Cradley and Wollescote Conservative candidate Kamran Razzaq suspended over leaflet

A leaflet published on behalf of Cradley and Wollescote candidate Kamran Razzaq (pictured below) outlines what different political parties have delivered to the ward - saying the Tories have, among other things, created a safer and cleaner ward and been responsible for the regeneration of Cradley; UKIP have brought two defibrillators to the ward; and Labour have presided over "the decline of our area” and delivered Hepatitis to the ward.

The comment is a reference to a recent Hepatitis A outbreak in Lye and Wollescote which was highlighted by Labour councillor Tim Crumpton and said to have resulted from a group of 25 or so Roma people living in squalid, cramped conditions with just one toilet in a tiny flat in Lye High Street.

Cllr Crumpton, Mr Razzaq’s opponent in this week’s May 3 local election, said of the leaflet: “It’s just sick. I know he’s young but this is unacceptable behaviour. It’s beyond the pale. Anybody that’s willing to put that out should not be standing to be a councillor.”

Councillor Pete Lowe, leader of Dudley Labour Party, added: “It’s despicable. It's the worst election leaflet I’ve ever witnessed. Politics should be above this."

Conservative councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, has confirmed Mr Razzaq has now been suspended over the matter – saying: “The leaflet that was produced wasn’t approved by the agent – it was distributed prior to seeking approval and on that basis the party has suspended Kamran pending an investigation.”

Kamran Razzaq pictured on the campaign trail with Stourbridge MP Margot James

Cllr Harley, who is hoping to remain in control of the council on Thursday, described the print out as “a clumsy leaflet” and he added: “It should have been re-phrased to say that Labour are trying to politicise the issue of Hepatitis A, and fears of children prostitution, human trafficking and modern day slavery, which Tim Crumpton was publicising on the eve of a local election campaign."

He accused Cllr Crumpton and his Labour colleagues of failing to bring information to the authorities to back up their claims that such issues are taking place in Lye.

And he added: “All our candidate is guilty of is putting out a leaflet which clumsily referenced Hepatitis A; the Labour Party are guilty of far worse - they’re either deliberately withholding information or they’ve made it up to give them a front page two or three weeks before the election."

He said Labour members were invited to a meeting with police, cabinet members and senior council officers to discuss the matter last week but said “it went on without them - they’re saying they want to wait until after the election".

But he added: “We need to be dealing with this now - not waiting two to three weeks. It’s shameful if they want to play politics with this matter.”

Cllr Crumpton said a meeting scheduled for April 24 was cancelled by Alan Lunt, the council’s strategic director for Place, and that he and cllr Partridge had been copied in to an email about another meeting arranged for the 26th but were not invited to attend.

And he added that he and cllr Partridge highlighted the issues, first at a community forum meeting in March then in the council chamber, to bring them “out in the open so that we were then going to be able to take things forward properly”.

Stourbridge Conservative MP Margot James apologised on behalf of Mr Razzaq to Labour candidates and the party over the leaflet and said: “I quite agree that the allegation is absurd and unacceptable.” And she said she was “confident” an apology would be forthcoming.

Mr Razzaq has not responded for comment.