How Lamborghini-driving lawyer who lost mayoral race in West Midlands after ‘deep-fake’ video row is now running as an independent MP on a pro-Gaza ticket and using TikTok in bid to mobilise Muslim voters

A Lamborghini-driving lawyer is leading the charge as a TikTok-powered independent in a hotly contested battle general election battle – as a follow-up to the pro-Gaza campaign in the West Midlands mayoral race.

Achmed Yakoob, a lawyer with a penchant for fast cars and trendy jewelry, gets to work Work‘s shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood Birmingham Ladybird.

Mr Mahmood has frequently posted videos on the social media site for his 195,000 followers TikTok.

And he has made opposition to this issue central to his campaign Israel‘s military crackdown after the terrorist attacks and hostage takings is over Hamas on October 7 last year.

Mr. Yakoob has released ‘For Gaza‘ printed on its election leaflets, accusing Labor of not doing enough to condemn Israel’s actions and support calls for a ceasefire.

Lawyer Achmed Yakoob, 36, is standing as an independent candidate for the Birmingham Ladywood constituency in the July 4 general election

Mr Yakoob is a prolific uploader of videos to TikTok, where he has over 195,000 followers

He has made opposition to the war in Gaza central to his campaigns, both in the recent West Midlands mayoral elections and in the battle for the seat in the general election.

He came third in last month’s West Midlands mayoral election, with Labour’s Richard Parker dethroning Conservative incumbent Andy Street.

The independent candidate, a 36-year-old lawyer, has been at the center of a controversy over a ‘deep fake’ video that sparked a viral hate campaign against an innocent teacher.

The video, taken on a doorbell camera, used subtitles to suggest the woman had made racist comments during her Labor application.

Evidence that the video had been doctored was then allegedly discovered by an external digital forensics company employed by Labour.

And West Midlands Police said officers had examined the original footage and concluded no offensive words had been uttered.

Mr Yakoob had shared the footage with his TikTok followers but later deleted his posts about the allegations amid a backlash.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has opened an investigation into him following the row and he has said he will not comment on it until the outcome of the investigation is known.

Ms Mahmood has been the Labor MP for Birmingham Ladywood since 2010, holding the seat in 2019 with a majority of 28,582.

Still, Yakoob remains optimistic about his prospects of making waves when voters go to the polls again on July 4.

Achmed Yakoob is pictured as votes were counted ahead of the West Midlands mayoral declaration on May 4 this year – a battle ultimately won by Labour’s Richard Parker

Parker (centre) won for Labour, ahead of the Tories’ Andy Street, while Yakoob came third

He told the Sunday timeswhile sitting in the front seat of a Mercedes: ‘Everyone said to me: “Work machine this, work machine that”.

‘So? For me it’s not so much about the machines. Can they buy people’s love? No.

“They can spend millions, but they cannot remove people’s love for me from their hearts. That’s what they can’t bear.’

His viral clip carries headlines such as ‘NHS failure’, ‘Our streets are filthy’, ‘They haven’t done anything’ and ‘I’m ready to win’.

In one, he tells viewers: ‘On the 4th of July you have to make one of the most important decisions in your life and that is the election: who are you going to vote for?

“Are you going to vote for the mainstream political parties – are you going to vote for any of the political elites who think you are sheep and will blindly vote for them, election after election, no matter what their policies are?

“Or are you going to vote for independent candidates who you can relate to, who grew up in inner-city Birmingham and know what it’s like to grow up in poverty?”

In another, he carries a Palestinian flag behind him as he declares: “Find a representative who can say without fear that Palestinians from the river to the sea will be free – remember that.”

Father of four Mr Yakoob, who has four brothers and four sisters, was born in Birmingham in 1988; his father had come to Britain from Pakistan in the 1970s.

Achmed Yakoob is backed by former Labor MP George Galloway, who won the Rochdale by-election for the Worker’s Party of Britain in February

Labour’s shadow secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has held Birmingham Ladywood since 2010 and retained her seat at the 2019 general election with a majority of 28,582.

His fleet of supercars included a Rolls Royce and a Lamborghini, although he now says he has ‘outgrown’ them as he focuses more and more on politics.

And he highlighted Gaza as his main motivation for joining the fight, first winning 20 percent of the vote in the region’s mayoral elections and now taking on Ms. Mahmood.

Labor leader Sir Keir has come under fire for his apparent caution in calling for a ceasefire following the October 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s response.

Ten Shadow Cabinet ministers resigned in an attempt to increase pressure on the party to go beyond calling for a humanitarian pause.

Ms Mahmood abstained from a House of Commons vote last November calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

She sent a letter to voters saying: “I share the shock and concern of all of you as we witness the destruction and displacement of human lives on a horrific and unprecedented scale.

“As a determined and lifelong supporter of the rights of Palestinians, and as a British Muslim, I will never shy away from speaking on behalf of people who have endured decades of brutality and suffering.

‘In no uncertain terms: all life is sacred. For me, Palestinian lives are as important as any other. The killing of innocent civilians in Gaza must stop immediately.

“I am also unequivocally clear that wars have laws, and that democracies have a responsibility to ensure that international humanitarian law is upheld at all times.

Independent candidate Mr Yakoob is pictured here posing for a photo as votes were counted ahead of the West Midlands Mayoral Declaration on May 4 in Birmingham

He was criticized when he shared a video online in which women were consulted and someone living in this house asked if he or she voted Labor

The resident was heard replying that they had voted for Achmed Yakoob, to which the pollster replied: ‘No problem, thank you’

The woman (blurred), a teacher in her 20s, later said her “whole world” “collapsed” as a result of the “deep fake” video that led to unfounded accusations of racism

“My position, as well as that of my party, is that it is absolutely essential that there is a clear distinction between a terrorist group and the innocent civilians of Gaza, who have suffered for so long and do not deserve collective punishment.

“Here at home, where emotions run high, we all have a duty to bring our communities closer together, not further apart.

“Because if we do not call for cruelty and stand up for the oppressed, if we do not feel pain and fear at the loss of innocent lives – whether Palestinian or Israeli, Muslim or Jewish – then we lose our humanity. .’

Pro-Palestinian protests took place in the city and independent candidates are running in other seats in Birmingham, making Gaza their central focus.

Neurologist Dr Ammar Waraich made the statement in Edgbaston, where Labor’s Preet Kaur Gill is the sitting MP, while Professor Kamel Hawwash, professor of civil engineering at the University of Birmingham, faces off against Shadow Veterans Minister Steve McCabe in Selly Oak.