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Youths from ethnic minorities could get softer sentences after judges are told to consider 'discrimination' they may have suffered

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  • Youths from black or ethnic minority backgrounds could get lighter punishments
  • Judges to consider ‘negative experiences of authority’ they may have suffered
  • First instructions to courts to treat defendants differently on racial grounds
Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy said the guidelines were aimed at preventing reoffending
Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy said the guidelines were aimed at preventing reoffending
Young offenders from black or ethnic minority backgrounds could be given lighter punishments under new sentencing guidelines.
Judges will be told to consider the ‘discrimination and negative experiences of authority’ they may have suffered.
Courts should take into account ‘particular factors which arise in the case of black and minority ethnic children and young people’.
The guidelines appear to be the first ever instructions to courts to treat defendants differently on racial grounds.
The Sentencing Council rules are in a package of measures designed to persuade judges and magistrates to go easier on young criminals from troubled backgrounds, or who have been brought up in state care.
Critics said it was wrong to sentence criminals differently on racial grounds. One criminologist said the law should be the same for everyone.
The Sentencing Council is led by its president Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and other senior judges, and the courts are bound to follow its guidelines when setting punishments. 
The new rules, which will apply for young criminals from June 1, tell the courts they must pay regard to when young offenders have ‘deprived homes, poor parental employment records, low educational attainment, and early experience of offending by other family members’.
The Sentencing Council is led by its president Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and other senior judges, and the courts are bound to follow its guidelines when setting punishments
The Sentencing Council is led by its president Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas and other senior judges, and the courts are bound to follow its guidelines when setting punishments
Judges are also told to consider ‘experience of abuse and/or neglect, negative influences from peer associates and the misuse of drugs and/or alcohol’ when sentencing.
However in a historic departure for the court system, the guidelines tell judges and magistrates: ‘There is also evidence to suggest that black and minority ethnic children and young people are over-represented in the youth justice system.
‘The factors contributing to this are complex. One factor is that a significant proportion of looked after children and young people are from a black and minority ethnic background.’

PLEAD GUILTY STRAIGHT AWAY 

Gangs of ‘happy slappers’ who film attacks and post the footage online will receive tougher punishments.
Judges have been told that social media videos that ‘deliberately humiliate’ their victims must be viewed as an ‘aggravating factor’.
The proposals by the Sentencing Council come after a series of high-profile cases in which teenagers have used mobile phones to film their crimes, including sexual offences. Last year, 13-year-old Tommy Allery suffered brain damage when a bully punched him repeatedly at his Hertfordshire school while four others watched.
In other guidelines, criminals who plead guilty will only receive lighter sentences if they do so at the earliest opportunity.
They go on to say: ‘A further factor may be the experience of such children and young people in terms of discrimination and negative experiences of authority. 

'When having regard to the welfare of the child or young person to be sentenced, the particular factors which arise in the case of black and minority ethnic children and young people need to be taken into account.’

The guidelines tell courts that different treatment should apply to black or minority criminals whether or not they have been brought up in state care.

A spokesman for the Sentencing Council said yesterday: ‘The guidelines recognise that black and ethnic minority children are over-represented in the care system, and children in care are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system. 

'Children should not be blamed for factors beyond their control.’

Sentencing Council chairman Lord Justice Treacy said the guidelines were aimed at preventing reoffending.

But criminologist Dr David Green, director of the Civitas think tank, said: ‘The principle should be that the law is the same for everyone regardless of background, race or gender. 

'his is a complete reversal of that.’

The Ministry of Justice said: ‘Sentences should always fit the seriousness of crimes. Sentencing is a matter for independent judges, who will consider all of the facts of the case before reaching a decision.’


Migrants to provide criminal record checks in crackdown on foreign offenders

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THOUSANDS of non-EU migrants will have to provide criminal record certificates before they are allowed to work in the UK under new rules.

Immigration
GETTY
Immigration officers at Gatwick Airport
Nurses and teachers are among those who will have to show details as part of a crackdown on foreign offenders seeking to come to Britain.
The changes affect people applying for jobs which involve working with children and vulnerable adults under the Tier 2 visa route for skilled workers from outside Europe.
Most migrants coming to the UK to work are required by their employers to self-declare that they do not have a criminal record.
Now Tier 2 visa applicants looking to work in sectors including health and social care, education and welfare will have to provide an overseas criminal record certificate as part of an "entry clearance" application.
Failure to provide the relevant documents without an adequate explanation will result in rejection or refusal of a visa application, even when all other criteria are met.
Migrants affected by the new rules will have to provide criminal record checks from any countries they have lived in for more than a year in the past decade.
But the requirement could be waived in circumstances where it is deemed not "reasonably practicable" to obtain the certificate, such as if a particular country or authority does not produce the documents.
Nursery
GETTY
People working with children and vulnerable adults are also affected
Our priority is keeping families, communities and our country safe
Robert Goodwill
The Government can automatically refuse entry for applicants with a custodial sentence of four years or more.
Those given shorter jail terms can be barred for up to 10 years from the end of the sentence.
Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill said: "Our priority is keeping families, communities and our country safe.
"Foreign criminals have absolutely no right to be working with society's most vulnerable.
"While we already reserve the right to refuse a visa to anyone who is convicted of a criminal offence, the introduction of overseas criminal record checks for those looking to work with children and vulnerable adults add an extra safeguard."
Immigration
GETTY
Immigration checks at Gatwick
The new requirement, which will take effect next month, was one of a number of changes to immigration rules set out by the Home Office on Thursday.
Another measure will tighten the regime for migrants who remain in the country after their leave to enter or remain has expired.
Currently "over-stayers" are given a 90-day grace period before a 12-month ban on re-entering the UK kicks in.
Now this grace period is being shortened to 30 days.

Hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers snuck into the UK using British Sikhs' passports

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  • Border officials are said to have difficulty distinguishing between the illegal immigrants and genuine passport holders because of turbans in ID documents
  • Daljit Kapoor, 41, Harmit Kapoor, 40, and Davinder Chawla appeared in court
  • They provided Sikhs from Afghanistan with passports of family members
Border officials are said to have difficulty distinguishing between the illegal immigrants and genuine passport holders because Sikh men are allowed to wear turbans in their ID documents
Border officials are said to have difficulty distinguishing between the illegal immigrants and genuine passport holders because Sikh men are allowed to wear turbans in their ID documents
Hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers snuck into the UK using British Sikhs' passports - because turbans on their photos meant border officials couldn't spot the difference. 
Border officials are said to have difficulty distinguishing between the illegal immigrants and genuine passport holders because Sikh men are allowed to wear turbans in their ID documents.
Today three Sikh men Daljit Kapoor, 41, Harmit Kapoor, 40, and Davinder Chawla, 42, admitted running a scam providing Sikhs from the war-torn country with passports of family members who most looked like them so they could pass themselves off as British citizens.
Around 30 people from the same Afghans Sikh community are said to have successfully claimed asylum after paying the trio £12,000 per family to enter the UK.
But the authorities believe there may be hundreds more as the scam is believed to have gone on for a number of years undetected.
The three will be sentenced at Inner London Crown Court later this month for their part in the smuggling racket.
A gang member would drive to Paris with genuine passports of family members and hand them over to men, women and children so they could get through airport security.
Once in the country the gang retrieved the passports and reused them with new groups and families.
The gang is also understood to have operated from Thailand.
It was not until easyJet staff noticed something was wrong and alerted French authorities that the conspiracy was unearthed.
In June 2014 Chawla drove to France and boarded a flight with around 11 Afghan Sikhs, making up three families, but were stopped when they entered the UK.

Edward Aydin, prosecuting at an earlier hearing at Camberwell Magistrates' Court, said: 'We say these three men are the facilitators in this organisation, this organised crime, where they are using genuine British passport holders within the Sikh community.

'It's a Sikh conspiracy and it's occurring because it's very difficult for the authorities at the border control to distinguish who's who on the passports.'

Outside court a legal source said: 'They would get the passports of their relatives and marry them up with the asylum seekers who most looked like them, obviously the beards and turbans made it easier.

'But it was also the women and children as well, whole families were being brought in.
'And once they are here, because they from Afghanistan and are claiming to be persecuted by the Taliban, they can't be sent back.

'They have been doing this for a long time, probably years, and have made a hell of a lot of money doing it, charging around £12,000 per family.

'We don't know for how long because they way they did it is virtually undetectable, there are probably hundreds of people who have come into the country this way that his group have helped.

'It was only when easyJet staff noticed something was wrong and alerted French authorities that we found out about it.'

Both Kapoors, of Hounslow, who are cousins, and Chawla, of Isleworth, who is also a member of the same extended family, appeared at Inner London Crown Court and sat in the dock alongside two interpreters.

As their trial was about to start, three of the defendants pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to help asylum seekers to enter the UK illegally between May and June 2014.

Harmit Kapoor also admitted booking flights between June 8 and June 21, 2014, for the asylum seekers to get to Britain.

Chawla admitted hiring a vehicle to facilitate their entry into the country when he drove to Paris.

A fourth suspect, Joginder Dawan, 41, pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to help asylum seekers enter the UK and one charge of assisting the offence by allowing his passport to be used to book flights and travel.

Not guilty verdicts were recorded for both counts and he was discharged.

In February 2011 Chawla, along with four other men was jailed for five years for also helping illegal immigrants enter the country as part of an identical conspiracy.

The gang was given a total of 26 years between them. 


Benefits-claiming father, 57, was tied up by cabin crew during an in-flight melt-down after being told to stub out his CIGARETTE

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  • Mohammed Rashid, 57, restrained with cable ties after 'mid-air rampage'
  • He swore at staff after being asked to put out cigarette and had to be restrained
  • Rashid then bit one flight attendant in the thigh and leg as they tackled him 
  • The flight crew used cable ties to bind his arms and legs together on the plane
  • He admitted three counts of common assault and will be sentenced later
Mohammed Rashid, 57, pictured, bit a flight attendant on the leg after a 'mid-air rampage' on board a flight from Dubai to Manchester when staff asked him to stop smoking
Mohammed Rashid, 57, pictured, bit a flight attendant on the leg after a 'mid-air rampage' on board a flight from Dubai to Manchester when staff asked him to stop smoking
A father-of-four had to be tied up by cabin crew after biting a flight attendant when he was told to stop smoking on a plane. 
Mohammed Rashid, 57, was restrained after a mid-air rampage in front of his wife and family after being told to stub out his cigarette on the Manchester-bound flight.
After returning to his seat Rashid - who receives disability benefits - stumbled over a toddler before losing his temper and repeatedly swearing at airline staff as they tried to calm him down.
A violent struggle then ensued as the crew on board the Airbus 380 from Dubai to Manchester tried to bind Rashid's legs and arms together with cable ties.
One flight attendant was bitten in the thigh and the lower leg by jobless Rashid before he yelled: 'You f****** b****' at a stewardess.
A passenger who tried to help staff restrain Rashid was headbutted in the melee - causing his terrified daughter who witnessed the incident to hyperventilate in distress.
When the plane eventually landed in Manchester many of the 500 passengers cheered and applauded as Rashid was taken away to police cells. 
He later claimed he misbehaved because he had a heroin problem and had mislaid his medication.
At Manchester Magistrates' Court Rashid, from the city's Crumpsall district, admitted three charges of common assault on the day his trial was due to start.
He had initially denied wrongdoing, forcing three witnesses to travel 4,650 miles to the UK testify against him at a cost of several thousand pounds. 
The witnesses were sent home when they got to the court and realised they didn't have to give evidence.
The incident took place on August 31 last year when Rashid - who receives disability benefits - was returning to the UK after a family trip visiting relatives in his native Pakistan.
Nicola Durham, prosecuting said: 'The defendant came to the attention of cabin crew when the alarm on the toilet was activated by the defendant smoking. This caused a number of cabin crew to run up the aisle with fire extinguishers which caused a lot of concern for passengers.

'He was warned about smoking and was asked to return to his seat. He then began to walk up and down the aisle, almost stepping on a toddler in the process.

'The defendant is a regular user of Heroin and the cabin crew were advised to give the him two calming tablets which worked for a short time but then after about 45 minutes the defendant become agitated again.

'A further tablet was given to the defendant but after that wore off the defendant was being abusive towards the cabin crew and saying the word f**k.

'The cabin crew were left with no choice but to restrain the defendant using specialist equipment and bound his legs and arms together with cable ties and there was a struggle.

'In the struggle, a member of the cabin crew was bitten in the thigh and to the lower leg. 

'To another member of cabin crew, the defendant said: 'You f****** b****. A passenger on board the plane who then tried to restrain the defendant was head butted. 

'The passenger was supposed to be on holiday when he had to restrain this man and was caused physical harm in doing so.

'His daughter also began to hyperventilate as a result of the defendant's behaviour. 

'Passengers on board the flight were very distressed by all of this going on. The defendant was then arrested and taken off the flight when it landed in Manchester.

Rashid, pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court, admitted three counts of common assault and will be sentenced later
Rashid, pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court, admitted three counts of common assault and will be sentenced later

'There was a round of applause as the defendant was taken off the flight which shows how much distress he had caused.

Miss Durham added: 'Might I also add that three witnesses came all the way from Dubai to give evidence in this trial and the defendant only entered a guilty plea this morning on the day of trial. 

'The members of cabin staff had a duty to passengers when they were assaulted.'
In mitigation, defence lawyer Shakil Ahmed said: 'He is someone who has been on benefits due to personal disability for over 20 years. 

'He has been receiving help from from a number of agents to assist with his addiction to smoking heroin.

'The man has found himself using the drug as an escape mechanism but the effect this drug has had on him is that he has become a recluse and was staying away from anyone he could.

'The medication he had been taking to relieve his drug problem was lost in Pakistan which meant that he had got on the flight from Dubai he had been without any medication or drugs for over 10 hours and he was struggling.

'The way in which the cabin crew restrained him, coupled with the fact he was withdrawing from heroin meant that he became very distressed.

He had also been given four calming tablets which the defendant believes the side effects of these tablets contributed to his mood.

'He had been travelling with his wife and children and is very ashamed of what happened.'
Rashid will be sentenced later. 


Judge rules that 'Anglo Saxon' father's 10-year-old son must go to Muslim ex-wife's choice of ISLAMIC private school despite his fears that it is a 'school in a mosque'

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  • An unidentified man had sought to stop ex-wife sending boy to an Islamic school
  •  But High Court judge rejected father’s attempt to appeal a family court ruling
A father who described himself as an ‘Anglo Saxon’ has lost a High Court appeal to prevent his ten-year-old son from attending an Islamic school.
It led to a barrister warning that similar cases will be increasingly common in family courts.
The man, who says he follows no particular faith, said his Muslim ex-wife had chosen the private boys’ school because it was Islamic. He called the institution a ‘school inside a mosque’.
The marketing director, who cannot be named for legal reasons, added he was worried he would be ‘marginalised’ if his son attended the school. Instead, he wanted the boy to go to a secular school. 
A High Court judge rejected a father's attempt to appeal a family court ruling that means his son may attend an Islamic school
A High Court judge rejected a father's attempt to appeal a family court ruling that means his son may attend an Islamic school
However, a High Court judge yesterday rejected the father’s attempt to appeal a family court ruling.
Mr Justice Baker said the couple, who are both in their 40s, had divorced more than three years ago after a nine-year marriage.
The man had converted to Islam after marriage and his son had been brought up Muslim – but he had rejected the faith after the separation. Mr Justice Baker said the boy lived with his mother, who worked in planning, and spent time at his father’s home.
A family court judge had previously concluded that the boy would be disappointed if he could not go to the Islamic school. 

Barrister Zimran Samuel, who represented the father at the appeal, told Mr Justice Baker that the family court judge had been wrong and that the boy’s Muslim faith would be catered for at a secular school in London.

Mr Samuel said the man did not feel that he would be able to participate in the Islamic school.

The father's lawyer, Zimran Samuel (pictured) said: 'The mother and father have different world views'
The father's lawyer, Zimran Samuel (pictured) said: 'The mother and father have different world views'
‘The mother and father have different world views,’ he said. ‘He is an Anglo Saxon white man who has no particular faith.’

Mr Samuel added: ‘He describes it as a school inside a mosque. It’s not really a school within a mosque but that’s how he describes it.’

He said the man thought school should be a ‘neutral’ space for the boy, adding: ‘We have a father who in this modern day and age tries to tell (his son) that it is okay for parents to disagree.

‘He has absolutely made it very clear that he feels marginalised.’

Mr Justice Baker said the family court judge had reached a conclusion he was entitled to reach.

The judge heard that the boy had been offered a place at the Islamic school and was due to start in September.

Mr Samuel told Mr Justice Baker: ‘This sort of issue will crop up more and more before the courts.’

There are more than 150 dedicated Muslim schools in the UK and most of them are privately funded.

Controversy has surrounded some schools after the ‘Trojan horse’ scandal revealed a plot to impose an Islamist regime in a number of Birmingham schools.


London man JAILED for posting ISIS video on his FACEBOOK page

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A 31-YEAR-OLD MAN from London has been been jailed for two years after he posted an ISIS propaganda video to his Facebook page.

Hamid
METROPOLITAN POLICE
Abdul Hamid was jailed after posting an ISIS video on Facebook
Abdul Hamid, from Barking, was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday after he pleaded guilty to disseminating a terrorist publication.
Hamid, who moved to England as a child from Bangladesh, posted a four minute video on Facebook called ‘No Respite’, which included graphic images of US soldiers in distress and being killed, accompanied by a commentary praising ISIS.
The video was viewed 465 times, was shared 34 times and liked 20 times.
Detectives arrested Hamid on February 18 and seized numerous items for examination, including his mobile phones and laptops.
Digital forensic specialists then trawled through Hamid's internet history, deleting files and around 3,000 Facebook posts. 
Among his Facebook posts was a homemade video, featuring a picture of Hamid striking a salute associated with Daesh, overlaid with a song widely linked to the jihadis.
Choudary
GETTY
Hamid was a fan of hate preacher Anjem Choudary
While this video did not breach any laws, prosecution argued that it was an attempt by Hamid to emulate similar Daesh-produced videos, and was evidence of his support for them.
Hamid was subsequently charged on Wednesday, 11 May.
Commander Dean Haydon, of the Mets' Counter Terrorism Command, said: "One post like this has the power to influence many vulnerable people. My officers are working rigorously to ensure that those posting this kind of content online are put before the courts and the material is taken down."
In other posts on Hamid’s Facebook page, the extremist branded moderate Muslims “sell-outs” and demanded they be exterminated under Sharia Law.
isis
NC
Hamid was an open supporter of ISIS
He also blasted women and said: “Women, know you place and position."
He added: “No people will ever succeed who appoint a woman as their leader”.
He also shared photos of radical hate preacher Anjem Choudary with the caption, “Be like Anjem”

The jihadi sleeper agent we can't deport – or even identify – despite being branded 'the very model of a modern terrorist'

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  • The asylum seeker has been allowed to stay despite plotting attacks in the UK
  • He created a list of nightclubs and airports that could possibly be targeted 
  • He was due return to Jordan but Amber Rudd changed her mind after claims he'd be tortured 
  • Instead, he must simply re-apply every six months to prolong his stay 
An asylum seeker described as the ‘very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist’ has been allowed to stay in Britain despite being jailed for plotting attacks in this country.
The ‘sleeper agent’ jihadi – who The Mail on Sunday is banned from identifying – was about to be deported back to his native Jordan after his release from prison.
But Home Secretary Amber Rudd changed her mind after the man’s lawyers argued that he would be tortured. 
The ‘sleeper agent’ jihadi – who The Mail on Sunday is banned from identifying – was about to be deported back to his native Jordan after his release from prison
The ‘sleeper agent’ jihadi – who The Mail on Sunday is banned from identifying – was about to be deported back to his native Jordan after his release from prison
The man was convicted of amassing terrorist materials, including bomb-making manuals, on his computer. 
A jury heard that he created a list of targets such as nightclubs and airports, and was described by the trial judge as an ‘Al Qaeda sleeper agent’ waiting to launch an atrocity in the UK.
He was jailed for nine years at Manchester Crown Court but was released after only five years.
The Home Office then ordered that the terrorist be deported to Jordan. Earlier this year he appealed against his deportation at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), a secret court that only hears cases involving foreign terrorists and others who pose a threat to national security.
But as the married father began his appeal, Mrs Rudd wrote to his lawyers, revealing she will no longer deport him.
Daniel Furner, a lawyer at Birnberg Peirce, who was acting for the man, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The Home Secretary decided not to deport him to Jordan in July this year because she accepted he would face a serious risk of torture.’
The man has now been given ‘restricted leave to remain’, which means he has to apply every six months to have his stay extended.

ISIS' CHRISTMAS APPEAL: MUG A DRUNK AND SEND US THE CASH

A notorious British jihadi fighting in Syria has called on Islamic State supporters to mug drunken revellers and send the money to the terror group.
In a warped Christmas appeal, former Morrisons security guard Omar Hussain, 28, urged militants to steal money and mobile phones to fund global terrorism.
In a rambling message using the mobile phone app Kik, Hussain – dubbed the ‘Supermarket jihadi’ – says: ‘The time of year is coming again where getting ghaneemah [war booty] from the kuffar [non-believers] couldn’t b any easier. Christmas time the kuffar are loaded with money.
‘Wait around the corner from a pub at night… It only takes a few punches for a drunk kafir to fall unconscious. Take a few ikhwa [brothers] with u and u can rob him of all his things. From watches, jewellery, money, phone, jacket, etc.’
In a warped Christmas appeal, former Morrisons security guard Omar Hussain, 28, urged militants to steal money and mobile phones to fund global terrorism
In a warped Christmas appeal, former Morrisons security guard Omar Hussain, 28, urged militants to steal money and mobile phones to fund global terrorism
He says victims will not be able to call police because their mobile phones will have gone and they will also be too drunk to remember their assailant’s features.
Hussain, of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, had further exchanges on Kik with a Mail on Sunday reporter, who asked him if Raqqa – the terror group’s de facto capital in Syria – was under siege from Kurdish fighters, as reported in the world’s media.
Hussain said: ‘Lol [laugh out loud] raqqa is not under siege. Where did u get that from?’ He said he was ready to become a martyr if Raqqa was attacked. 
However, SIAC ruled he cannot have refugee status – which would allow him to stay in Britain for life – on the grounds that he is a convicted terrorist. SIAC imposed an anonymity order that prevents this newspaper from naming him and also identifying at least four aliases he has used to rent properties, open bank accounts, and even get a job. We cannot even reveal the codename he was given to anonymise him during the deportation case.
The SIAC judgment, made public last week, said the man had used so many aliases that his real identify was still uncertain. Robin Tam QC, representing the Home Office, told the hearing that the terrorist’s connections with other jihadis and his use of aliases made him ‘in many ways, the very model of a modern Al Qaeda terrorist’ – echoing the Major-General’s song in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates Of Penzance. The judgment said the man entered Britain in 2002 from Rotterdam, where he was sharing a flat with four other jihadis.
After he entered Britain with his wife in 2002, he gave immigration officials a false name and said he was from Iraq, producing a forged Iraqi birth certificate. He and his wife were allowed to stay in the UK and were placed in accommodation in the North of England.
He claimed up to £100,000 in benefits using his genuine passport, which he kept hidden from immigration officials. He also opened several bank accounts under different names and worked in higher education.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd changed her mind after the man’s lawyers argued that he would be tortured
Home Secretary Amber Rudd changed her mind after the man’s lawyers argued that he would be tortured
But in 2006, anti-terrorist police raided two properties that he and his family lived in, seizing two computers belonging to him that contained a vast library of terrorist material, including manuals to make car bombs. He had also been in contact with an Al Qaeda cell in Britain linked to Dhiren Barot, who was convicted of plotting to detonate a ‘dirty’ bomb – containing radioactive material – on the London Underground in 2007.
At the trial of the anonymous terrorist, the judge said: ‘Doubts remain as to who you really are and where you really come from. The only reasonable conclusion to be drawn… is that you were a sleeper for some sort of terrorist organisation.’
Last night, lawyers acting for the man refused to answer questions as to whether he is from Jordan. A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We don’t comment on individual cases.’

Foreign aid to most corrupt nations soars 30% in a year: £1.3bn is handed to 20 countries despite warnings it could be stolen or seized by terrorists

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  • Funding to the 20 countries has increased from £1billion since last year alone
  • 'Fantastically corrupt' Afghanistan's aid rose 50 percent to £300million
  • Worst offenders Somalia received more than £120million despite terror links
  • Theresa May has called to use the money to help solve UK's elderly care crisis
Aid payments to the most corrupt countries soared by almost 30 per cent last year, despite warnings much of the cash could be squandered, stolen or seized by terrorists.
Britain gave a total of £1.3billion to the 20 most corrupt nations in 2015 – up from just over £1billion the previous year – figures reveal.
Big winners included Afghanistan, where aid rose by more than 50 per cent to £300million, despite David Cameron describing the country this year as ‘fantastically corrupt’.
Somalia, identified as the worst offender, received more than £120million, despite a review concluding there was a ‘certain’ risk of aid money being diverted by terrorist groups linked to Al Qaeda and Islamic State.
Islamist Al-Shabaab fighters patrol on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, which has been identified as the worst offender for corruption but still received more than £120million in foreign aid
Islamist Al-Shabaab fighters patrol on the outskirts of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, which has been identified as the worst offender for corruption but still received more than £120million in foreign aid
The figures come as Theresa May faces calls to put vulnerable British people first by using part of the £12.2billion foreign aid budget to tackle the elderly care crisis instead.
The Department for International Development (DfID) claims the rise in cash to corrupt states reflects the drive to focus aid on the most ‘fragile’ nations. 
The respected campaign group Transparency International produces an annual table ranking countries by their level of corruption. 
All but one of the 20 most corrupt receive at least some British aid money, with several receiving tens of millions of pounds a year.
Iraq saw funding rise 44.3 per cent in a year to £55.4million, South Sudan’s rose by a quarter to £208million, and Myanmar received a 55.4 per cent increase to almost £114million.

Somalia is one of the biggest recipients despite being ranked the most corrupt. 

For years reports have warned aid is at risk of being ‘taxed’ by terror groups such as Al Shabab. 

This month it emerged an internal ‘risk register’ found a ‘certain’ risk of funds being diverted by extremists.

The huge rise in funding for Afghanistan is also likely to raise eyebrows given the country’s problem with corruption.

Earlier this year, Mr Cameron was caught on camera telling the Queen Afghanistan and Nigeria were ‘possibly the two most corrupt countries’. 

Aid to Nigeria also rose, by 11 per cent to £263million.

Pakistan, which has longstanding corruption problems, benefited from a 40.6 per cent increase in UK aid last year, receiving £374million.

Government sources last night said the latest figures were skewed by a big increase in aid to Syria. 

But the total handed to corrupt countries would have increased sharply even without this.
Tory MP Peter Bone, who is campaigning for the Government to scrap its aid target, described the scale of the increase as ‘shocking’. 

‘I think many people will be outraged to learn that we are sending more than £1billion a year to the world’s most corrupt countries and even more shocked to discover that the figure is going up,’ he said.

‘By showering these countries with money we are effectively propping up some of the most corrupt and unpleasant regimes … What is the point of sending ever more money to these countries if it is not reaching the people in need?’

John O’Connell of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: ‘DfID has a poor record of delivering value for money … [and] must work harder to make sure that this money does not end up in the wrong hands.’

Members of Somalia's Al Shabaab militant group parade during a demonstration to announce their integration with al Qaeda, in Elasha, south of the capital Mogadishu
Members of Somalia's Al Shabaab militant group parade during a demonstration to announce their integration with al Qaeda, in Elasha, south of the capital Mogadishu

Ministers have faced mounting controversy over the Government’s target to spend 0.7 per cent of Britain’s income on aid, regardless of need. 

David Cameron ordered DfID to spend half of the aid budget in so-called ‘fragile’ states, arguing it would help stem the causes of war, terrorism and mass immigration.

But the policy has come under fire again following the decision to allow town halls to hike council tax by up to 6 per cent to help pay for vital social care. 

Council bosses say they need an extra £1.3billion to fund the care sector, which faces an ageing population and budget cuts.

A DfID spokesman said it has ‘robust measures in place to protect taxpayers’ money’, 

adding: ‘We have a zero tolerance approach to corruption and support is channelled through trusted partners rather than local governments.



It makes my blood boil, the Muslim wives we doctors just can't help ... something HAS to change

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IT'S NOT CRUEL TO CUT IVF ON THE NHS 

The news this week that just 2 per cent of NHS areas are following treatment guidelines for infertile couples was branded ‘cruel and unethical, and a national disgrace’ by campaigners.

I’m sorry but I had the opposite reaction. 

Thank goodness for that, I thought.
IVF is one of the first things NHS chiefs cut back on when they need to save money, and I’m afraid that makes sense to me.

How, in all honesty, can we justify the State paying for the creation of life when so many children don’t live with their parents?

How can we justify paying for expensive treatments such as IVF — which, by the way, has really rather poor success rates — when it can’t afford to pay for so many other things: cataract operations, knee replacements or new cancer drugs.

There’s no doubt that being unable to conceive can be heartbreaking — and it must feel incredibly unfair if it happens to you.

But 30 years ago, the inability to have a child was something that couples had to come to terms with. Today, it is something that has to be fixed — at the taxpayer’s expense.

I know I risk bags of hate-mail for saying so, but having children is not a right, and the inability to have them is not a disease.
The young woman sat in front of me in my clinic, her husband beside her. She looked scared and confused. ‘She cries all the time,’ 

her husband said, somewhat impatiently.
‘How long have you been feeling like this,’ I asked, smiling at her. ‘It’s been at least six months,’ replied her husband.

In fact, every question I asked her, he answered for her. When I asked him to allow her to answer, he looked affronted. ‘She is my wife. I know the answers to your questions,’ he replied indignantly.

He was at least 15 years older than his wife, and he had brought her to this country to live with him about a year before, after they had married. They were both from Bangladesh and she could not speak a word of English.

I had tried to arrange an interpreter for our sessions, but the husband had insisted he would translate. Besides, he said, it was a small community and people talk: he couldn’t trust an interpreter.

Yet he never actually let her answer anything. It was impossible to ascertain what she really thought — or, crucially, what I could do to help.

When I suggested his wife was homesick because she never saw a single person apart from him and his family, he was deeply offended. ‘I am all she needs,’ he said.

This is far from unusual. Over the course of my career, I have seen this situation play out time and again. Wives are brought to this country from overseas and effectively kept prisoner in their own homes.

Forbidden to integrate or even to talk to outsiders, they are segregated and isolated, cut off from the wider country in which they live.

From my experience, this problem almost always seems to be a Muslim one. Indeed, a major report out this week by Dame Louise Casey highlighted how Muslim communities remain isolated even after its members have lived here for decades, because the men often marry foreign women who do not speak good English.

The report has been met with predictable complaints that it is divisive; even racist. Yet its author has simply voiced what many of us working in the NHS have known for years. And it makes my blood boil. 

This is undeniable misogyny on a wide scale. Yet where are the protests? Where is the opprobrium and anger from feminists?

The inertia that surrounds this scandal shames us all. Day in and day out, legions of marginalised and disenfranchised women have their freedoms restricted in our country, and no one says anything for fear of being branded ‘racist’. Doctors actually talk about this a lot in the NHS.

 Concerns are raised at meetings, and we shake our heads and ask what we should do.

DON'T SCOFF AT BREKKIE ON THE GO 

A third of us eat breakfast on the go, research has found, switching from the traditional bowl of cereal to easy-to-grab cereal bars or pieces of fruit.

Nutritionists, dietitians and public health types immediately started wagging their fingers, pointing out how many of these types of food are laden with sugar.

Well, I take a different view.

I’m not that bothered what people eat for breakfast, provided they eat something. Working in the field of eating disorders, I see a lot of problems associated with people not eating regularly — especially skipping breakfast.

The resultant low blood sugar levels that hit you later mean people often then gorge on processed and high-sugar junk foods in the afternoon or evening.

Plus, it’s too easy to kid yourself that it’s all right to pig out later because by not eating breakfast you missed an entire meal.

In an ideal world, everyone would have a leisurely breakfast, sitting down to a bowl of porridge or poached egg on toast — but life just isn’t like that.

So, better a hastily scoffed cereal bar in the car than nothing at all.
But there’s simply no political will to tackle the issue head-on. We know that we will get no backing from our managers, who are too nervous of being seen as culturally ‘insensitive’.

It’s often the interpreters employed by the NHS who are the boldest. They are able to read between the lines and will pick up on things that the rest of us would miss. They are an invaluable source of information and are often the harshest critics of what we see.

I’ve sat in many meetings where the interpreter has challenged the woman for not learning English — and then rebuked and challenged the husband for not allowing her to learn our language or even to leave the house.

I have found that women from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Somalia seem to be the most isolated.

A major report out this week highlighted how Muslim communities remain isolated even after its members have lived here for decades, because the men often marry foreign women who do not speak good English
A major report out this week highlighted how Muslim communities remain isolated even after its members have lived here for decades, because the men often marry foreign women who do not speak good English

Indeed, research shows that in some parts of the UK nearly half of all women from Bangladesh cannot speak English, compared to one in five men.

While just over 10 per cent of men from Pakistan cannot speak English, a third of women cannot. There’s clearly something profoundly wrong here.

One interpreter I’ve worked with commented that I will often be the only male outside of the family that the woman has spoken to for years.

Interpreters have also told me of their despair and frustration that they are so often sidelined after an initial session, and family members will be called in to do the job instead.

The difficulty is that if we push too hard — insisting on an independent translator — then the woman will not come back at all, and so any hope of help or intervention is lost.

We need to stop making excuses and say — loudly and clearly — that these outdated attitudes have no place in our country, whatever your race or religion.

Terminally ill children are being asked to create 'bucket lists,' per official NHS guidelines 
Terminally ill children are being asked to create 'bucket lists,' per official NHS guidelines 




Muslim presenter sparks uproar as she asks BBC Asian Network Twitter followers 'what is the right punishment for blasphemy?'

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  • Muslim activist Shazia Awan asked viewers to offer opinions on punishment
  • She asked: 'What is the right punishment for blasphemy? in online debate
  • Her assumption that it should be punished sparked outrage from viewers
  • One viewer wrote:  There should be no punishment. It's the 21st century'
  • The BBC has apologised and admitted the question was badly phrased 
The BBC's Asian Network has provoked uproar by asking its Twitter followers 'what is the right punishment for blasphemy?'
A video posted on its account shows Muslim activist Shazia Awan asking followers to get in touch and offer their opinions on how blasphemy should be dealt with.
Her assumption that blasphemy - which is still punishable by death in some Muslim countries - should also be punished in Britain shocked many viewers. 
Facebook helping Pakistan to crack down on Blasphemy
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The BBC's Asian Network has provoked uproar by asking its Twitter followers 'what is the right punishment for blasphemy?'
The BBC's Asian Network has provoked uproar by asking its Twitter followers 'what is the right punishment for blasphemy?'
Paul Joseph fumed: 'There should be no punishment for 'blasphemy'. It's the 21st century for f***s sake. BBC is CANCER.'
Incredulous Ali A. Rivaz asked: 'Is this a serious question?'
Another wrote: 'If today @BBC talking about punishments for #blasphemy in Britain with 6% of population #Muslim what's our future in 30 years?'
Linda sulher wrote: 'This is BRITAIN, folks. WOW. 'What is the Right Punishment For blasphemy?' asks Muslim-focused BBC Radio Network'. 

Maryam Namazie‏ added: 'Disgraceful that @bbcasiannetwork @ShaziaAwan would ask what 'punishment' should be for blasphemy. You know people get killed for it.'

And Safiya Alfaris wrote: 'There should be no punishment of blasphemy... instead punish those who scare children into believing they'll burn in hell.'

Asia Network's video came after Pakistan asked Facebook to help it crack down on 'blasphemous content' as Pakistanis 'badmouthed' Islam online.

Her assumption that blasphemy - which is still punishable by death in some Muslim countries - should also be punished in Britain shocked many viewers
Her assumption that blasphemy - which is still punishable by death in some Muslim countries - should also be punished in Britain shocked many viewers

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif earlier this week described blasphemy as an 'unpardonable offence'.

Since 1990, 62 people accused of blasphemy in Pakistan have been murdered before their trials ended. 

Facebook said it viewed government requests with care keeping in mind 'the goal of protecting the privacy and rights of our users.

'We disclose information about accounts solely in accordance with our terms of service and applicable law. 

Asia Network's video came after Pakistan asked Facebook to help it crack down on 'blasphemous content' as Pakistanis 'badmouthed' Islam online 
Asia Network's video came after Pakistan asked Facebook to help it crack down on 'blasphemous content' as Pakistanis 'badmouthed' Islam online 

'A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty or other formal request may be required for international requests, and we include these in our Government Requests Report.'

Blasphemy has not been illegal in England and Wales since 2008 when the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act abolished the common-law offences of blasphemy and blasphemous libel. 

The BBC today apologised, writing on Twitter: 'Apologies for poorly worded question from Asia Network yday. Q was in context of Pak asking FB to help we shd have made that clear.' 

'We never intend to imply Blasphemy should be punished. Provocative question that got it wrong.'

A BBC spokesman added: 'Asian Network's Big Debate asks difficult and provocative questions every day. 

This programme was an engaging discussion on the subject of blasphemy but we admit that the question could have been phrased better, as we have since made clear.'  

The BBC today apologised, writing on Twitter: 'Apologies for poorly worded question'
The BBC today apologised, writing on Twitter: 'Apologies for poorly worded question'


Husband, 29, who tried to flee to Syria to join ISIS was HELPED by his pregnant wife who gave him £1,000 in cash in his bid to become a jihadi

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  • Ijaz Khan, 29, planned to join his brother-in-law who had already fled to Syria
  • He admitted preparation for terrorism acts and was jailed for five years 
  • His wife Afsheen Khan, 28, had provided some money to help him travel abroad 
  • She admitted aiding and abetting the offence and was jailed for 35 months 
  • Afhseen gave birth to the couple's child in New Hall Prison in Wakefield 
Ijaz Khan, 29, had planned to join his brother-in-law who had already fled to the Middle East to fight with jihadis, a court heard.
Khan was arrested at Manchester Airport after police received a tip-off that he was preparing to fly to Athens and then on to Syria to fight alongside Islamic State troops.
Leeds Crown Court heard his wife Afsheen Khan, 28, had provided some money from joint funds in her account for him to buy the ticket and provided £1,000 in cash.
Ijaz Khan, of Bradford, West Yorks., admitted preparation for terrorism acts and was jailed for five years
Afhseen had a child in New Hall Prison. She admitted aiding and abetting and was jailed for 35 months.

Ijaz Khan, 29, and his wife Afsheen Khan, 28, were jailed at Leeds Crown Court
Her brother Rohan Malik had joined Islamic State aged 17 after flying out of Leeds Bradford Airport to Turkey - without telling his family.
The court the teenager remained in contact with his family as they tried to persuade him to return without success.
In December 2014 they heard the news that Rohan Malik, who was only 18, had been killed in a coalition airstrike in Syria.
But rather than joining his brother-in-law in the fight Ijaz Khan then decided 'to replace him on the battlefield'.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4327038/Husband-tried-join-ISIS-HELPED-pregnant-wife.html#ixzz4bi34IQMt

How can some people be so much foolish and stupid?

Anjem Choudary disciple 'fled to Syria to join ISIS with his wife and three children using £1,000 in housing benefits'

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  • Shahan Choudhury was accused of taking part in a murder when he was 18 
  • He was acquitted in 2007 but radicalised while on remand in Belmarsh Prison
  • His family followed him to Syria last year - paying for it with 'housing benefits'
  • A former prisoner warns Belmarsh has become 'like a jihadi training camp'
Shahan Choudhury, 30, vanished from his flat in London last year and has since used Twitter to urge other British Muslims to carry out terror attacks in the UK.
His family say he was 'brainwashed' after spending 18 months on remand in HMP Belmarsh for allegedly taking part in the stabbing of a 17-year-old. 
Shahan Choudhury allegedly took part in stabbing a 17-year-old to death over a £15 debt when he just was 18 

He has been joined in Syria by his wife and three children, including a baby.Shahan Choudhury allegedly took part in stabbing a 17-year-old to death over a £15 debt when he just was 18 
According to the Sunday Times the family's escape may have been funded by housing benefit payments.
Choudhury's wife Mehak is alleged to have traveled to Syria in early 2016, a few months after her husband.

The family's landlady discovered that Mehak had received a monthly housing benefit payment of £1,000 - which she'd failed to pass on as rent.

Shahan Choudhury first came to the police's attention when he was charged with being part of a gang who stabbed a 17-year-old hospital worker to death over an alleged £15 drug debt.

Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has been blamed for more than a dozen brainwashed radicals joining ISIS from the UK
Hate preacher Anjem Choudary has been blamed for more than a dozen brainwashed radicals joining ISIS from the UK

He was acquitted in 2007 but his family believe he was 'brainwashed' by Islamic extremists at HMP Belmarsh.

As soon as he was released he joined the banned al-Muhajiroun (ALM), the hate group led by Anjem Choudary which has called for the implementation of Sharia Law in the U.K.

A relative said: 'He was just like any other western kid when he went in but by the time he came out he was going on about religion and how the kuffar [non-believers] would all end up in hellfire.' 

Mehak was also radicalised halfway through her A-levels, according to her family.

Her father, Mohammed, said: 'I told police at the time that my daughter was becoming brainwashed and was involved with these people.

'But they told me there was no evidence of extremism and that, as an adult, she could do what she wanted.' 

HMP Belmarsh has become 'like a jihadi training camp' according to one former inmate.
He told the Evening Standard: 'The problem is that Belmarsh is also a holding prison and so young people are brainwashed and indoctrinated and then go out into the wider prison system and create wider Akhi networks.

'Governors, prison officers and imans all know about this.'

More than a dozen disciples of Anjem Choudary have managed to join ISIS - despite some of them being on the security service's radar.

Three other of Choudary's followers will challenge the anti-terrorism controls they have been placed under later this week at the High Court . 

Police scrambled as enraged Muslim mob gathers over Qur’ans found in dumpster

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The UK is not a Sharia state where copies of the Qur’an have to be treated with the utmost reverence, but the way things are going, as this story indicates, unless there are massive changes it will be soon.
“VIDEO: Police Scrambled to Bradford as Quran in Skip Sparks Hysteria and Violent Threats,” by Liam Deacon, Breitbart, March 17, 2017 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Police were scrambled to an area of Bradford Thursday night after an angry mob of local Muslims gathered because copies of Quran had been found in a skip.
A local bookshop, specialising in the “distribution of Islamic goods”, was closing down and had been clearing the last of its stock.
Videos of Islamic texts being disposed of spread rapidly online and further footage of angry crowds outside the store on Thursday evening have been viewed by tens of thousands of people.
The former owners of The Book Centre told The Telegraph & Argus that a “group of individuals” arrived at the store and began “harassing and bullying” the shop’s 80-year-old former owner, who was “not responsible for the filling of the skip”.
Local resident Adil Shaan, who forwarded photographs to the local press, said it was a “shameful act”. “The public went through the skip and took out any religious material,” he added.
“They’re both motherf*ckers haramis. The person who sold [the shop] and the person who bought it, they well and truly know what they have done is wrong kanjars need their heads kicking in,” wrote Sarfraz Aslam on Facebook.
“Lost for words! Boycott the shameful store!” added Nazia Hussain. “May Allah punish them severely…” said Amina Bibi.
Shahid Janjua, a local Muslim journalist, claimed it was a “deliberate attempt to unrest [the] Muslim community” on Twitter.
The property’s new owners – who are also Muslim – had given just a few weeks for the shop to be vacated, and third party workmen had been called in to clear the stock.
A spokesman for The Book Centre said: “While the Book Centre site is being cleared, no Islamic material of any sort was purposefully disposed of. A small workforce was instructed to clear two storerooms from which some material made its way into the skip.
“This is wrong, unacceptable and a genuine mistake. The skip will be looked at as a matter of urgency and any materials removed.”
The spokesman was insistent that people “not associated with the Book Centre” had been responsible for removing Qurans. “What has happened here is a case of genuine human error, we are really disappointed,” they said.
A spokesman for Baker Reign Solicitors, which represents the new owners, said: “The board of directors of our client are very conscious that the Holy Quran needs to be treated with the utmost respect particularly as they are practicing Muslims….

Son of hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza stars in jihadist propaganda video as he fights President Assad in Syria

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  • Sufiyan Mustafa, 22, has played an active role in fighting alongside rebel groups 
  • It's believed Mustafa, the son of Abu Hamza, was involved in the siege of Aleppo
  • He has now starred in a new propaganda video denouncing ISIS and Assad 
  • Mustafa is the sixth of eight children fathered by Egyptian-born Hamza, 58
Notorious hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza's sixth son has appeared in a new jihadist propaganda video.
Sufiyan Mustafa, 22, is fighting alongside rebel groups against in Syria after fleeing from Britain, it emerged last week.
Now the jihadist has starred in a propaganda video that denounces President Assad and criticises ISIS for giving Muslims a bad name.  
Notorious hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza's sixth son Sufiyan Mustafa (pictured in a previous video) has appeared in new jihadist propaganda
Notorious hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza's sixth son Sufiyan Mustafa (pictured in a previous video) has appeared in new jihadist propaganda
Sufiyan Mustafa, 22, is fighting alongside rebel groups against in Syria after fleeing from Britain, it emerged last week
Sufiyan Mustafa, 22, is fighting alongside rebel groups against in Syria after fleeing from Britain, it emerged last week
In the video, which is not online but has been seen by The Sun, he says: 'There is no solution to the Syrian situation while Assad is in power… if you want to help then shine a light on the atrocities carried out by Bashar Assad, the Russians and ISIS.'
'It is very unfair for the West to judge Muslims by the actions of Al Qaeda, ISIS or Hizbollah. If that is fair then all Muslims have the right to view all Christians as crusaders or Americans as Charles Manson.' 
He adds: 'I will continue to stand by the side of the Syrian people and fight for their causes that many loved ones have sacrificed their lives for.'
Mustafa's father, Hamza, rose to notoriety in the UK after becoming imam of the Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, in 1997
Mustafa's father, Hamza, rose to notoriety in the UK after becoming imam of the Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, in 1997
Since making the 22,000-mile journey to Syria, Mustafa has played an active role in fighting and was involved in the siege of Aleppo, intelligence insiders claim.
It is unclear which rebel group Mustafa is fighting for. 
Mustafa is the sixth of eight children fathered by Hamza, 58, an Egyptian-born hate preacher who is now serving a life sentence in a US prison for terror offences.
An intelligence insider told The Sunday People that Mustafa has no criminal record in the UK, but he 'has been part of military operations' in Syria.
The insider added: 'He has managed to stay a ghost since he set foot in Syria but it's thought he has been with rebels in the north.'
Experts believe that more than 800 Brits have flocked to Iraq and Syria to join 27,000 foreigners fighting for IS since violence broke out in 2011.
Mustafa's father, Hamza was jailed for life for terrorism offences during a trial in New York City in 2015, and has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement at a high security prison in Florence, Colorado.
Hamza was extradited to the US after the British government spent a decade trying to kick him out of the country.
He rose to notoriety in the UK after becoming imam of the Finsbury Park mosque, in north London, in 1997.
Hamza was jailed for life for terrorism offences during a trial in New York City in 2015
He has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement at a high security prison in Florence, Colorado
Hamza was jailed for life for terrorism offences during a trial in New York City in 2015, and has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement at a high security prison in Colorado
Sufiyan recites verses of Quran during a Ramadan event in 2012
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One year later, in 1998, he helped organise hostage-taking of 16 mostly British tourists in Yemen. Three Britons and an Australian killed in rescue mission.
In 2000, he set up a terrorist training camp back in the US, in Bly, Oregon, sending volunteers and money to Afghanistan to support al Qaeda and the Taliban.
He then firmly placed himself on the national radar in 2001 after speaking out in support of Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks.
His current jail is known as the 'Alcatraz of the Rockies', due to its reputation as being inescapable.

It houses the most dangerous inmates in the US prison system and is believed to the world's most secure prison.

Two of Hamza's sons, as well as a stepson, have also been jailed for various offenses, including a bomb plot and a robbery.

ABU HAMZA - THE EGYPTIAN ENGINEER WHO BECAME A PREACHER OF HATE

Abu Hamza al-Masri was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1958 as Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, the son of a naval officer and a primary school headmistress.

After initially studying civil engineering he entered the UK in 1979 on a student visa.
He was granted UK citizenship when he met and married his first wife, a British Muslim convert, in 1980. Hamza has previously said she was the one who got him interested in Islam and he converted after taking time off from his job as a nightclub bouncer in London's Soho. 

As he found his new religion and his job incompatible, he instead resumed his civil engineering studies at Brunel University and Brighton Polytechnic, gaining a degree.

He then divorced his first wife, the mother of his oldest son, Muhammed Kamel, who at the age of 17 was convicted of being part of a bomb plot in Yemen and imprisoned for three years in 1999.

He met and married his second wife in 1984 in a Muslim ceremony in London and had a further seven childen.

Heavily influenced by the Iranian revolution, he took an interest in Islam and politics, in particularly the occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union.

After meeting the founder of Afghan Mujahideen in 1987, he moved to Egypt and then to Afghanistan, and it was in the following years that he lost his hands and one eye.

Over the years, Hamza has given several different reasons for the loss of his hands and eye. These include a road project in Pakistan, an explosion during a de-mining project in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, fighting the jihad as a Pakistani Mujahideen, and working with Pakistani military in Lahore when an explosives experiment went wrong.

After spending time in Afghanistan and Bosnia in the early 90s, he returned to Britain and adopted a new name - Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Masri.

It was in London that Hamza began his rise to public notoriety as the Finsbury Park mosque imam, where he arrived in 1997.

One year later, in 1998, he helped organise hostage-taking of 16 mostly British tourists in Yemen. Three Britons and an Australian killed in rescue mission.

In 2000, he set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, sending volunteers and money to Afghanistan to support al Qaeda and the Taliban.

He firmly placed himself on the national radar in 2001 after speaking out in support of Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks.

His inflammatory speeches led to the Charity Commission suspending him from his position at Finsbury Park Mosque the following year.

In 2003, legal moves begin to get Hamza deported to Yemen, a move which he appealed.
In 2004 Hamza was arrested on a US extradition warrant over charges of conspiring to take hostages in Yemen, funding terrorism, and organising a terrorist training camp in Oregon. Charged with 15 offences under the Terrorism Act, temporarily staying US extradition.

In 2006, Hamza was jailed for seven years at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of 11 of 15 charges, but the courts still battle to have him extradited.

He was finally extradited in October 2012, and appeared in a U.S. court, indicted under the name Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, where he pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges.
In May 2014, Hamza was convicted of all 11 charges on terrorism offences at Manhattan's Federal Court.

Hamza was jailed for life for terrorism offences in 2015, and has been serving his sentence in solitary confinement at a high security prison in Florence, Colorado.




Muslim pharmacist showed beheading films to children

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Why not? Beheading Infidels is a divinely-sanctioned activity: “When you meet the unbelievers, strike necks…” (Qur’an 47:4) Why shouldn’t children join in the fun?
“Pharmacist ‘showed beheading films to children,’” Court News UK, March 17, 2017

A pharmacist accused of showing a beheading video to children faces trial in September. Zameer Ghumra, 37, is charged with distributing terrorist publications on 23 September 2015 under section two of the Terrorism Act 2006. 

The charge relates to Ghumra allegedly showing a video of a beheading to two young children. Ghumra appeared in the dock at the Old Bailey wearing a checked hooded sweatshirt and black skull cap.

 He spoke only to confirm his name during the brief hearing…

London attack: Leftists laugh at Tommy Robinson

'I want some f***ing blood': Friends of Westminster terrorist Khalid Masood describe his desire to murder and a string of vicious assaults before he was 'radicalised in prison'

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  • Lee Lawrence, 47, recalls Masood's lust for 'blood' and desire to murder 
  • The terrorist once held a knife to his throat after slashing pub landlord's face
  • Masood's history of violence was revealed following his attack in Westminster
  • Danny Smith was left with horrific injuries after attack in 2003 in Eastbourne
  • Masood sliced his nose in half and ripped through his tongue in savage assault 
Lee Lawrence, 47,  knew Masood by his birth name, Adrian Elms, and before he is believed to have converted to Islam in prison. He gave him his first job as a woodcutter in Northiam East Sussex. 
He said he remembers Masood's lust for 'blood' and recalls him having a desire to 'kill'. 
Terrorist Khalid Masood (pictured) dreamed of murdering someone and once held a knife to a friend's throat. 
Terrorist Khalid Masood (pictured) dreamed of murdering someone and once held a knife to a friend's throat. 
Masood's disturbing history of violence was revealed following his attack in Westminster on Wednesday. 
He killed three people - Londoner Leslie Rhodes, 75, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, and mother-of-two Aysha Frade, 43 - with a hired 4x4 before stabbing PC Keith Palmer to death during his assault on Parliament.
Mr Lawrence told the Sun that the terrorist once held a knife to his throat after slashing the face of pub landlord Piers Mott in 2000.
He said: 'He had the knife against my throat and he is going, "I want some blood, I want some f***ing blood, I want to kill someone".
This is Westminster IS-inspired jihadi Khalid Masood (circled in 1980) when he was a student at Huntleys Secondary School in Kent. The school is now closed and  a housing estate built on the land 
This is Westminster IS-inspired jihadi Khalid Masood (circled in 1980) when he was a student at Huntleys Secondary School in Kent. The school is now closed and a housing estate built on the land 
'After he calmed down he was saying, "What have I done? What am I doing? I am going for help. I just want blood or I want to kill someone".' 
Mott needed 20 stitches to a gaping wound in his cheek after the attack. 
Mr Lawrence added: 'His eyes had rolled and he was out of this world. Once outside the pub, he also began slashing Mr Mott's car seats.'
Masood was jailed for two years for the assault. 
Mr Lawrence, who still lives in Northiam, said he only saw Masood once after he got out of prison and converted to Islam.
While driving through the village Masood put his fingers to his throat and 'made a slashing gesture' at his former friend. 

'He loved scaring people. He got off on being the hard man,' added Mr Lawrence.   
A scaffolder also revealed how the Westminster terrorist plunged a kitchen knife into his face just three years after the attack on his local pub landlord.

Danny Smith, 35, was left with horrific facial injuries following the fight in Eastbourne in 2003.

The blade sliced his nose in half and ripped through his tongue. 

This photograph of Masood (circled), also konwn as Adrian Elms or Adrian Ajao, is from the Huntleys Secondary School for Boys football team in 1979 or 1980 when he was 15 or 16 years old
This photograph of Masood (circled), also konwn as Adrian Elms or Adrian Ajao, is from the Huntleys Secondary School for Boys football team in 1979 or 1980 when he was 15 or 16 years old

Recalling the horrific ordeal, the father-of-two told the Sun: 'I only knew him three days and he tried to kill me. 

'The knife went straight through my nose, my mouth and my tongue. I fell down and I'm trying to get up but he's trying to stab me in the back four times.' 

Mr Smith managed to escape and said that as he was running away he could hear Masood shouting: 'I'm going to f***ing kill you.'

Despite this assault and his history of violence, Masood was acquitted of attempted murder but it is believed he was sentenced to six months for possession of a knife

Revealed: This is extremist Khalid Masood, 52, who was known to MI5 for links to extremism but was born Adrian Elms in Kent on Christmas Day 1964 with a long list of convictions for violent crime
Revealed: He was known at Adrian Ajao while at school  in Tunbridge Wells - after several spells in prison he became radicalised (right after being gunned down outside Parliament on Wednesday)

He had a violent streak and between 1983 and 2003 racked up convictions for grievous bodily harm, possession of offensive weapons and public order offences.

When the case came to trial, Masood told Hove Crown Court he snapped because of racism in the village and claimed he had been ostracised because villagers had a 'view of black people'.

Neighbours said he was radicalised during that two-year jail sentence, and abandoned his old life after his release from prison, including his partner Jane Harvey and their two young daughters.

He had lived with Miss Harvey at her £700,000 home in Northiam, near Rye. 

Mourners have continued to lay floral tributes in Parliament Square to remember the victims of the heinous attack
Mourners have continued to lay floral tributes in Parliament Square to remember the victims of the heinous attack

Mark Ashdown, 52, a friend of Masood from Huntley School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells, said he noticed a change when he first came out of prison. 

He said: 'He was certainly not a Muslim when I knew him. He was Jack the lad. We grew up together, partying all night — drink, drugs, sex, the lot. We lived for weekend raves.'

After he moved to the village of Northiam, Mr Ashdown didn't see his friend as much.
He recalled him getting in a pub fight where he was 'slashed in the face'. 

Neighbours said Masood was radicalised during a two-year jail sentence
Neighbours said Masood was radicalised during a two-year jail sentence
After he was released from prison for the attack on the landlord friends say he told them he had 'become a Muslim in prison'.
Masood was then jailed again for possessing a knife.

After his second release from jail, he married Muslim Farzana Malik in 2004 after converting to Islam. 

She was granted a divorce after three months of marriage, the Daily Mirror reported. 

On her Facebook page 'Soul Searchers', she describes Islamic fanaticism as 'nonsensical', in a lengthy tirade which calls on her fellow Muslims to heed their true faith, concluding 'unless they do that, radicalism will continue to plague the world.'

Yesterday, Mrs Malik was being comforted by her family, including her second husband, at her home in Oldham.   

His next long term relationship was with Rohey Hydara, 39, with whom he shared a series of short-term homes in London and Luton.

Last night, the Met said Masood's partner Ms Hydara, 39, was released on bail pending further inquiries. She was arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. 

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Anger over NUS statement on Westminster terror outrage that fails to mention the murdered PC and instead focuses on Muslims 'who will be especially fearful of racism'

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  • The president of the National Union of Students released a statement on terror 
  • Malia Bouattia paid a small mention to the victims of the Westminster attacks 
  • But she used most of the letter to outline her political concerns in the aftermath 
  • She wrote: 'Be aware of the concerns of Muslim, migrant and racialised students'
The president of the National Union of Students has caused fury among many after laying out her concerns on Islamophobia in the UK without mentioning the policeman who was murdered in the Westminster attack, in a statement on Wednesday's bloodshed. 
In a press release on Friday Malia Bouattia, who was elected as the NUS leader in 2016, paid a brief tribute to the four victims of the terror raid at the beginning of the statement.
However she used the bulk of the letter to urge students to 'be aware of the concerns of Muslim, migrant and racialised students in the days and weeks ahead.' 
The president of the National Union of Students Malia Bouattia
The president of the National Union of Students Malia Bouattia
The 30-year-old wrote: 'I also want to extend our solidarity to the many Muslims and migrants who at this time will be especially fearful of racism and abuse. 
'We must stand firm against all attempts to stoke up Islamophobia or intolerance against migrants of any nationality, especially at a time of increased hate crime against many communities across society.' 
Colonel Richard Kemp, who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and Northern Ireland and now works as a writer and media commentator, said Ms Bouattia has an 'anti-British agenda.'
Col. Kemp told MailOnline: 'This statement could easily be a parody. Instead of any acknowledgement of the police officers who ended the jihadist rampage that otherwise could have killed or wounded more students, Malia Bouattia predictably uses this horrific event to attack the government's counter-terrorist strategy.
'The very strategy that seeks to prevent such atrocities. She prefers to pontificate about a non-existent 'islamophobic' response than to condemn the attack itself.
'Her statement almost seems to be trying to justify Khalid Masood's actions as a defence of her fantasies about racism and xenophobia. 
'All intelligent students who do not share her anti-British agenda should reject this self-serving and misleading statement.'
The Algerian-born graduate also used the statement to underline her political beliefs, stating that such incidents shouldn't encourage politicians to curb immigration numbers and that students must fight against any policy changes that could be forthcoming regarding migration.  
She wrote: 'We must also continue to oppose attempts to utilise such events to undermine civil liberties, extend surveillance policies such as Prevent, or to tighten border controls.'

Ms Bouattia concluded her statement, which was published on the NUS website, by urging readers to 'recommit ourselves to building a movement that stands firm against racism and xenophobia.'

Also included in the letter was an apparent step-by-step plan to inform students as to how they can show solidarity with Muslims in the UK and stand-up against racism. 

Pedestrians see to an injured person in the aftermath of the attack on Westminster Bridge
Pedestrians see to an injured person in the aftermath of the attack on Westminster Bridge
Pc Keith Palmer with his wife Michelle. He was murdered by Khalid Masood during the terror attack 
Pc Keith Palmer with his wife Michelle. He was murdered by Khalid Masood during the terror attack 

She encouraged students to attend vigils 'for unity against division' that are set to be held across the country in the coming days.

The Birmingham University graduated also asked for students to offer support to 'Muslim, migrant and racialised students in the days and weeks ahead' and wrote that 'if you see someone being subject to abuse, please stand with them and intervene if you feel safe to do so.'

Jihadist Khalid Masood mowed into pedestrians while driving a Hyundai 4x4 along Westminster Bridge before attacking Pc Keith Palmer, fatally stabbing him in the head, arm and side of his ribs in Wednesday's attack.   

Masood's raid claimed the lives of four people and injured fifty more, with 31 receiving hospital treatment.  

Ms Bouattia courted controversy in September 2016 when she refused to apologize for describing Birmingham University as 'something of a Zionist outpost' in an article she co-authored five years ago.

When challenged over the remarks on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she refused to apologise for them.

Ms Bouattia also defended 'safe space' and 'no-platform' policies in universities amid widespread concerns they are curtailing free speech.

Her election to head of the NUS was met with throngs of objection. The University of Lincoln, Newcastle University, Hull University and Loughborough University all disaffiliated with the body soon after the vote.

Despite malcontent among a section of students the likes of Nottingham, Oxford, Surrey, Exeter, Warwick, Cambridge and Durham universities voted to remain affiliated to the NUS after her election victory.      


The jihadis free to roam Britain:

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  • Estimated that 400 home-grown jihadis have returned after fighting in Syria
  • Out of the people who have come home, only 54 of them have been prosecuted 
  • Terrorism expert said the attack shows the damage a lone attacker can inflict 
The Government last night faced new demands to crack down on jihadis returning from Syria in the wake of the Westminster attack.
Although there is no suggestion that British-born Muslim convert Khalid Masood travelled to Syria to fight for Islamic State, thousands of home-grown jihadis have – and an estimated 400 have returned to UK.
With IS rapidly losing ground in Syria and Iraq, the number of British returnees is likely to swell further, raising the question of what should be done about them.
An estimated 400 jihadis have returned to the UK after travelling to Syria to fight for Islamic State. Pictured, extremist Abu Rayah was twice allowed to leave the UK for Europe
An estimated 400 jihadis have returned to the UK after travelling to Syria to fight for Islamic State. Pictured, extremist Abu Rayah was twice allowed to leave the UK for Europe
Of the 400 who have come back, figures released last year showed only 54 individuals had been prosecuted. A further 30 faced charges. 

A Mail on Sunday investigation discovered a number of returned jihadis roaming free on the streets of Britain.

One solution is wider use of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs), which involve electronic tagging and can include restrictions on movement, financial activity and communication. 


Currently, there are only seven in operation.

Terrorism expert Professor Anthony Glees said last week’s attack demonstrated all too clearly the scale of threat which a lone man can pose, let alone hundreds.

Prof Glees, director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘These people need to be taken seriously. 

While internment wouldn’t be acceptable, we need to use more TPIMs.’

Of the estimated 400 who have returned, only 54 individuals have been prosecuted and a further 30 face charges. Pictured left, Gianluca Tomaselli, 27, joined an IS sub-group but by 2016 was working as a car park attendant in east London
Pictured right, Maarg Kahsay was never charged for going to Syria
Of the estimated 400 who have returned, only 54 individuals have been prosecuted and a further 30 face charges. Pictured left, Gianluca Tomaselli, 27, joined an IS sub-group but by 2016 was working as a car park attendant in east London. Pictured right, Maarg Kahsay was never charged for going to Syria

Among the cases, The Mail on Sunday has highlighted:

  • Maarg Kahsay, from North London, spent months in Syria in 2014, after having fled a rape trial while on bail. He returned and was acquitted of the rape charge, but has never been charged with going to Syria. His name was on IS files obtained by the MoS.

  • Gianluca Tomaselli, 27, joined an IS sub-group called Rayat Al Tawhid, led by British jihadis in Syria. He fled there in 2013, and returned two years later. By 2016, he wasfound to be working as a car park attendant at Whipps Cross Hospital in East London.

  • Waheed Ahmed, 22, a Labour councillor’s son, was arrested with nine family members in Turkey, heading for Syria. The family returned and no one was charged.


  • Abu Rayah, 35, from East London, led a poppy burning stunt during an Armistice Day event in 2010. He was known to MI5 as an extremist, but went to Syria to fight alongside IS.

  •  After he returned from Syria, he was allowed to leave the UK twice and go to Europe.

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