Civil servant admits he 'made mistakes' juggling five government jobs

The civil servant accused of fraudulently earning more than £284,000 by juggling multiple public-sector jobs admitted making mistakes but said ''I do not believe there was criminal intent".

Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, Kashim Chowdhury told the jury he had made mistakes because he was ''overwhelmed and stressed'' and had felt ''terror and panic'' at the thought of losing his livelihood.

He told the jury he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2015 and that it had been triggered in 2021.

The 55-year-old, who is from east London, is on trial accused of nine counts of fraud. He denies acting dishonestly or intending to make a dishonest gain.

The prosecution alleges Chowdhury failed to reveal to his employers that he had other full-time employment. But Chowdhury told the jury some of his managers knew he had other jobs.

His managers at Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra), the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London NHS Trust and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) all knew he had other jobs.

The prosecution alleges that at the height of the deceit, Chowdhury held five full-time jobs on full-time salaries within the public sector.

In the spring of 2023, he was employed by Defra, the UK Health Security Agency, the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office. The jury was told that throughout this period he was contracted to work 183 hours a week - more than the number of hours that exist in seven days.

Each job paid a full-time wage, with Chowdhury paid £11,000 for a single month's work in 2023.

The prosecution alleges Chowdhury managed to keep his overlapping jobs secret because he worked entirely remotely. He told his employers he was the sole carer for his elderly mother and the prosecution alleges he "exploited this opportunity".

A succession of Chowdhury's line managers have told the jury that he performed poorly in his roles.

Abigail Mounde, who was Chowdhury's line manager at the Department for Business and Trade told the court: ''Any basic tasks I asked him to do he either did late or not to the standard I would have expected."

The prosecution also alleges Chowdhury used sick notes from his doctor as part of the cover-up.

But the court was told that while he was telling some employers he was sick and unfit to work because of "mixed anxiety and depressive disorder" he was not giving sick notes to other employers. The prosecution said this ''underlines the dishonesty involved in the whole affair".

His line manager at the Health Security Agency, Aleesha Adams, arranged a video call in May 2023, to support him returning to work after a period of absence.

She said she was surprised when he logged on wearing white make-up because his name led her to expect to see an Asian man with darker skin.

She told the court that as the call went on the make-up started coming off his forehead. ''He was sweating, it was like rubbing off so it was darker underneath and darker on the neck."

Prosecuting barrister Lucy Organ told the court: ''This almost laughable incident demonstrates quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.''

The trial continues.