The Government is considering appointing ministerial envoys to ensure Tower Hamlets council responds to “serious concerns” about its governance and culture.

A government report published on Tuesday said there was a culture where decisions were made on the advice of a small number of people whom the directly elected mayor, Lutfur Rahman, trusted.

Envoys will guide, monitor and oversee the board’s improvement work, but no final decision has yet been made on whether they will be appointed.

Tower Hamlets Council said it looked forward to working with the envoys and thanked the Government “for recognizing the progress we have made as an authority”.

Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government Jim McMahon said he would consider any representations from the council and other stakeholders before making a decision.

Tower Hamlets Council is led by directly elected mayor Lutfur Rahman from the Aspire political party.

Rahman has had a controversial career in local politics: he was elected to the council in 2002 as a Labor candidate and was the first directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets from October 2010 to April 2015.

He was removed from the mayor’s office and suspended from public office by an electoral court which found that there were “corrupt and illegal practices” under his watch.

The court also found that grants were improperly allocated to organizations, canvassers were paid on his behalf and he brought “undue spiritual influence” to bear on Muslim voters who supported him.

But Rahman is back after his five-year suspension with a new party he founded – Aspire.

In 2022, he defeated the incumbent mayor, John Biggs, of Labour, with 55% of the vote and became the third elected mayor of Tower Hamlets.

The report also said the board’s control culture was “weak and confused” and there was a perception among many staff that many good managers had left the organization as a result of “speaking truth to power”.

It also found that a lack of trust contributed to the withdrawal of officers at several senior levels of the board, where due process was often treated as an obstacle to priorities rather than a necessary check and balance.

It said the “suspicious and defensive” behavior created a “toxic” atmosphere.

Inspectors said that while the council had made “targeted and concerted” improvements over the past two years, this had not had a strategic focus on continuous improvement.

The report said: “The culture established and exemplified by management is one of reactively responding and countering criticism rather than honestly evaluating and self-improving.

“In some respects, inspectors are skeptical about the council’s ability to self-improve.”

Tower Hamlets Council said it was “committed to working with the government on our continuous journey of improvement”.

“We welcome the government’s decision to appoint an envoy rather than sending commissioners, with a plan to work with us on a support package, with the council retaining all its powers.

“We look forward to working with the ministerial envoy.”

The MHCLG said a ministerial envoy would attend meetings, provide ad hoc advice and challenges, and ensure comprehensive programs of cultural change and political mentorship.

The minister said he proposed to direct the council to co-operate with them and allow all of them reasonable access to their premises, documents, employees or members in support of their work.

The previous government had appointed inspectors to scrutinize the leadership of the east London borough after the Local Government Association (LGA) reported there was a lack of trust between the town hall and senior officers.

The LGA also expressed concern about the “large number of agents and acting staff”, with vacancies in key posts.