Who is Apsana Begum and has the Labour MP been charged with housing fraud?
LABOUR MP Apsana Begum has been charged with housing fraud after questions arose over how she got her flat in London.
But who is she and is she married?
Who is Apsana Begum?
Apsana Begum, 30, entered Parliament at last December’s general election with a giant 28,904 majority in East London’s Poplar and Limehouse.
She was born in May 1990 in Shadwell, London.
Ms Begum became the Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse with a 28, 904 majority.
Before becoming a politician she worked as an administrative officer for Tower Hamlets Council,
Has Labour MP been charged with housing fraud?
Yes Apsana has been charged with housing fraud.
She has been accused of three offences relating to how she was given her council flat.
She is due before magistrates on December 10.
If convicted, Ms Begum could face a jail sentence and lose her Commons seat.
Investigators wanted to know how she had leapt to the top of an 18,000-strong housing list so quickly despite having no children.
At the time, Ms Begum denied any wrongdoing, claiming her housing situation was “in a state of flux” after her marriage breakdown.
And she insisted there was no probe.
Ms Begum said: “I was so grateful to be housed, which provided me with the lifeline I needed to live independently and safely.”
But charges have been brought against her in recent days.
Ms Begum is thought to have applied for a Tower Hamlets council flat while living with her family in 2011.
In 2015 six months after she applied for a council flat Ms Begum was offered the one-bed Isle of Dogs pad in a block on the Thames, run by a housing association but with tenants nominated by the council.
A Tower Hamlets council spokesman said it took allegations of housing fraud “very seriously”.
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Is Apsana Begum married?
No, she is not.
However, she was married in 2014 but the couple split in 2015.