Sierra Leone’s first lady has had her London council flat seized by the London town hall after it became the talking point of political communication by opposition party.

Southwark Council confirmed it had taken possession of Fatima Jabbe-Bio’s two-bedroom property in Walworth this week following a year-long investigation. Ms Jabbe-Bio had lived in the taxpayer-subsidised home for more than a decade, but left the capital in 2018 when her husband, Julius Maada Bio, was elected president of Sierra Leone.

Ms Jabbe-Bio retained the tenancy on the south London flat, which she said was used by her children against housing rules which states that a local authority property must be a person’s principal residence.

This property will be swiftly allocated to a local family in genuine housing need.

In an interview with the BBC last month, Ms Jabbe-Bio defended keeping the flat, stating she had “not committed any crime” by continuing to rent the property, where she has been listed on the tenancy since 2007.

” My children are all British citizens,” “I’m paying for my council house myself. I have not committed any crime.”

But neighbours suggested the home had been largely empty for at least the last three years and they had not seen Ms Jabbe-Bio since she left for Sierra Leone.

Tens of thousands of families are on the waiting list for social housing in London.

In Southwark, there are more than 18,000 households who have applied for a home, including some 4,000 in temporary accommodation.