London: A non-white councillor has been arrested for threatening to kill a rival in a packed town hall chamber

The Labour politician was seized following the extraordinary confrontation with a woman councillor in the Olympic borough of Tower Hamlets. Screams were heard coming from the town hall as the midnight debate descended into a violent fracas. Kosru Uddin, 45, is said to have made death threats to Rania Khan, a supporter of Independent mayor Lutfur Rahman. The clash is the latest political crisis to hit Tower Hamlets — dogged by allegations of voter fraud and claims that Rahman is linked to groups supporting Islamic extremism. It erupted after the chamber had been cleared of the public and press. One eyewitness said that it started when Khan referred to Uddin as a chamcha — a Bengali word which translates as spoon but is used to mean lackey or lick-spittle. Uddin is then said to have had an angry confrontation in the council chamber with Khan’s mother, Independent Limehouse councillor Lutfa Begum, over the use of the word. He is alleged to have threatened Khan before the police were called. Rahman had been present earlier but is not thought to have been in the chamber at the time of the altercation. Independent councilor Khan said that she was on the verge of mentally and physically collapsing following the clash. Sources said that the mayhem unfolded after a disagreement about the appointment of a new chief executive. Labour and Tory group members were arguing that the recruitment process had been flawed and refused to reach an agreement over the appointment of Aman Dalvi. The borough has been dogged by political controversy in recent years. Rahman was ousted from the Labour Party over links to Islamic extremists before successfully fighting the mayoral election as an Independent candidate. He has denied all the allegations about his links to extremism. It also emerged that the council was facing a police investigation into allegations of voter fraud during a by-election.