The Labour leadership of a Greater Manchester Council took no steps after receiving a sexual harassment complaint against its mayor, who went on to take up another influential role.

The report by The Telegraph, mentions that the complaint was filed in February, while Ali Ahmed was serving as the mayor of Rochdale. According to a woman, he had behaved inappropriately towards her.

But, the complaint was swept under the rug as none of his colleagues or the general public were informed of this incident. This helped the Labour Party to take part in the local elections without any issues, and the mayor was able to complete his term peacefully last month.

The Telegraph has reported that Ahmed was able to subsequently become the chairman of an influential local policy-making committee.

Recently, incoming deputy mayor of Rochdale, Shakil Ahmed, was also reported to have faced allegations of sexual harassment.

Several Labour insiders in Rochdale criticised the leader of the borough council, Neil Emmott, for the way he was handling such cases as the focus for him, allegedly, was to paint the party in a positive light; even if that meant completely ignoring what the victims went through.

An insider accused him of encouraging a ‘boys club’ culture and putting more priority to the reputations of the individuals involved.

The leader of the Labour Party, Sir Kier Starmer also came under intense scrutiny recently regarding the fallout of several sexual misconduct cases across the party. He urged those who had not yet come forward, to file complaints against anyone from the party who had committed such a crime.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party in Rochdale said that the complaint against the former mayor had been ‘withdrawn’ and there were no outstanding complaints against him.

However, according to a source, the victim was stressed and felt the lack of support, due to which she withdrew the complaint.