SENIOR Labour MP Shabana Mahmood is in danger of losing her safe Birmingham seat to an independent challenger amid anger over her support for the party’s position on Gaza.

Lawyer Akhmed Yakoob, who gained 20 per cent of the vote across Birmingham in the recent West Midlands mayoral election, topping polls in four of the city’s seats, is aiming for a shock victory against the shadow justice secretary.

Ms Mahmood enjoys a majority of more than 28,000 and secured nearly 80 per cent of the 2019 vote in the Ladywood constituency, so beating her may seem an impossibility. Interviewed by the Star in his office in the heart of the constituency, however, Mr Yakoob is not daunted.