Letter from Parliament - Simon Danczuk MP

Simon Danczuk, Rochdale MP

As Rochdale’s MP I get to see a lot of glaring injustices, but there can be few cases as harrowing as that of Khuram Shaikh. When his Milnrow-based family first approached me over a year ago I was shocked to hear how a local Red Cross worker had been brutally killed on holiday and that a local politician was the main suspect.

I promised I would do everything I could to try and secure some justice to his grieving family and that’s why as Parliament finished for recess I went to meet ministers in Sri Lanka, as part of a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association delegation.

As readers who have followed the story will be aware, negotiations were of a robust nature and I did not hide my disappointment at how little progress has been made in 18 months. It is totally unacceptable that a politician suspected of committing murder should be on bail and allowed to carry on his duties for the ruling party.

We have a lot of support within Sri Lanka and people there are tired of being victims of a justice system that turns a blind eye to crimes. They are right behind the campaign to bring Khuram’s killers to justice.

The case is doing a lot of damage to the country’s image and ministers are starting to recognise this. Last week it was reported that British businesses are reluctant to invest in Sri Lanka because of concerns at the country’s justice system. Until ministers get to grips with this and deliver justice for a brave Red Cross worker from Rochdale then Sri Lanka will not be seen as a country that’s capable of upholding Commonwealth values.

With Parliament not sitting during August I am looking forward to spending time in Rochdale and getting stuck into grassroots issues. In the last few weeks I have noticed how the council are making progress on road resurfacing and I’d like to give credit to Councillor Jacqui Beswick for the excellent work she’s doing here.

Potholes have long been a problem in Rochdale and I remember raising this with the Council’s former chief executive, Roger Ellis, some years ago. Roger dismissed this as not a problem but I knew from what local people kept telling me it was. Thankfully, we’re now starting to make progress and, while the Council have yet to get everywhere, I’ve noticed clear road improvements being made. This is welcome news.