Satvir Kaur, the Labour MP for Southampton Test, accepted a £10,000 donation in 2024 from Abdul Sattar Shere-Mohammod, a Bangladeshi migrant to the UK convicted of violent assault its emerged. The revelations from a wider story of undisclosed financial contributions to Labour Government from Shere-Mohammod, who was convicted of violent assault in 2022 at Southampton Crown Cort and banished from the Labour Party in the same year. It’s understood Shere-Mohammod is a migrant who moved to the UK from Bangladesh.
According to reports in The Sunday Times, in total Labour and three of its MPs received more than £40,000 in election campaign donations from Shere-Mohammod, a one-time party member who was expelled following his conviction. The contributions included £10,300 to the national party last June, just under the threshold requiring disclosure to the Electoral Commission—and a further £15,000 to support the re-election of Stephen Morgan, the early education minister, and other local campaigns in Portsmouth.
While Kaur and Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North, declared their donations in the parliamentary register of interests, the donations to Morgan and the Portsmouth Labour Party were not publicly disclosed. The local party attributed this failure to an “administrative error” and said it was now being “rectified.” The Electoral Commission has confirmed it is investigating the matter, and Labour has stated it is in the process of returning all donations made by Shere-Mohammod.
Court records show that on April 12, 2022, Shere-Mohammod, 55, and his two sons were found guilty at Southampton Crown Court of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The Southampton Daily Echo reported the incident took place on an industrial estate, where the victim was kicked and punched in the head, resulting in a dislocated shoulder. Each of the men received a 12-month community order, 120 hours of unpaid work, and were ordered to pay compensation and a victim surcharge.
Shere-Mohammod, known locally as Shere Sattar, told reporters the altercation broke out after his son’s bike was stolen and insisted he was only present to prevent escalation, denying he personally assaulted the victim.
Labour said it was unaware of Shere-Mohammod’s conviction when the donations were accepted. Stephen Morgan, whose ministerial responsibilities include safeguarding and prevention of violence in schools, also said he had no knowledge of the conviction.
Despite being expelled from the party in August 2022, after Labour became aware of his offence, Shere-Mohammod continued to make substantial donations in the run-up to the 2024 general election. Companies House records list him as a director of a telecoms and a construction firm, both registered at his home.
The donations raise questions about Labour’s vetting procedures, especially as the party campaigned on a promise to “clean up politics” and tighten rules around political donations. The party says it has now returned all donations from Shere-Mohammod. Kaur returned her donation in 2024, while Martin and the national party followed suit after being contacted by The Sunday Times.
The donations to Morgan and the Portsmouth Labour Party, totalling £15,000, were not declared to the Electoral Commission despite exceeding the £2,320 reporting threshold for local party branches. Labour claims the donations were made to the party as a whole, not directly to Morgan, and will be included in the next quarterly return to the Commission.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: “Donations that have been reported late by parties and accounting units are considered in line with our enforcement policy. We can confirm we are currently considering this matter.”
Mohammod previously ran the Masala Madness Bangladeshi takeaway on Burgess Road. He gained attention in 2020 for his campaign against Conservative MP Caroline Noakes after she voted against extending free meal vouchers during the pandemic.
As the Electoral Commission reviews the donations, Labour’s handling of the case is likely to intensify scrutiny of the party’s internal controls and its commitment to transparency—a key theme of its election campaign.
