A senior Labour minister has backed the MP at the centre of a storm over a BBC investigative report.

The BBC journalist – political investigations correspondent Joe Pike – wrote on the BBC News website over the weekend about a block of flats owned and let out by Jas Athwal, the newly-elected MP for Ilford South. Athwal owns a total of 15 rental flats, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons.

The BBC claims that in one block of seven flats owned by Athwal “nearly half the tenants said they had to regularly clean their bathroom ceilings to remove mould.” The BBC also makes allegations about ant infestations, an apparent absence of appropriate licensing, dirty communal areas and dumped furniture.

Pike writes: “Most of the people I spoke to said Mr Athwal and his property manager were slow to respond to complaints or were completely unresponsive. While I was at the block, the property manager was tipped off about my visit and tenants started to get calls from him. After receiving these calls they became hesitant about talking to me. This appeared to me to be intimidation. 

“One resident who had spoken on camera about problems with their flat later asked that we not use the interview and another asked me not to use images of the mould two days after allowing me to take pictures of it.”

Now a senior Labour minister – Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons – has backed Athwal saying to Sky News yesterday that he should not resign as an MP and that he was taking action to resolve the problems.  

“As I understand it, he himself is furious because he didn’t know this is happening in his housing stock and he is taking immediate steps to put that right and that is absolutely as it should be” she told Sky.

Athwal is also reported to have sacked his lettings agent.

Athwal – a former leader of Redbridge council which, like many Labour authorities, conducts various clampdowns on so-called ‘rogue’ landlords – did not respond to a BBC request for interview but said in a statement: “My properties are managed by an agency, selected for their quick response times and excellent customer service. This is evidenced by the long tenure of the tenants – over 87 years across 15 properties.

“I pride myself on being a good landlord and no tenants have ever been evicted. Repairs and improvements have been made to properties as recently as two weeks ago. To ensure tenants enjoy a secure, long-term home, rents are kept below market rate and, in many cases rents are frozen at the rate first agreed.

“Every Redbridge rental property I own is in full compliance with the landlord licence scheme, and have been since its creation. Landlords are contacted by the council when licences are due for renewal, this has not yet occurred for my properties but licences will be renewed when the notices are issued.”

But Athwal subsequently admitted that he had “recently seen an email” which said the licences were due to expire. He then gave the BBC a second statement.

“I am in the process of renewing all licences. As council leader I implemented the most rigorous landlord licencing scheme in London in 2017, and expanded the scheme in 2023 and 2024 – the scheme would’ve been even stronger if Conservative housing secretaries had not repeatedly watered it down.

“In 2019, I led a campaign calling on government to abolish Section 21 evictions, further protecting tenants’ rights, which was again blocked by the Conservatives.”