As a result of an online mailing list that has been set up without any consent of the Tower Hamlets residents, content that is anti-Israel, anti-Labour and pro-Workers Party of Britain has been distributed without their knowing.
In recent weeks, a Jewish woman known as Miriam Sadique had operated at least five newsletters using the Substacks platform. These newsletters had been called 'Muslims Today', 'East London Updates', 'East London', 'London Today', and 'Tower Hamlets Today' within the last few weeks.
It should be noted that the majority of the Islamic websites have been lost, but 'Muslims Today' is still active.
Some residents of Tower Hamlets have expressed concern over how their information has been shared by political newsletters that sent them unsolicited emails before and after the general election. It has been reported that within the last week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has viewed screenshots from more than 600 emails that were sent to residents of Tower Hamlets and people who lived in the borough between July 3 and July 10 from several sources.
There were different emails sent from multiple substacks from a single author called Mirriam Sadique in all of the emails judged by the LDRS. These emails were all promoting the Workers Party of Britain (WPB) and criticizing the opposition Labour Party. There is no information available about whether 'Mirriam Sadique' is a false profile, or an alias, with this name.
It has been made known to the LDRS that it has contacted WPB for a comment about the emails and the name 'Mirriam Sadique' but as of the time of publication, the LDRS has not been able to acquire a response from them.
As well as contacting the Electoral Commission, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has also been contacted to get their views on this matter.
Also, several residents have raised concerns about the emails they have been receiving from the local paper 'Roman Road LDN' in the days leading up to and after the general election.
People received an unsolicited email in the run-up to the general election, which promoted George Galloway as the Workers Party of Britain (WPB) leader and encouraged people to register for the party.
Based on the metadata associated with each newsletter, it appears that more than 11000 people have been sent the newsletters. There would be a reasonable amount of credit to be given to a very large organization if the mailing list of this size is sourced from them.
It is illegal to obtain data unlawfully. The Data Protection Act 2018 stipulates that it is a criminal offence to knowingly or recklessly obtain personal information without consent and that violating the law could result in a fine of up to an unlimited amount.
It is important to note that all newsletters have a political bent.
On July 1st, an e-mail was sent titled 'Tower Hamlets Will Reject Labour Party, Predicts East London Mosque Imam', which went on to promote the Women's British Party and express its opposition to Labour.
On July 3rd, a newsletter titled "4 Reasons Tower Hamlets Will Reject Labour" was distributed. This publication featured a visual comparison between George Galloway and the current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
The image juxtaposed Galloway with Starmer, placing an Israeli flag behind Starmer. Underneath Galloway's image, several policy positions were listed: "Permanent ceasefire now," "Abolish tuition fees," "Introduce rent controls," and "Keep NHS free." In contrast, beneath Starmer's image, the following statements were displayed: "‘Israel does have that right’," "Tuition fees will stay," "No rent control," and "Deport Bangladeshis."
In the same newsletter, a campaign poster for Kamran Khan, the Workers Party of Britain (WPB) parliamentary candidate for Poplar and Limehouse, was also included. The poster emphasized the need for MPs in Tower Hamlets who oppose wars and genocide, questioning whether the Labour Party, under the leadership of Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, aligns with those values.
More recently, on July 9th, another newsletter was circulated by "London Today." This publication featured an article with the provocative title, "Pro-Israel Rabbi Ponders Whether God Is an Antisemite," which mocked American rabbi and author Shmuley Boteach.
