Bashir Khanbhai

British politician (1945–2020)

Bashir Khanbhai

Member of the European Parliament
for East of England
In office
10 June 1999 – 10 June 2004
Preceded by| Constituency created
Succeeded by| Tom Wise
Personal details
Born| (1945-09-22)22 September 1945
Tanga, Tanganyika
Died| (2020-04-16)16 April 2020
Sevenoaks, England
Political party| Conservative
Alma mater| The School of Pharmacy
Balliol College, Oxford (MA)

Bashir Khanbhai (22 September 1945 – 16 April 2020)[1] was a British Conservative Party politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of England.

Born in Tanga, Tanzania, Khanbhai worked in the family business and took a degree in pharmacy at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, then a masters' in politics, philosophy and economics at the University of Oxford. He also became a member of the Standing Committee of the Oxford Union.[2] Khanbhai joined the Conservative Party, and stood for them in Norwich South at the 1997 general election, but was not elected. At the 1999 European Parliament election, he was elected from third position on the Conservative Party list in the East of England.

In 2004, Khanbhai repaid £7,000 of wrongly claimed travel expenses; although he lived in Sevenoaks, Kent, he had registered a boatyard in Wroxham as his home address. In light of this expenses scandal, he was deselected by his party, and did not stand in the 2004 election. He subsequently claimed that he had been treated differently from other Conservative MEPs in similar positions, ascribing this to racist elements within the party.[3][4]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Bashir Khanbhai – United Kingdom". Brussels: European Parliament. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
2. ^ Priya Srinivasan, "Euro MP of Indian origin to work for pro-Third-World tariffs", Rediff, 23 June 1999.
3. ^ "Expenses probe MEP is deselected", BBC News, 12 May 2004.
4. ^ Antony Barnett, "Muslim Tory MEP slams 'racist' party", The Guardian, 23 May 2004.