THE shock resignations of the deputy leader of Sandwell Council, councillor Mahboob Hussain, and cabinet member for the economy cllr Ian Jones have sparked an uprising in the borough’s Labour party.

Fresh allegations concerning the sale of public toilets led to the cabinet resignations on Friday night and over the weekend a new grouping, which includes more than ten Labour councillors and at least two cabinet members, emerged to demand the end of cllr Hussain’s political career.

Cabinet member for children’s services cllr Simon Hackett, who has the support of West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson and Warley MP John Spellar, spoke on behalf of the group at a stormy Labour party meeting on Monday night.

He called for assurances from the leadership that cllr Hussain’s conduct would prevent him from being allowed back into the cabinet in the future.

Cllr Hackett was shouted down by several pro-Hussain councillors and Sandwell Council leader cllr Cooper refused to allow any debate on the subject.

A Labour insider today said: “This is a massive moment for the Sandwell Labour party and demonstrates there is a sizeable number of councillors willing to stand up against cllr Hussain when in the past he had almost unlimited power.

“Labour cannot conduct its own internal inquiry whilst the criminal investigations are ongoing but the national committee will want to be satisfied that its own rules have not been breached.

“Both investigations effectively rule out Mr Hussain from front row politics for years to come.”

The insider added: “Everyone deserves a chance of justice but the crux of the matter is that the Labour Party does not need the same burden of proof as a criminal court to decide whether someone deserves to be a member.”

Cllr Hussain is the subject of an ongoing police inquiry which was sparked in September after allegations were made to the police concerning fraudulent land deals.

Both cllr Hussain and cllr Jones strenuously deny any wrongdoing and have vowed to clear their names.

Sandwell Council leader cllr Darren Cooper has backed both men’s decisions to stand down.

He said: “Both cllr Hussain and cllr Jones have done the right thing over standing down.

“They both want a clean break from front-line politics so that they can focus all their efforts on clearing their names and setting the record straight.”

Labour’s opponents were quick to call for a public inquiry after the shock resignations on Friday night – which were exclusively broken by the News.

Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP James Morris said: “Cllr Hussain should have resigned weeks ago.

“The resignation of another senior cabinet member raises further questions for the leadership of the council. Many people in Rowley Regis and across Sandwell are right to be worried.

He added: “The time has now come for a full, independent inquiry into what has happened so that local people can know the real truth about Labour’s ‘rotten borough’ in Sandwell.”

Halesowen and Rowley Regis UKIP candidate Dean Perks said: “I am calling for an independent public inquiry into Labour’s running of Sandwell Council.

“The lack of opposition for so long in Sandwell has meant no scrutiny of the Labour group who have clearly become complacent.”