Labour MP ‘known as Catfish Khalid was racist bully who dumped aide when she refused to become his second wife, hired a woman after stalking her online and refused to sack her over claims she exploited women at domestic abuse charity’
- A Labour MP for Birmingham has been accused of being a ‘racist bully’ by an ex
- Former aide and lover Elaina Cohen has taken MP Khalid Mahmood to court
- She alleges he fired her after she raised allegations he was protecting an abuser
A Labour MP dubbed ‘Catfish Khalid’ because he ‘stalked’ women online has been accused of firing his aide and ex-lover after she made allegations against a colleague.
Elaina Cohen claims that Birmingham Perry Barr MP Khalid Mahmood was a ‘racist bully’ who ended their relationship when she refused to become his second wife.
She says she was sacked after raising allegations that he was protecting a criminal abuser, a tribunal has been told.
While Mr Mahmood accused Ms Cohen of ‘making life difficult’ for any women working for him out of jealousy or because she saw them as a threat.
Mr Mahmood has denied any wrongdoing as Ms Cohen claims unfair dismissal against and alleges racial and religious discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
MP Khalid Mahmood, 60, with his former girlfriend and aide Elaina Cohen, 62, who claims she was unfairly dismissed by the Birmingham MP (pictured together in 2009)
Mr Mahmood has denied he was a ‘racist bully’ and claimed Ms Cohen made ‘life difficult’ for any of his female employees out of jealousy (pictured next top Jeremy Corbyn in 2016)
At the tribunal she said he offered her a job in 2003 and they began a relationship in 2004 which ended in 2005 – she continued to work for him for 15 years until she was sacked in 2020.
She claims the relationship ended after she refused to become Mr Mahmood’s second wife with an Islamic nikah [marriage ceremony].
The Times reported that she said: ‘Khalid had misled me into believing his previous marriages were dissolved but I discovered in 2005 this was a lie.
‘I was distraught at his false promises of marriage to two women at the same time.’
The 62-year-old continued to work for Mr Mahmood, when in February 2018 he saw a whistleblower on a news report about a Midlands domestic abuse charity.
The woman was Saraya Hussain, who Mr Mahmood soon after employed.
Ms Cohen claimed that she had evidence Saraya Hussain (pictured) had abused vulnerable woman and found antisemitic messages on her social media
Ms Cohen alleged she found evidence that the domestic abuse charity worker had faced allegations that women in her care were being ‘sexually exploited and blackmailed by her’.
She said: ‘I was told Saraya Hussain had put her speeding points on the licence of a woman by blackmailing her.’
Khalid Mahmood: Labour MP who blasted own party as ‘London-based bourgeoisie’
The 60-year-old MP was the first Muslim MP in Britain upon his election in 2001.
He has held the Birmingham Perry Barr seat since then.
He served on the Labour front bench as a shadow Foreign Office minister under leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He initially supported Brexit but switched to Remain just before the vote.
Recently he has clashed with the current Labour Party leadership.
Last year he resigned from Sir Keir’s front bench as Shadow Minister for Defence.
He said the party had been ‘effectively captured’ by a ‘London-based bourgeoisie, with the support of brigades of woke social media warriors’.
In February 2020, Ms Cohen confronted Mr Mahmood about his employee, she claimed he accused her of lying and being jealous.
After she said he began ‘ghosting’ her and only communicated by email or WhatsApp.
Ms Hussain worked for the Amirah Foundation, which closed amid allegations of ‘financial irregularities’ in 2018.
It had been set up to to help victims of domestic abuse, particularly for women in the Muslim community.
A statement from the charity’s trustees said an investigation ‘discovered that both the CEO and Chair of Trustees were explicitly implicated’ and the charity closed shortly after.
Ms Cohen, who is Jewish, said she found that Ms Hussain had posted antisemitic messages on Facebook.
Mr Mahmood allegedly downplayed this as they were not posted on an account with her professional name.
Ms Cohen wrote: ‘I was offended that he thought so little of me as a Jewish employee that he would not ask Hussain for the posts to be removed.’
She reported the incident to police who recorded it as a non-crime hate incident.
Cohen said that when she raised her concerns to senior Labour party members, she was ignored.
Whatsapp messages were read out to the court in which Ms Cohen referred to Mr Mahmood as ‘spiteful’, a ‘womaniser’ and ‘stupid’.
She said some of the messages raised highlighted the ‘humorous banter’ between the pair.
Counsel for Mahmood questioned why Ms Cohen should want to continue to work with the MP, she said she had hoped that he would improve.
She said she was there to protect the vulnerable women who had told her they had been abused and not because she had a ‘vendetta against Saraya Hussain’.
The hearing at the London Central Employment Tribunal continues.
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