Labor candidate and Bankstown mayor Khal Asfour fires legal threats to senior ministers

Labor Upper House candidate and Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour has hired a heavyweight defamation lawyer amid growing scrutiny about his conduct in council.

Under-siege Labor candidate and Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour is threatening to sue senior government ministers and MPs for defamation following allegations of corrupt conduct aired in parliament.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Mr Asfour hired defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles to send threats of defamation proceedings to multiple Liberals including Trade Minister Alister Henskens and Employee Relations Minister Damien Tudehope.

The emails relate to videos shared by the government compiling newspaper articles and radio and TV clips about a series of controversies Mr Asfour was involved in.

They also include scathing allegations of corrupt conduct made by former Labor MP Tania Mihailuk under parliamentary privilege – the reports were referred by Mr Asfour to ICAC.

Upper house members Scott Farlow, Chris Rath and Shayne Mallard and Willoughby MP Tim James also received defamation notices.

Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor and Labor candidate Khal Asfour arrives at his home. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“Having reviewed the tweet and the video embedded therein, we are of the view that it is highly defamatory and we request that you remove it by no later than COB today,” Ms Giles wrote in an email to Minister Henskens.

In his response the Trade Minister said this was the first time in his almost 8 years in parliament that he had been threatened with defamation proceedings.

Trade Minister Alister Henskens. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images for APL

“I note that your client is a Labor candidate for election to the NSW parliament in respect of which common law qualified privilege and the Lange case is applicable. Free speech and the operation of our democratic system of government looms large in this area of the laws of defamation,” he said in an email seen by the Telegraph.

The same email was sent to Minister Tudehope.

The social media content has been taken down while the government seeks further advice.

Mr Asfour said he had made a “polite request” through his lawyers to take down the videos.

Minister for Employee Relations Damien Tudehope. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“That video was a compilation of media clips that were edited in a way so as to convey unfair and false allegations about me.

“The irony is that this request was made so as to avoid the exercise of issuing a Concerns Notice, a requirement introduced by this government which serves as an obstacle to everyday Australians quickly resolving defamation complaints,” he said.

“This video is part of a smear campaign against me … It is disappointing that it was published by sitting members of the Upper House inquiry into agents of Canterbury-Bankstown Council.”