THE first challenge to the general election result was mounted yesterday in a constituency where the Labour MP has spoken out against postal vote-riggers in his own party.

The Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob sent a petition to the High Court seeking to overturn the election of Roger Godsiff in Birmingham Sparkbrook & Small Heath.

Ms Yaqoob caused a poll-night shock by slashing Labour’s once-solid majority of 16,246 to only 3,289, a 24 per cent swing for her antiwar, pro-immigration ticket.

The constituency includes the inner-city area of Bordesley Green, which became notorious for vote-rigging in last year’s elections to Birmingham City Council. Three Labour councillors were ousted and banned from standing for office by an election commissioner who found them guilty of corrupt and illegal practices.

Thousands of votes were stolen last year using weaknesses in the Government’s postal voting reforms. It has promised new laws to prevent abuse.

Mr Godsiff was hailed for his courage in denouncing Labour vote-riggers in a speech to the House of Commons shortly after the local elections.

The postal voting system allows cheats to steal people’s franchise by making bogus applications to vote by post and requesting ballot papers go to “safe houses”. The first the victims know is when they arrive at a polling station and are denied a ballot paper because they have already received a postal vote.

Ms Yaqoob told The Times on election day: “We have had people coming into the polling station who cannot vote because they have had a postal vote. I cannot believe after all the shenanigans that it is still going on.”

Mr Godsiff, Labour MP since 1992, said at the time: “There have been people who have come here and been told that they have got a postal vote. Also a lot of postal votes appear not to have reached people.”

The challenge may lead to another election court hearing, with the power to confirm Mr Godsiff’s victory, order a rerun of the poll or install Ms Yaqoob as the rightful winner.

The result can be overturned because of corruption by a candidate, “general corruption”, or blunders by the returning officer.

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