Businessman says donations were "never for personal gain" amid Labour row
A businessman at the centre of a row over Labour donations says his contributions were “always in good faith” and “never for a personal gain”.
Abdul Sattar Shere-Mohammod, also known as Shere Sattar, made large donations to Labour candidates and local parties last year. This included £15,000 linked to Portsmouth campaigns, plus £10,000 to Southampton Test MP Satvir Kaur and £5,000 to Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin.
Mr Sattar was expelled from Labour in 2022 after being convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. The incident, he said, happened after a bike was stolen from his family home.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he said: “My donations were always in good faith and I declared them properly. They were to support a stronger Labour movement, which was never for a personal gain.”
He added: “I just want to put everything back to normal as much as I can and get back to serving the community, which I dearly love from my heart.”
In June last year, Mr Sattar gave two donations of £5,000 each to a crowdfunding page called “Stephen Morgan’s Election Fighting Fund” and £5,000 directly to Portsmouth Labour Party.
The page said it was raising “money for Portsmouth Labour Party to help re-elect Stephen Moran…and support ongoing campaigns”. Labour said the Portsmouth South MP did not know about Mr Sattar’s conviction.
The party said the crowdfunding donations were not direct gifts to Stephen Morgan and did not need to be declared in his register of interests. However, the £5,000 direct donation should have been reported to the Electoral Commission, but was missed due to “an administrative error”. Labour said this will be corrected.
Amanda Martin declared her £5,000 donation from Mr Sattar and is now returning it. Portsmouth Labour Party have returned their donations.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Action has been taken to ensure these donations are returned in full.”
Mr Sattar has been a Labour member since 1992, campaigning for former MPs John Denham and Alan Whitehead, and standing in local elections in Eastleigh.