MEP
Afzal Khan (British politician) took which position from Jul 2014 to Jun 2017?
Afzal Khan ( British politician ) Mohammed Afzal Khan , ( ; born 5 April 1958 ) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for the Manchester Gorton constituency since June 2017 . He was formerly Lord Mayor of Manchester for the year 2005–2006 , and served as a Member of the European Parliament ( MEP ) for North West England from 2014 to 2017 . Early life . Khan was born in Pakistan and came to the UK aged 11 . After leaving school without qualifications , he had a number of jobs , including as a Greater Manchester Police constable , before returning to education and qualifying as a solicitor : He is now a partner of solicitors Mellor & Jackson in Oldham . Political career . Local government . Khan was first elected a Labour Councillor in 2000 , being re-elected in 2004 , 2007 and 2011 , representing Cheetham Ward . He served as Executive Member for Childrens Services . Khan became the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Manchester , taking the position for 2005–2006 . In 2010 , Khan was appointed CBE for his race relations work . In 2011 , Khan was suggested as a candidate for Oldham East and Saddleworth . In 2012 , he was a potential candidate for the Bradford West by-election but lost the nomination to Imran Hussain , who was defeated by Respect Party candidate , George Galloway . European Parliament . Khan was selected in February 2013 on the Labour Partys list for North West England at the European Parliamentary election of 2014 and , on 22 May 2014 , he was returned as MEP to the European Parliament to represent North West England . In January 2016 , Khan was appointed by the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament as Special Representative to Muslim Communities . In this function , Khan visited Germany , the United Kingdom , Italy , France and Denmark for work with local Muslim communities and invited groups of young Muslims to the Parliament . Parliamentary career . In March 2017 , he applied to be Labours candidate in the 2017 Manchester Gorton by-election and was officially selected on 22 March . During the by-election , he said I condemn the statements made by Ken Livingstone and I believe there is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party . He added , I have been a lifelong campaigner against racism and anti-Semitism . In 2008 , I was awarded a CBE in part for my work encouraging greater understanding between Muslims and Jews . I intend to continue this work if I am elected as MP for Manchester Gorton . The by-election was cancelled following the dissolution of Parliament for the early general election on 8 June 2017 . Khan was again selected for as the Labour candidate for the general election and was elected , becoming Manchesters first Muslim MP . In July 2017 , Khan was appointed Shadow Immigration Minister . In July 2019 , Khan apologised for having shared on Facebook two years earlier a video of American comedian Jon Stewart talking about Benjamin Netanyahu . The text under the video referred to an Israel-British-Swiss-Rothschilds crime syndicate and mass murdering Rothschilds Israeli mafia criminal liars . Khan said he was mortified , adding I didnt read the text below , which contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy about the Rothschilds . I would never have shared it if I had seen that . Other roles . From 2000 to 2004 , Khan was a member of the Department of Trade and Industrys Ethnic Minority Business Forum , advising the then Secretary of State , Patricia Hewitt . Following the 2005 London bombings , he became a member of a Home Office working group aimed at preventing extremism . He has also served as Assistant Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain and is its North West representative . He is a co-founder of the Muslim Jewish Forum of Greater Manchester . Khan has appeared on Channel M documentaries and worked extensively with Manchester historian Jonathan Schofield . He was appointed as parliamentary chair for the Labour Muslim Network in August 2020 . Other events . In March 2018 , Khan received a suspicious package containing an anti-Islamic letter and sticky liquid . The substance was later found to be harmless . Similar packages were received by fellow Labour MPs Mohammad Yasin , Rushanara Ali and Rupa Huq . Personal life . Khans daughter Maryam was a Councillor on Manchester City Council , for Longsight .