A LABOUR MP is under investigation over allegations he tried to avoid repaying a taxpayer-funded Covid loan.
Southend MP Bayo Alaba was blocked from winding up a property firm that received a £50,000 handout during the pandemic.
Labour MP Bayo Alaba is under investigation over claims he tried to avoid repaying a £50,000 taxpayer-funded Covid loan Credit: Alamy
The loans were given out to struggling firms during the pandemic Credit: PA
Records show Alaba Properties Ltd attempted to dissolve itself in March 2022.
However, previous accounts showed the firm still had an outstanding £50,000 loan.
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Firms generally cannot be closed down unless they are free of outstanding debts, and creditors can object and halt a winding-up motion if they have not been paid.
The former paratrooper, 54, refused to answer questions about which of his firms took out loans, but told The Times he had accessed financial support for struggling businesses.
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Two attempts to wind up Alaba Properties Ltd were blocked—one in March 2022 and another in August 2022—after an unnamed third party appealed.
Records show that “cause [was] shown why the company should not be struck off.” The Department for Business did not say whether it was them.
Mr Alaba is also facing questions over whether his firm was eligible for the loan, as rules at the time meant applicants must have been in business on March 1, 2020, when Alaba Properties was filing accounts as a “dormant company”.
He previously ran music and nightclub businesses, some of which had also failed, before entering the House of Commons in 2024.
Mike Wood, the Conservative shadow Cabinet Office minister, said: “These are concerning revelations, and Alaba clearly has questions to answer.
“Alaba needs to come clean about whether he tried to avoid paying his debts, and ministers should tell us if they had to intervene to stop it.
“The public deserve the truth.”
The Labour Party yesterday suspended the whip from Alaba.
A spokesman said: “Bayo Alaba MP has referred himself to the Labour Party so that these matters can be investigated in line with the party’s rules.
“The Labour Party expects the highest standards from our elected representatives, and we have robust processes in place to ensure those high standards are upheld. We cannot comment further while the investigation is ongoing.”
Mr Alaba told The Times: “Like many businesses and entrepreneurs, I accessed financial support during the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been no attempt to avoid my financial obligations, and I am wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that the liability is met in full.
“I’ve referred myself to the Labour Party’s investigations process on the matter, and I’ll co-operate fully.” He added that he was paying back the loan.
