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| Ex-aide to George Galloway pleads guilty over emails breach | Ex-aide to George Galloway pleads guilty over emails breach |
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| George Galloway's former parliamentary secretary has pleaded guilty to encouraging her police detective husband to access confidential emails. | George Galloway's former parliamentary secretary has pleaded guilty to encouraging her police detective husband to access confidential emails. |
| Aisha Ali-Khan, 33, admitted encouraging Afiz Khan, then a detective inspector in Scotland Yard's special operations unit, to obtain private information without consent. | Aisha Ali-Khan, 33, admitted encouraging Afiz Khan, then a detective inspector in Scotland Yard's special operations unit, to obtain private information without consent. |
| Ali-Khan was arrested and charged last year alongside Khan. He pleaded guilty previously to two counts of misconduct in public office, and was dismissed by the Metropolitan police on 13 June following a misconduct hearing. The pair will both be sentenced on 11 July. | Ali-Khan was arrested and charged last year alongside Khan. He pleaded guilty previously to two counts of misconduct in public office, and was dismissed by the Metropolitan police on 13 June following a misconduct hearing. The pair will both be sentenced on 11 July. |
| Ali-Khan sat alongside Khan, 46, in the dock for the brief plea hearing at Southwark crown court in London. | Ali-Khan sat alongside Khan, 46, in the dock for the brief plea hearing at Southwark crown court in London. |
| In a quiet voice, she said "guilty" as the court clerk asked for her plea to the charge of encouraging the obtaining of personal information without consent on or around 24 August 2012 concerning "people you believe had sent emails". | In a quiet voice, she said "guilty" as the court clerk asked for her plea to the charge of encouraging the obtaining of personal information without consent on or around 24 August 2012 concerning "people you believe had sent emails". |
| At a hearing in December, Khan, a former head of the Muslim contact unit at the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism unit SO15, pleaded guilty to leaking restricted information relating to the arrest of Anjem Choudary, a radical Muslim cleric, to his wife, who was then employed by Galloway. Choudary was not charged with any offence. Khan also admitted unlawfully obtaining CCTV from South Yorkshire police. | At a hearing in December, Khan, a former head of the Muslim contact unit at the Metropolitan police's counter-terrorism unit SO15, pleaded guilty to leaking restricted information relating to the arrest of Anjem Choudary, a radical Muslim cleric, to his wife, who was then employed by Galloway. Choudary was not charged with any offence. Khan also admitted unlawfully obtaining CCTV from South Yorkshire police. |
| He pleaded not guilty to two counts relating to allegations he obtained personal data relating to various members of the Respect party by accessing Ali-Khan's email, and that he disclosed to her personal data relating to, among others, the Labour MP for Rother Valley, Kevin Barron. | He pleaded not guilty to two counts relating to allegations he obtained personal data relating to various members of the Respect party by accessing Ali-Khan's email, and that he disclosed to her personal data relating to, among others, the Labour MP for Rother Valley, Kevin Barron. |
| In October 2012, Galloway accused Ali-Khan of working as an agent for the Metropolitan police and of running a "dirty tricks" campaign against him. | |
| However, there was no mention in court of this allegation, which Galloway has described as a "direct attack on not just me but on democracy". | |
| Ali-Khan was suspended from Bradford's Respect party in 2012, having joined Galloway's team shortly before he was elected MP for Bradford West in the March 2012 byelection. | |
| Earlier this year, Ali-Khan was jailed for contempt of court after failing to destroy explicit images of her husband and his estranged wife. | |
| The former teacher was ordered to hand over or delete the illicit images after Khan's estranged wife went to the high court to prevent the pictures being made public. | |
| However, she defied that court order and on 3 April was jailed for three months and ordered to pay about £10,000 in court costs. | |
| The pair were arrested and charged over the police misconduct following an investigation by the Directorate of Professional Standards into a complaint from a member of the public. | |
| Ali-Khan declined to comment to journalists as she left the courtroom with her husband. Khan faces a jail term and Ali-Khan is likely to be fined when the pair are sentenced on 11 July. | Ali-Khan declined to comment to journalists as she left the courtroom with her husband. Khan faces a jail term and Ali-Khan is likely to be fined when the pair are sentenced on 11 July. |