A MILLIONAIRE Labour peer and the controversial boss of a Muslim television channel have helped Baroness Uddin return to the House of Lords following her suspension over a £125,000 expenses fiddle.
Uddin has received interest-free loans totalling £124,000 from four supporters to enable her to pay back the money she cheated from the taxpayer.
She was suspended in 2010 after The Sunday Times revealed that she had pretended that a flat in Maidstone, Kent, was her main residence, thereby allowing her to claim overnight allowances intended for peers from outside the capital. In reality, her main home was in east London.
Uddin returned to the Lords last month after repaying the money in a lump sum. Last week she declared on the register of interests that she had financed the move through loans that do not have to be repaid for five years.
The biggest loan, £62,000, came from Lord Alli, the media tycoon. He has suggested that the decision to suspend Uddin and two other Asian peers smacked of racism.
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Uddin has also been lent £10,000 by “Mr S Ismail and Mr M Ali” of the Islam Channel. The latter is believed to be Mohammed Ali Harrath, who once appeared on an Interpol list for alleged terrorist links, which he has strongly denied.
A further £52,000 was lent by “Mr F Nahdi”, thought to be Fuad Nahdi, a fellow of the Muslim College in London. The apparent lenders failed to return calls.