Council leader Rodwell dropped as Labour candidate

Barking council leader Darren Rodwell has been removed from the list of election candidates being approved today by Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC).

An internal process into allegations concerning Mr Rodwell is under way, the BBC understands.
The NEC will likely make a decision over who will be Labour’s candidate in the seat in the next 48 hours.

Darren Rodwell has been contacted for comment.

As the BBC reported on Monday, In 2022, Mr Rodwell said he asked police not to respond if they were contacted by a resident he was planning to confront at their home.

He also claimed he used official systems to find the address of the person who had threatened him online.

Darren Rodwell said the incident in 2022 was prompted by the setting up of a Facebook page which aimed “to have me taken out”.

A few weeks later, he told the legal firm Mishcon De Reya’s “Property She” podcast: “I approached the police and they said: ‘Oh there’s nothing we can do, it’s not a direct threat.’”

“I found out where the person lived because you know I have the ways and means so, I used them.

“And so I phoned, or my office phoned the police up and said the leader wants to let you know, don’t worry if you get a phone call from this address.

“But it’s only him going round there asking why they think they could do a [Facebook] page to have him taken out.”

Cllr Rodwell also recounted how, in a separate incident, he chased two men down the street with a baseball bat after they attacked his home.

The Data Protection Act means there are strict rules for how personal details like addresses can be obtained, including within local government.

Cllr Rodwell, Labour and the Metropolitan Police all declined to comment on the claims.

Responding to separate allegations in the Independent, which the BBC has been unable to verify, Mr Rodwell said he utterly refuted them and was seeking legal advice.