Brent council leader accused of covering up fact that a councillor was dead

Quite bizarre:

The leader of one of Labour’s biggest London councils faces a party investigation over allegations he tried to “cover up” a colleague’s death to avoid a by-election.

A former Labour staffer claims Brent chief Muhammed Butt told her to keep the councillor’s death secret to avoid the election, which sources claim was set to weaken his leadership.

The allegation, in an email leaked to the Standard, has been denied by Mr Butt, who insists it is part of a plot to topple him…

Councillor Tayo Oladapo suffered from a severe liver condition and was absent from meetings for months before dying on January 29. It took six weeks for the party to confirm his death, in which time most councillors believed him to be alive and even approved his allowances. [Evening Standard]

This sounds more like something out of Boss than real life.

UPDATE: He was re-elected Labour leader.