The East London council of Tower Hamlets has voted to "do everything in its power" to support a boycott of "the pariah state" of Israel.

Councillors also called for a review of the borough's £15 million contract with multinational Veolia for waste collection because of the company's work in Israel.

But a council spokesman said that any decision to cut ties with Veolia would rest with Mayor Lutfur Rahman or his cabinet.

The original motion, proposed by Respect councillors Harun Miah and Fozol Miah, had urged the council to "terminate" all contracts with Veolia.

The controversial newly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets has thanked former London mayor Ken Livingstone for his support and denied allegations that he has links with Islamic extremists.

Lutfur Rahman fought the election as an independent candidate after he was deselected by Labour amid claims of irregularities in the nomination process and suggestions that he has connections to the Islamic Forum of Europe, which operates out of the East London Mosque.

Senior Jewish figures have raised concerns over the election of a controversial Muslim politician as mayor of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

Lutfur Rahman was dropped as the Labour Party's official candidate after evidence was produced of irregularities in the nomination process and links to the radical Muslim group Islamic Forum Europe.

He then stood as an independent and last week trounced Labour rival Helal Abbas, although only a quarter of the electorate turned out to vote. He will now preside over the Olympic borough's £1 billion budget.

A candidate with alleged extremist links and the backing of Respect politician George Galloway has become the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Lutfur Rahman, who was originally Labour’s candidate but was suspended from the party in September because of “serious allegations” about his conduct, won 51.7 per cent of the first-preference votes.

He was nominated as the Labour’s candidate for Tower Hamlets despite local party opposition, but after he was removed as the party’s choice he opted to stand as an independent.

Ken Livingstone is facing criticism and calls for his expulsion from the Labour Party after he appeared to be campaigning against the party’s candidate in Tower Hamlets.

A councillor with alleged links to an Islamic extremist group, who was deselected by Labour, is to stand as an independent in the Tower Hamlets mayoral race.

Lutfur Rahman has been given the backing of George Galloway’s Respect party in the vote for the borough’s first directly elected mayor.

Mr Rahman, who represents the borough’s Spitalfields and Banglatown ward, is a controversial figure in the area due to allegations of his connection with the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), which operates out of the East London Mosque.

George Galloway is planning to run in an east London mayoral election following the deselection of a Labour candidate with alleged extremist connections.

The pro-Palestinian activist and former Respect MP is considering standing for the party in the vote for Tower Hamlets first directly-elected mayor next month.

Respect had said they would not field a candidate in the contest.

A Labour councillor alleged to have links with an Islamic fundamentalist group has been removed as the party’s candidate to become mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Labour’s National Executive Committee has suspended Lutfur Rahman and chosen another candidate to replace him.

Mr Rahman, who represents the borough’s Spitalfields and Banglatown ward, was nominated as Labour’s candidate earlier in the year despite opposition from local party members.

A man who allegedly has connections with an Islamic fundamentalist group is in the running to become the first directly-elected mayor of Tower Hamlets.

Councillor Lutfur Rahman, who represents the borough’s Spitalfields and Banglatown ward, has been nominated as Labour’s candidate for the executive mayor position.

Mr Rahman has faced scrutiny in the past following claims that he is linked with the fundamentalist Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), which operates from the East London mosque.