago – when I was still a teenager – and took full responsibility for my actions. It was a moment in my youth when I made a big mistake, but it was a wake-up call and from there I made a clear decision to take a new path and I've worked hard to make something of my life". Mohsin was 19 at the time of his ABH conviction. In the interview he went on to discuss his legal qualifications, as a result of which he now runs his own immigration and asylum advisory firm in Keighley.
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| Hussain pictured alongside Rayner and Brabin during recent campaigning |
In March Hussain appeared in a video for the Islam Keighley Centre, during which he praised the community centre's objective of 'preventing crime', this time without referring to his own past. There is no reference to crime prevention on their website, judge for yourself.
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