New campaign by police to encourage public to be aware of terror threat
Leaflets handed out at stations telling passengers what to do in attack
Police say the campaign is the result of an increased threat from fanatics
They say information from passengers has prevented previous plots
Security services say they've foiled 'marauding gun attacks' in recent years
But some commuters have criticised the leaflets as 'scaremongering'
A new anti-terror bill is be unveiled today in a bid to stop radicalisation
Police are taking to railway stations to tell passengers what to do in the event of a Mumbai-style terrorist attack at one of Britain's busy terminals.
After government warnings that the threat to Britain from Islamist fanatics is 'greater than ever', officers handed out leaflets telling the public to 'run, hide and tell' if they are caught up in an attack.
The flyer, which has been attacked as 'scaremongering' by critics, shows images of worried-looking people running down flights of stairs, cowering in the dark and anxiously talking on their mobile phones.
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Police have been handing out leaflets telling people to 'run, hide and tell' if they are caught up in a Mumbai-style terrorist attack in Britain
The campaign comes as a sweeping package of measures to tackle the threat from home-grown extremists and those returning from fighting with ISIS is set to go before Parliament.
Launching the campaign, Chief Constable of British Transport Police (BTP) Paul Crowther said: 'More than six million people travel on our railways every single day.
'For commuters, who make the same journey over and over again, it can be easy to become oblivious to their surroundings.
'But I would urge them to remain alert, use their instinct and have the confidence to report anything that strikes them as out-of-place or suspicious.
A Somalian man sexually assaulted a young boy in the toilets of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre in Northampton less than two weeks after he had been released from an immigration removal centre.
Abdigani Diirshe, aged 40, of no fixed abode, appeared at Northampton Magistrates’ Court last Friday after he touched the boy, who was wearing a school uniform, while he was standing at the urinal.
The court heard that Diirshe deliberately stood next to the boy when he entered the toilets in the shopping centre on Tuesday evening.
Matthew Thomas, prosecuting, said, as the boy was urinating, Diirshe sexually assaulted him.
Mr Thomas said: “The young boy was shocked and froze, not knowing what to do. A security guard challenged the man but was unable to detain him.”
The court heard Diirshe was arrested the next day after he was spotted in the shopping centre again.
John Weaver, defending, said his client had no fixed address as he had only just been released from an immigration detention centre.
He said: ”He has only been in the community a couple of weeks but has submitted a claim for benefits and is making active steps to get permanent accommodation.”
Magistrates declined jurisdiction in the case and it was sent to Northampton Crown Court in January. Diirshe was remanded in custody.
It was not stated in court why Diirshe had been released from The Verne immigration removal centre and Home Office spokesperson said it “does not comment on individual cases.”
However, the spokesman said detention was only used where there is a realistic possibility of removal and this can be delayed for a number of reasons including legal challenges.
New powers in the recent Immigration Act have cut the number of grounds on which criminals can appeal deportation, in a bid to speed up removals so that more are deported before the end of their sentences.
Last year, the Government removed more than 5,000 foreign criminals, the highest number since 2010/11.
Customer ordered a chicken kebab and it turned up with a drill bit on top
He bit into the takeaway from Pizza Top/Top Kebab in Hornchurch, Essex
Environmental Health searched takeaway and found it littered with tools, electrical equipment and decorating materials where food was stored
Nehmatullah Jamalzadah was fined £7,500 for breaking food safety act
A takeaway owner has been fined £7,500 after he served up a chicken kebab special with a three-inch drill bit on top.
Nehmatullah Jamalzadah was ordered to pay after a customer bit into the metal after he ordered the takeaway from Pizza Top/Top Kebab in Hornchurch in Essex.
The customer alerted environmental health who searched the takeaway and found electrical equipment, screwdrivers, decorating materials and other kit had not been cleared away following repair work, strewn across the restaurant.
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A takeaway owner has been fined after a drill bit measuring three inches long was on a customer's kebab
Screws and other drill bits were found in a drawer near to clean containers used for food orders, Romford Magistrates' Court heard.
Jamalzadah, of Hornchurch, was fined £6,000 and told to pay£1,556 costs for breaking section 14 of the food safety act 1990 - selling food not of the nature, substance or quality demanded.
He was also told to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £50 compensation to the customer by Romford magistrates.
The customer had made the order through the Just Eat website, which linked him to the Pizza Top/Top Kebab website.
Coun Osman Dervish, Havering Council's cabinet member for regulatory services, said after the case: 'While on this occasion the customer did not come to any harm, this is a very serious breach of the law, which we will not tolerate.
'We take food safety seriously and will take action when necessary.
'The owner of this takeaway had a responsibility to keep customers safe while the building work was carried out and this was clearly ignored.'
Would this teenager have been arrested for burning the Bible? Of course not. But the Cameron government is desperate to appease Islamic supremacists — apparently even to the point of adopting Sharia laws governing the treatment of the koran. I am not in favor of burning any book, but I am also in favor of the freedom of expression, which is an absolutely non-negotiable feature of any free society — and one that the British are throwing away with both hands. Britain is not only dying; it is stupid. It is not only rapidly descending into Sharia, chaos, and civil war (the latter two because a small number of people there, after being hounded and smeared by their own governing authorities for opposing Islamization, will ultimately stand resisting it), but it is making itself ridiculous as it does so. It is embarrassing to watch Britain today, in the same way as it would be embarrassing to watch a senile old man attempt to sing and dance while under the delusion that he was still young, handsome and vigorous. It is impossible to respect modern Britain.
“19-year-old released on bail after alleged Koran-burning video,” Yorkshire Standard,
A 19-year-old from Leeds, West Yorkshire, who was arrested in connection with an offensive video he posted on a social media website has been released on bail.
A video, which was shared to the Yorkshire Standard, showed a man ripping apart an English translation of the Koran with his teeth and putting it in the toilet before burning it.
The police arrested the suspect on 27 December after people raised concerns for the safety of the person who had posted the video up following a number of public comments made in response to it.
People also called the police complaining about the offensive nature of the video.
The suspect was arrested from an address in Beeston, Leeds, on suspicion of a racially or religiously aggravated public order offence.
Superintendent Mabs Hussain, of Leeds District Police, said: “Due to the nature of this offence, any decision to charge must be taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions. We are currently preparing an advice file which we will be submitting to the Crown Prosecution Service in due course. In the meantime the arrested man has been released on bail to an alternative location.
“We are aware of strong feelings expressed by a number of people in response to this video. We would again urge people to allow this investigation to run its course and remind members of the public that we will take robust action against anyone who acts outside of the law.”
The Yorkshire Standard was notified by various members of the public about the video.
The site also received links to the video and it had been shared at least over 1,000 times and had over 100 comments – some included death threats.
It was removed from the account a day after the arrest.
The police were contacted by the Yorkshire Standard for a clarification on whether the man did rip the Koran, put it in a toilet and burn it. The police refused to confirm or go into detail. The video was deemed as an offensive video.
And so the appalling absurdity that is contemporary Britain continues. A Muslim woman from London goes to Syria to join the Islamic State. Upon her return, she is arrested “on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism” — preparing for those acts, mind you, in an entity that calls itself “the Islamic State.” Yet the British government, as it gallops toward national ruin, insists that this entity has nothing to do with Islam, and thus does nothing — nothing! — to cut off recruitment for this entity among Muslims in Britain. And so as Britain inches inexorably closer to chaos and blood in the streets, its intelligentsia and governing authorities congratulate themselves on not being “racist.” It could be their epitaph: they were conquered, they were subjugated, they were mass murdered, in an utterly preventable case of national suicide, but they were never, ever “racist.”
“Anti-Terror Police Arrest Woman at UK Airport,” Sky News, December 31, 2014:
A 25-year-old woman has been arrested at Luton Airport on suspicion of Syria-related terror offences.
Detectives from the West Midlands counter-terrorism unit detained the suspect as she got off a flight from Istanbul in Turkey.
The woman, from Haringey in north London, was arrested at around 11.30am as part of a continuing intelligence-led policing operation.
She is being held at a police station in the West Midlands on suspicion of preparing for acts of terrorism.
The terror threat level in the UK was raised from substantial to severe earlier this year.
It came amid increasing concerns over hundreds of aspiring British jihadists travelling to Iraq and Syria to learn terrorist “tradecraft”….
Saudia will order staff to keep men and women seated apart on its aeroplanes unless they are close relatives, according to the news website Emirates247
Wikipedia
The national airline of Saudi Arabia which flies from Manchester could be set to segregate sexes on board its flights amid claims men have lodged complaints about male strangers sitting next to their wives.
Saudia will order staff to keep men and women seated apart on its aeroplanes unless they are close relatives, according to the news website Emirates247.
Speaking to the Saudi daily, Ajel, assistant manager for marketing Abdul Rahman Al Fahd, said: “There are solutions to this problem, we will soon enforce rules that will satisfy all passengers.”
The airline carrier already complies with strict Islam practices including not serving alcohol or pork products, providing a men’s prayer area on most international flights and not employing Saudi women as cabin crew.
But the airline does employ women of other nationalities.
Many Saudi women require approval from a male guardian before they can travel or work outside the home
The vast majority of Gulf operated airlines abide by Islamic laws but vary in their strictness.
Saudia Airlines restarted flights from Manchester Airport with a direct route to Jeddah in March.
The airline operates flights three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday from March.
The service has benefited the region’s large Muslim population, especially when travelling to perform the religious pilgrimages of Hajj and Umrah.
Selina Hinckson abandoned her family, home and job to marry Nizar Ben Mabrouk and convert to Islam - but he abandoned her when he couldn't get a UK visa
A British mum who abandoned her children to marry an Arab toyboy she met online has told how she was stranded penniless in Tunisia for two years after he dumped her.
Selina Hinkson, 48, left her London home to join 20-year-old shop worker Nizar Ben Mabrouk and converted to the Muslim faith after they struck up a relationship on Facebook.
The pair planned to leave Tunisia and return to the UK when Nizar passed a UK citizenship test.
But he failed his English language exam weeks after their marriage – and ruthlessly abandoned Selina during the chaotic days of the Arab Spring.
With no money to pay for a flight home and ties with her British family broken, the mother-of-two says she lived rough and survived by begging.
Selina was eventually deported and now lives in a homeless shelter in London, her life in ruins.
She said: “My story serves as a cautionary tale to other women who may be in a foreign age-gap relationship.
“It’s easy to get swept away in the moment. These men are so good at wooing youand making you feel like the only woman on earth.
“In reality, they’re using you as a meal ticket to get to the UK.
“As the old saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
“My kids were too young at the time to understand why their mum wasn’t there for them. Guilt and a sense of loss eat me up every day.”
Duped: Selina Kinckson left her family, home and job to marry Nizar Ben Mabrouk
Selina first made contact with Nizar via Facebook in 2010.
She was 44, more than twice his age, and had two children, Natasha, then 12 , and Tyrone, then 13.
Selina recalled: “At first I just thought it was a bit of fun. The messages were cute and endearing, not pushy or sleazy. His English wasn’t very good so we’d just chat about what we were up to.
“I’d tell him about my job as an NHS nurse and what the kids had been doing. He would tell me about his two jobs, running a boutique fashion store and an internet café.”
Selina had been divorced three times after marriages to British men failed – most recently in 2009. Now she was hopeful that Nizar was the real thing.
Her sister Wendy, 47, warned her about him and questioned his intentions. But Selina insists that she saw no signs he was using her.
She said: “He never asked for a penny from me. He started to send gifts, like flowers and sometimes clothes from his shop. I never suspected anything.”
As Selina’s feelings for Nizar grew, they began chatting regularly by phone and he revealed he would like to marry a British woman.
“He would propose nearly every time we spoke on the phone,” she said.
“I was flattered, because he was gorgeous. But I would laugh it off – I had a job, kids and a life in the UK. How would we make it work?”
But in September 2010, Nizar invited Selina and her children to visit him in his home town of Douz, Tunisia, and paid for their accommodation.
She was on sick leave due to stress from her job as a Health Care Assistant at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London, and decided it was time to put a face to Nizar’s name.
Selina recalled: “That trip was amazing. I felt so attached to him, like I’d known him all my life. It didn’t matter that he was so young, he was sexy, passionate and caring.”
Bride: Selina in a headscarf after converting to Islam to become Mizar's wife
Selina agreed to be Nizar’s wife and to convert to Islam. In December 2010, she left the children in the care of her sister in Birmingham and returned to Tunisia.
She and Nizar married in a Muslim ceremony on Christmas Eve 2010.
But Selina said their plan to return to Britain failed within a month, when it turned out her new husband did not have the levels of English needed to secure a UK visa.
After that, his attitude changed. She recalled: “It was a blow. His English wasn’t great but I had assumed he would pass the test.
“When he didn’t, his mood quickly turned ugly. Suddenly he was short-tempered and aggressive – not the charming guy I’d fallen for. He started talking about joining the army.
“I kept telling him we were married and he couldn’t just abandon me but he wasn’t interested.”
That week, violent protests started to break out in Tunisia as people revolted against the government in the Arab Spring of 2011.
“When the revolution started Nizar went off and joined the army,” Selina continued. “I cried and begged him to stay but he wouldn’t.”
The chaotic situation in the North African country knocked out public transport, leaving Selina unable to make the ten-hour drive to the capital Tunis for a pre-booked flight home.
She had left her credit cards at home and suddenly found herself penniless. Selina said: “I was desperate to speak to my sister and kids but I had no phone and no money for a new one.
“I couldn’t contact my employers to explain and I had no savings.”
With Nizar gone, she became homeless. Frightened and alone, she slept rough on a beach for weeks.
Then in early March 2011 she hitched a ride to Tunis and contacted British Embassy officials.
They told Selina her marriage was legitimate and she had a valid residence permit. It meant she could not be treated as a stranded visitor and was advised to wait two years for the visa to expire, when she could be deported.
Selina said: “I didn’t speak Arabic or French, the local languages, so I couldn’t get a lawyer or even find a job to get by. I didn’t have any possessions.”
After a visa: Nizar's facebook page
Having grown up in care, Selina’s only adult family connection in the UK was her sister. She hitched a ride to the southern city of Gabes, where she managed to borrow a phone to call her sister, begging for £200 to buy an air ticket home.
But her sister was unemployed and could not afford to lend her the money. Selina said: “I also called an ex-husband but he also refused to help me.”
In the months that followed, she said she slept rough on the streets.
She would drink from a well, where other poor women also gathered, and slept in a small alcove she found.
Occasionally, she would be allowed to use the toilet in coffee shops.
She claimed that by day she resorted to begging on the steps of a mosque.
Selina explained: “There were two types of poor women in Gabes – prostitutes and beggars. I refused to sell my body, so I sat begging.
"I’d make roughly a pound a day. This would buy me a bread roll and some triangles of cheese.”
In March 2013, Selina’s visa expired, making it illegal for her to stay in Tunisia. She turned herself in to the authorities and was deported the same week.
Selina returned to London with no money, no home, no job and no possessions. Her son had been convicted of burglary and put in a youth detention centre. Her daughter has chosen to continue living with her sister. Selina sees them just once a month.
She said: “I had a decent job and a house in Chelsea. I threw it all away for a man masquerading as my true love.
“I thought Nizar was my soulmate but he would have said anything to get his hands on a visa.
“The second he realised I couldn’t get him one, he couldn’t have cared less. It’s hard accepting that you’ve been used.”
A MINICAB driver has been jailed for sexually molesting a teenage girl passenger after asking her why she was out on her own.
Nazar Abbas, 34, drove his private hire car so slowly that the 17-year-old was forced to take the wheel herself in a bid to get home sooner, a court heard.
Abbas, a married father, of Whetley Grove, Girlington, Bradford, was convicted by Bradford and Keighley magistrates in November of sexually assaulting his victim after 3.30am on June 15.
Yesterday, he was imprisoned for 26 weeks and ordered to sign on the sex offenders' register for seven years.
Abbas, who is employed at a bakery, was working part-time for DCW Private Hire at Cullingworth, prosecutor Suzanne Paige said.
He picked up the teenager at 3.20am after she had been out with friends in Halifax town centre.
She sat in the back of the cab while Abbas asked her personal questions, including why she had been out on her own.
Miss Paige said the teenager felt uncomfortable and pretended to Abbas that she had a boyfriend.
When the cab slowed right down in an area she did not recognise, she asked him to speed up, saying she could drive the car faster.
Abbas stopped the vehicle and made her drive, putting his hand on her knee as he told her which pedals to use.
The teenager then swapped over to the front passenger seat and Abbas drove on with his hand on her leg, moving it up to her groin area.He stroked her thigh and asked how old she was, magistrates heard.
Her father called her phone and Abbas sent back an automated reply, saying: "Sorry I am busy. Call back."
When the cab had almost reached her home, in the Bingleyarea, the girl got out and told her parents what had happened.
The police were alerted and Abbas denied any wrongdoing.
He said the teenager fell asleep and he touched her on the leg in a non sexual way to wake her.
Abbas's solicitor advocate, Alias Yousaf, handed in letters and references on behalf of his client.
He said Abbas had been in the UK for 13 years and had no previous convictions.
He was the sole breadwinner in his family.
Abbas still maintained his innocence and was appealing his conviction at Bradford Crown Court, Mr Yousaf said.
Jailing him, chairman of the Bench, Glen Armstead, told Abbas: "It was a very unpleasant assault on a young 17-year-old victim who was in drink at the time and therefore very vulnerable."
CABBIES in the Bradford district could face a tougher English language test under new rules being put forward to raise standards in the trade.
New drivers will be expected to be able to chat about things like the weather or the local area before they are given a licence, if Bradford Council's proposals are approved.
There would also be new measures to clamp down on drivers exploiting a legal loophole so they can avoid Bradford's spot safety checks.
But it would be cheaper and easier to put adverts on cabs, and a host of other licensing fees would be cut.
The measures, which look set to be approved at a meeting next week, have had a mixed reception from the district's cabbies, with some saying the rules are too onerous on private hire firms, and others saying they don't go far enough.
In the current English language test, would-be cabbies are asked to read a paragraph from a book and write a receipt for a theoretical journey.
But the new rules would see this replaced with a conversation test for all new drivers.
A Council report says possible questions could include: 'What do you think of the weather recently?', 'Where did you take your last customer?' or 'How do you get from A to B?'.
The authority is also planning to lower many of its fees, noting that the taxi and private hire licensing service made a £30,000 surplus in 2013/14.It says: "The answers are not the focus, the focus is to ensure the applicant understands English and has contributed to a communication in English at a basic level."
Another proposal is an attempt to tighten up a legal loophole that allows drivers to get licenses from other councils, meaning they aren't subject to stringent Bradford Council checks.
In November, the T&A highlighted the problem of dozens of drivers holding these out-of-district licenses, with many of them coming from Rossendale in rural Lancashire.
The practice is entirely legal - hackney carriages licensed for one area can lawfully operate as private hire cars anywhere else.
But it means Bradford's licensing enforcement officers, who carry out spot safety checks on cabs, have no jurisdiction over these drivers.
Licensing officers also believe many of these drivers are not declaring to their insurance provider that they work in Bradford, to avoid paying the city's high insurance premiums.
Now private hire firms taking on drivers with out-of-district plates will be expected to check they are up-to-date on all their safety tests, and properly insured to ply their trade in Bradford.
Khurram Shehzad, chairman of the Bradford Private Hire Liaison Service, said this placed too much responsibility on private hire operators, and not enough on drivers.
But he welcomed the idea of a tougher English test.
He said: "It is in the interests of the public, because some drivers may know how to drive but when they have a customer in the car they can't have a conversation.
"The public do ask for certain drivers. They say, 'We want a driver that can speak English'. You do get requests like that."
Shabir Munir, committee member on the Hackney Carriage Owners' and Drivers' Association, welcomed efforts to clamp down on drivers getting licenses from elsewhere.
But he said the difficulty level of the English test would have to be set very carefully.
He said: "It's a very fine line. If they make it too hard, then people will go to Rossendale and get licenses from there, and if they make it too easy, they lose customer service."
Stuart Hastings, chairman of the Keighley Private Hire Association, said: "It's not enough. What they are doing there is nothing."
Mr Hastings called for a much wider tightening of the rules, such as a higher minimum age for drivers and a lower maximum age for cars.
He said he would also like to see the Council employ more enforcement officers rather than lower their fees.
He said: "We are licensed by the Council to be public service vehicles, like buses or trains. They should actually look at us more, because there are a lot of times where we are one-to-one with a customer."
The proposals will go before councillors on Bradford Council's regulatory and appeals committee on Thursday, where they are recommended for approval.
The threat of a terror attack in the UK is increasing and the security services cannot be expected to stop every plot, the head of MI5 has warned.
Speaking after the attack on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, Andrew Parker said police and MI5 had "stopped three UK terrorist plots" in recent months.
He said the number of Britons who have travelled to Syria was now around 600.
It comes as security has been increased on the France/UK border following the Paris attack, which left 12 dead.
UK border staff had "intensified checks on passengers, on vehicles and goods coming from France" following the killings in France, Home Secretary Theresa May announced.
The move was a "precautionary" measure and was not as a result of any specific intelligence, she added.
Meanwhile, a huge manhunt for the two suspected gunmen in Wednesday's deadly attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine has entered its third day.
French police are concentrating their search in a rural area of Picardy north-east of Paris where the two men reportedly robbed a petrol station.
His warning follows recent attacks in Belgium, Canada, Australia, as well as Wednesday's attack in Paris
Mr Parker, who was named director general of MI5 in March 2013, warned the UK was facing "more complex and ambitious plots" by extremists.
The shootings in Paris were "a terrible reminder of the intentions of those who wish us harm," he said.
My sharpest concern as director general of MI5 is the growing gap between the increasingly challenging threat and the decreasing availability of capabilities to address it”
Andrew ParkerDirector general of MI5
It comes after a number of anti-terrorism operations in the UK in recent months, including three foiled plots in the last three months.
"Deaths would certainly have resulted otherwise," Mr Parker added.
"But we cannot be complacent. Although we and our partners try our utmost we know that we cannot hope to stop everything."
Speaking at MI5's headquarters, Mr Parker said the security services knew a group of al-Qaeda extremists in Syria planned "mass casualty attacks against the West".
But he said the number of "crude but potentially deadly plots" MI5 was facing had also increased.
Last month, a gunman took hostages in a Sydney cafe, resulting in two of them being killed. The gunman, Man Haron Monis, was himself killed as security forces moved in after a 16-hour siege.
That followed the fatal shooting of a soldier at Ottawa's war memorial before the gunman was shot dead in the nearby Canadian parliament, in October.
"Such attacks are inherently harder for intelligence agencies to detect," Mr Parker said.
"They are often the work of volatile individuals, motivated by terrorist propaganda rather than working as part of sophisticated networks. They often act spontaneously or after very short periods of prior planning."
Analysis
Gordon Corera, BBC security correspondent
The threat is growing, MI5 is stretched, some of its capabilities are at risk.
All of that means something is likely to happen. That was the bleak message from Andrew Parker.
It was notable that he said the threat comes not just from the self-starters, inspired by the group calling itself Islamic State, but also from groups linked to al-Qaeda still planning mass casualty attacks, including one cell in Syria.
This speech may have been planned before Paris, but events there will add to its impact on a public being told that something similar may well happen here.
'Message of hate'
A "significant proportion" of the 600 Britons now believed to have travelled to Syria have joined Islamic State (IS) militants, he added.
The government had previously estimated that 500 had travelled to fight in Syria.
Despite its "medieval tactics", IS was a "terrorist phenomenon of the modern age", he said, making "full use of the modern social media and communications methods through which many of us now live our lives".
And he warned that changes in technology were making it increasingly harder for security services to intercept communications between extremist groups.
"Wherever we lose visibility of what they are saying to each other, so our ability to understand and mitigate the threat that they pose is reduced," he said.
Mr Parker said the UK faces a "very serious" and "complex" threat of terrorism
He went on to defend the interception of communications by the security services.
It follows criticism of GCHQ and the US National Security Agency after leaks by ex-US security contractor Edward Snowden.
Mr Parker said "almost all" of MI5's key counter-terrorism operations had involved the practice.
He went on to warn against a situation where privacy in the UK was "so absolute and sacrosanct that terrorists and others who mean us harm can confidently operate from behind those walls without fear of detection".
"My sharpest concern as director general of MI5 is the growing gap between the increasingly challenging threat and the decreasing availability of capabilities to address it," he added.
Mizanur Rahman defended murders of 12 people at Charlie Hebdo offices
Hate cleric said: ‘Insulting Islam…they can’t expect a different result'
Rahman also praised Al Qaeda and said ‘Britain is the enemy of Islam’
Experts have warned the sermon could incite further terror killings
He is currently on bail after he was arrested on suspicion of terror offences last year
A British hate preacher backed the Paris massacres just hours after the bloody events unfolded and told his followers ‘Britain is the enemy of Islam’.
Cleric Mizanur Rahman, of Palmers Green, north London, defended the brutal murder of 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo offices, saying ‘insulting Islam…they can’t expect a different result.’
Experts have warned the sermon, which backed the jihadists who killed 17 people over three days in the French capital, could incite further killings.
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Mizanur Rahman defended the Charlie Hebdo massacre and said ‘insulting Islam…they can’t expect a different result'
Speaking to an audience in London which was streamed online to thousands of his followers, Rahman praised Al Qaeda and said ‘Britain is the enemy of Islam.’
Sam Westrop, director of counter-extremism group Stand for Peace told the Sunday Mirror: ‘His kind of rhetoric is not an echo of Islamist terror and extremism – it is a driving force behind it.
‘It is truly reprehensible for him to speak like this, especially so soon after Paris.’
His speech on Friday night came to light after reporters from the Sunday Mirror gained access to an online live stream - they then notified the Metropolitan Police.
The newspaper reported that in the video Rahman claimed France was carrying out 'ethnic cleansing', and told his followers what happened in France was 'war.'
He said: 'These cartoons is part of their own war, is part of the psychological warfare...you know what happens when you insult Mohammed.'
Rahman, who also goes by the name of Abu Baraa, is currently on police bail after he and others were arrested last year on suspicion of terror offences.
Rahman, was jailed for six years in 2007 after calling for British soldiers to be brought back from Iraq in bodybags.
He manages the Siddeeq Academy in Tower Hamlets, an Islamic tuition centre in East London.
In May last year Rahman was investigated by police after a video showed him praising the Boko Haram militants who kidnapped more than 300 Nigerian schoolgirls.
He said at the time: ‘People want to make it out as though history began on the day these girls were taken from - sorry I should say these women - were taken from this high school in Nigeria.
‘They didn’t do to these girls what the Nigerian government had been doing to the Muslims all these years.
‘They didn’t rape anybody. They didn’t torture. They didn’t murder any of these girls.’
On another occasion a court heard he told a crowd of around 300 people near the Danish Embassy in central London that British and American troops should return in body bags.
The Old Bailey saw film of Rahman in which he said: 'We want to see them coming home in body bags.
'We want to see their blood running in the streets of Baghdad.'
He added: 'We want to see the Mujahideen shoot down their planes the way we shoot down birds, we want to see their tanks burn in the way we burn their flags.'
Rahman also had placards calling for the annihilation and beheading of those who insulted Islam.
Anyone who tries to tell you that the Islamic massacre at Charlie Hebdo in Paris had nothing to with Islam is a liar. Here’s why:
Former Archbishop of Canterbury says Britain fears criticising Islam
Lord Carey said this had led to a self-imposed 'blasphemy law in the UK
He said the Press should be encouraged to print controversial material
Muslims are more offended by violence in name of Islam, Lord Carey said
Comments come days after Charlie Hebdo massacre by Islamic extremists
Terrorists killed 12 in attack, including eight journalists and cartoonists
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Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey said Britain's fear of Islam has led to a self-imposed 'blasphemy law'
Britain's fear of criticising Islam has led to a self-imposed 'blasphemy law', the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has warned.
Lord Carey's comments come days after the brutal slaughter of journalists at the offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine, which printed cartoons mocking Mohammed.
He added that the Press should be encouraged to print controversial material, even if Muslims find it offensive.
Writing in the Sunday Times, the former Archbishop said: 'A de facto blasphemy law is operating in Britain today.
The fact is that publishers and newspapers live in fear of criticising Islam.'
He said that blasphemy laws were 'unjust and outdated', urging Muslim scholars to make it clear to followers that Islamic laws on insulting the religion do not apply to non-believers.
Lord Carey added that the media should be encouraged to publish controversial material, regardless of whether it will upset Muslims.
'We need not worry about taking the vast majority of Muslims with us.
They are much more offended by violence committed in their name than by cartoons or images of their prophet,' he said.
His view was backed up by Chancellor George Osborne, who said: 'Magazines should publish what they want ... without fearing that armed gunmen are going to come through the door and kill them.'
Author Salman Rushdie, whose book 'The Satanic Verses' prompted Iranian clergy to issue a death fatwa on him, also condemned the attack on Charlie Hebdo as an assault on free speech.
He said earlier this week: 'I stand with Charlie Hebdo, as we all must, to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity.'
The brutal attack by terrorists Cherif and Said Kouachi killed 12, including eight journalists and a Muslim policeman.
They raided the building on Wednesday morning, calling out names of cartoonists before shooting them dead and spraying bullets around the newsroom.
The brothers then escaped before storming a printworks at an industrial site in the town of Dammartin-en-Goele, north of Paris.
After a tense stand-off with soldiers and armed police, the Kouachi brothers were gunned down in a hail of gunfire.
They are believed to have launched their attack on the satirical magazine's office because it has printed cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in the past.
A German newspaper which reprinted the cartoons was attacked overnight by vandals who set fire to files in a cellar below its offices and threw rocks at windows.
Idiot Muslim closet faggot talks about how infideals like me should behave in my own country. Lets kill them all they are thought in their Korean book to kill all non believers and lie to them and steal to them and rape to them is ok if they are non islam monkey jihaddi stone age warrior.
A pedestrian’s jaw was broken in an unprovoked attack by two men in the Black Country.
The 35-year-old victim was walking along Upper Church Lane, Tipton, on December 15 when the pair walked passed him, before turning and punching him in the face.
The attackers then ran off along the street and got into a white Ford Transit van with a 51 or 52 registration plate.
PC James Finnegan, from the violent crime team of West Midlands Police CID, said: “This was a vicious and unprovoked attack on a lone man in broad daylight.
“As a result, this man suffered a broken jaw in two places and needed surgery.
“We want to hear from anyone who knows these two men or who has information to help us with this investigation.”
The first offender was described as an Asian man, in his mid 20s to mid 30s.
He was stocky with black brushed back hair and was around 5ft 8in to 6ft tall.
He was described as having very large hands and wore a dark green short sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans.
The second man was also Asian, of the same age and of medium build.
He had short black hair, was around 5ft 4in tall and wore a dark blue hooded tracksuit.
Anyone with information should call Smethwick police station on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555 111.
Gang used taxis to get to and from the east and north London arcades
They threatened staff with knives and a sharpened screwdriver to get cash
During one raid, an arcade employee had to deflect knife blows with hands
All three are now jailed for eight years and four months each for robberies
Police say gang were 'brutal and violent in their pursuit of money'
CCTV footage shows the terrifying moment a teenage gang storm a gambling arcade and threaten staff with knives and a sharpened screwdriver.
Ashley Samuel, 18, and Yahya Ahmed and Mohamed Sayid, both 19, used a taxi company to drop them off near their targets - and paid the unknowing getaway drivers to wait.
The gang stole a total of £27,700 during nine robberies between April and July last year, hitting one City Slots Amusements in Ilford, north London store three times.
The trio pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob at Snaresbrook Crown Court on 5 December and were jailed yesterday for eight years and four months each.
CCTV footage of one of nine arcade robberies carried out by a gang who threatened workers with knives
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The teenage raiders slam an employee into a machine in Quicksilver in Bethnal Green, east London last June
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The worker is confronted by a knife-wielding masked raider as the gang demand money from the arcade
A court heard the gang, of Ilford, north London, threatened arcade staff with kitchen knives and a sharpened screwdriver in front of horrified customers.
Some victims were tied up with duct tape to stop them escaping or getting help, while another was forced at knifepoint to open the company's safe.
In one raid, Sayid repeatedly tried to stab a 28-year-old employee in the chest with the sharpened screwdriver, despite the victim complying with the group's every demand.
The victim managed to block the attack with his hands during the robbery, which took place at Cashino in East Ham, on 30 May 2014.
In his victim impact statement, the man said: 'During this robbery I feared for my life like I have never feared before. All I could see in front of my face was my baby boy's face.
'He is only four months old and I am here to protect him and look after him throughout his life. I feared my life was about to end with me being stabbed to death during this robbery.
He added: 'The three suspects that committed this robbery got the key for the safe but continued attacking me and tried to stab me. They did not care about my life.
'This robbery has left me feeling a very nervous man and I am not sure if I will ever get over it.'
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CCTV pictures from another of the arcades raided, this time in Ilford, north London, show a hooded gang member wielding a knife as he robs an employee
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The court heard many of the employees threatened were left traumatised and depressed after their ordeals
City Slots Amusements on High Road, Ilford, was raided on April 7 last year, then again on May 8 and for a third time on July 16.
After the robberies, the group returned to the taxi to make their getaway, with cash stashed in holdalls.
Their crime spree ended when they were arrested on July 17 by Flying Squad detectives on the way back from a robbery.
DC Brad Weston, of the Flying Squad, said: 'These men were brutal and violent in their pursuit of money. One of the victims narrowly escaped being stabbed.
'Fortunately, none of the victims were seriously injured, although they have all suffered the mental and emotional after-effects of their horrendous experience.
'Many of the victims are suffering from flashbacks or depression and finding it very hard to return to any kind of normal life.'
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A CCTV image of a worker being tied up by one of the gang. Mohamed Sayid (right) repeatedly tried to stab an arcade worker during one of his gang's series of robberies
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SHARE PICTURE
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Ashley Samuel (left) and Yahya Ahmed (right) also took part in the raids. All three have now been jailed
Hundreds of copies of the 'survivors' edition of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine are expected to go on sale in the UK when the magazine is published on Wednesday.
The latest edition is published a week after many of the Charlie Hebdo editorial team were massacred in an attack at their Paris office which saw terrorist brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi kill 12 people.
Five of Charlie Hebdo's cartoonists - including the editor - were killed in the attack.
Smiths News and Menzies are expected to be purchasing up to a 2,000 copies to supply to stores in the Uk.
Radical cleric Mr Choudary said "ridiculing" Mohammed is attacking his personality, and said these actions are "extremely serious", adding that if the "act of war" was to be tried in a Shariah Court it would carry capital punishment.
"It's not just a cartoon, it's insulting, it's ridiculing, it's provoking," he said.
The lecturer in Shariah law, who was arrested in September as part of an investigation into Islamist terrorism, added: "These things always have a history of coming back and biting them. People are not going to forget. Muslims will never forget what these people did.
"And I'm sure there's someone somewhere who will take the law into his own hands. It's inevitable.
"There will be repercussions. I think there will be someone somewhere who will retaliate."
Smiths News has said it is presently due to be bringing up to 1,000 copies into the UK.
A spokeswoman said: "We are due to get a very limited supply of the title but full details are yet to be confirmed."
Retailer WH Smiths says it will not be stocking it.
A spokeswoman said: "Charlie Hebdo isn’t a title we normally stock, so it won’t be available in our stores."
Distributors Menzies is also due to supply hundreds of copies to outlets across the UK.
A spokesman said the final numbers will be confirmed later due to the increased demand but it is expected to bring in up to 1,000 copies.
"I can confirm that Menzies Distribution will handle supplies of the upcoming Charlie Hebdo special edition," said the firm's head of communications Dave Shedden.
"We don't expect to face particular (security) issues, but we will take whatever precautions our security team believe are sensible to ensure the safety of our employees."
The edition which is expected to be released on January 14 will see three million copies sent to newsagents across France and the rest of the world.
It is not expected to reach some UK shelves until Friday.
Customers from the UK have been taking to French media sites to try and order copies online.
The frontpage of the upcoming 'survivors' edition of Charlie Hebdo (AFP)
Online community news site Reddit has been inundated with people from across the globe asking where they can purchase copies.
It had agreen to take orders and has been forced to suspend the offer due to the demand.
It has posted on its website: "To say that we've been overwhelmed by the amount of support from all around the globe is putting it very mildly. We expected a large number of requests, but nowhere near the flood we've got.
"Unfortunately, that also means that not everyone who posted in the thread will get an issue. I will make sure we get as many of you the physical copies, but out of sheer numbers it won't be easy.
How I created the Charlie Hebdo magazine cover
"In order to spread it as far as possible, I would like to let you know one thing: We will most probably not be honoring requests for multiple issues from the same person. We don't want to drain Charlie Hebdo's circulation."
A lawyer for the Charlie Hebdo magazine said that the upcoming edition would "obviously" contain cartoons of the Prophet as well as mocking other political and religious leaders.
"We will not give up, it is the spirit of 'Je suis Charlie, which is to say is is also our right to blaspheme," said the magazine's solicitor Richard Malka, speaking to radio station France Info.
Omer El-Hamdoon, from the Muslim Association of Britain, said the actual depiction of Mohammed and the satire element will offend Muslims.
"Because he is held in high esteem, we find that any sort of publishing of cartoons would not really be suffice to present the person he is," he said.
"And this becomes more problematic when the actual cartoon is actually out there to offend people, to actually make a satire out of this image."
Mr El-Hamdoon said this would be the view of the "majority" of Muslims.
Charlie Hebdo staff can't contain laughter as bird poos on Francois Hollande during Paris unity rally
People have tried to depict the Prophet in the past, not in a satirical way, but even this would not be accepted by mainstream Muslims, he added.
Sughra Ahmed, president of the Islamic Society of Britain, said freedom needs to be defended "at all costs".
"We need to de-escalate the tension around all this. Those Muslims who feel offended may have a right, but in the scheme of things we should be far more offended by injustice, economic exploitation, anti-Semitism, homophobia, murder, etc," she said.
"We are not defending the new cartoon per se, but the 'all is forgiven' sentiment is important and gracious and if many of my work colleagues were shot dead, I would feel defiant and want to fight back, so I understand where this is coming from.
"The people that committed the murders in the name of Mohammed did anything but help his teachings and his cause.
"If we want religion to be taken seriously and treated as a topic of every day conversation, it can't be off limits, it will inevitably be criticised and even ridiculed. We just have to accept that as part of modern day life.
"At a time when Muslims in other parts of the world are struggling for freedom, we should understand better than anyone else the importance of free speech. Freedom is a benefit for all, and we need to defend it at all costs."
Speaking about the security arrangements for the distribution of the upcoming edition in the UK, a spokesman for one of the UK firms involved said he was not aware of any specific threats.
"I think most of the papers have covered it and some have used the cartoons and some haven't but I don't think there's necessarily a security threat, touch wood," said a spokesman for Comag, a niche magazine distributor.
"It hasn't dissuaded anyone from publishing it or distributing it.
"At the moment it's only about 200 copies with a sort of London focus. Possibly a thousand maximum - we don't necessarily know yet," said the spokesman.
"They'll be distributed within the normal channels. We don't usually bring it over, this is a one-off, the survivors' issue, that they've contacted us because there's not really a call for. We don't usually distribute the normal weekly one.
"I think they'll sell well, just as a collectors' piece. And to show solidarity."
The edition will be priced at £3.50 in the UK.
In total the Kouachi brothers and their colleague Amedy Coulibaly killed 17 police and civilians in separate attacks on the French capital.
Nigel Farage tells Fox News authorities have turned a 'blind eye' to ghettos
The Ukip leader claimed British cities are being run under Sharia Law
He was interviewed by Sean Hannity on the causes of the Paris massacre
Farage said 'moral cowardice' stops police from catching Muslim abusers
Mass immigration has led to the growth of Muslim ‘ghettos’ in Britain which are run under Sharia Law, Nigel Farage declared last night.
In an interview with US news channel Fox News, Mr Farage said the authorities had turned a ‘blind eye’ to the growth of ghettos where ‘the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia law has come in.’
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles accused Mr Farage of ‘pandering to peoples’ worst fears’ and branded his comments ‘irresponsible and wrong’.
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Ukip leader Nigel Farage pictured during an interview with Fox News. He has now claimed Britain has ghettos controlled by Sharia law
The Ukip leader was interviewed yesterday by presenter Sean Hannity on the causes of the Paris massacre, following his comments last week in which he blamed a ‘fifth column’ and ‘gross multiculturalism’ for the attacks.
In yesterday’s interview, Mr Hannity asked why Britain and other countries had allowed ‘people to come to the country, not assimilate, separate, take their land ostensibly and then risk even being at war with them’.
Mr Farage said: ‘I agreed with your sentiments entirely’.
He added: ‘So wherever you look you see this blind eye being turned and you see the growth of ghettos where the police and all the normal agents of the law have withdrawn and that is where Sharia Law has come in.’
Mr Farage said the imposition of Sharia law meant there had been no prosecutions for the ‘tens of thousands’ of female genital mutilations carried out in Britain.
He said ‘moral cowardice’ was to blame for the police not trying to catch Muslim men involved in child abuse in parts of Northern England.
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Mr Farage's remarks, to the US TV chanel Fox News, came after the network's terror 'expert' Steven Emerson earlier this week claimed Birmingham was a 'no-go' zone for non-Muslims
NIGEL FARAGE: FRENCH CITIES HAVE 'NO-GO ZONES' FOR NON-MUSLIMS
Most big French cities have 'no-go zones' which non-Muslims cannot enter that are the result of European countries''moral cowardice' in preventing the development of large ghettos, Nigel Farage has claimed.
The Ukip leader said such 'no-go zones' were increasing across Europe and he was 'hoping and praying' it did not occur in Britain, The Telegraphreported.
He said Britain had been turning a blind eye to preachers who had arrived in the country from the Middle East and were saying things for which the rest of the population would be arrested.
'In parts of northern England we've seen the sexual grooming of under-age girls committed by Muslim men, in the majority, and for all of these things we are seeing the law not being applied equally, we're seeing the police forces not doing their job because we've suffered from moral cowardice.
'We have through mass immigration and through not checking the details of those people who have come to our countries, we have allowed big ghettos to develop and when it comes to confronting tough issues we're run a mile and that is why we're in the mess we're in, we've been led very badly.'
Mr Farage said: ‘We’ve been turning a blind eye to preachers of hate that have been coming here from the Middle East and saying things for which the rest of us would be arrested.
‘In parts of northern England we’ve seen the sexual grooming of under-age girls committed by Muslim men, in the majority, and for all of these things we are seeing the law not being applied equally, we’re seeing the police forces not doing their job because we’ve suffered from moral cowardice.
‘We have through mass immigration and through not checking the details of those people who have come to our countries, we have allowed big ghettos to develop and when it comes to confronting tough issues we’re run a mile and that is why we’re in the mess we’re in, we’ve been led very badly.’
He said: ‘We even, a few years ago, had some quite clear examples where the immigration services were actually allowing women to come into Britain from Pakistan and elsewhere to join polygamous marriages something that is against our law.
But Mr Pickles said the comments were ‘irresponsible and wrong’, and accused the Ukip leader of both ‘running down’ Britain and ‘pandering to peoples’ worst fears’.
He said: ‘It is disappointing that Nigel Farage is running our country down on American television, and his comments are both irresponsible and wrong.
‘This Government is standing up for British values and British liberties.
‘We’ve clamped down on the excessive use of foreign translation by councils, re-affirmed the importance of Christianity in public life, tackled divisive politics in Tower Hamlets, and are taking firm action to stop the criminal abuse of children. Mr Farage should show some leadership rather than pandering to peoples’ worst fears.’
Fox News sparked controversy earlier this week when it interviewed a terror expert who said Birmingham is run by hard-line Islamists.
Steven Emerson said ‘there are actual cities like Birmingham that are totally Muslim, where non-Muslims just simply don’t go in’.
Mr Emerson, whose website states he is an ‘internationally-recognised expert on terrorism’, later said sorry for his ‘terrible error’.
ban is apparently aimed at avoiding offence among Jews and Muslims
Publisher prohibits mentioning anything that 'could be perceived as pork'
Oxford wants authors to consider 'cultural differences and sensitivities'
Muslim Labour MP Khalid Mahmood calls ban 'absolute utter nonsense'
Schoolbook authors have been told not to write about sausages or pigs for fear of causing offence.
Guidance from leading educational publisher the Oxford University Press prohibits authors from including anything that could be perceived as pork-related in their books.
The bizarre clampdown, apparently aimed at avoiding offence among Jews and Muslims, emerged yesterday during a discussion about free speech on Radio 4’s Today programme.
It was immediately branded‘nonsensical political correctness’.
Presenter Jim Naughtie – whose writer wife Eleanor Updale is in talks with Oxford University Press (OUP) over an educational book series – said: ‘I've got a letter here that was sent out by OUP to an author doing something for young people.
‘Among the things prohibited in the text that was commissioned by OUP was the following: Pigs plus sausages, or anything else which could be perceived as pork.
‘Now, if a respectable publisher, tied to an academic institution, is saying you've got to write a book in which you cannot mention pigs because some people might be offended, it’s just ludicrous.
It is just a joke.'
Muslim Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said: ‘I absolutely agree. That’s absolute utter nonsense.
And when people go too far, that brings the whole discussion into disrepute.’
The OUP says its guidelines exist because it needs to make its educational material available to as many people as possible.
A spokesman said: ‘Many of the educational materials we publish in the UK are sold in more than 150 countries, and as such they need to consider a range of cultural differences and sensitivities.
'Our editorial guidelines are intended to help ensure that the resources that we produce can be disseminated to the widest possible audience.’
But last night the publishing rules were ridiculed amid doubts either Muslims or Jews would be offended by mention of farm animals in a children’s book.
Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘How on earth can anyone find the word “pig” or “pork” offensive?
'No word is offensive. It is the context in which it is used that is offensive.’
He added: ‘On the one hand you have politicians and the great and the good falling over each other to say how much they believe in freedom of speech and on the other hand they are presiding over people being unable to use and write words that are completely inoffensive.
'We have got to get a grip on this nonsensical political correctness.
‘The political correctness brigade appear to have taken control of our schools.
'The Secretary of State needs to get a grip over this and make sure this ridiculous ban is stopped at once.’
He added that perhaps one good thing to come out of the Paris terror attacks was a groundswell of support for freedom of speech.
The chief executive of campaigning group Index on Censorship, Jodie Ginsberg, said: ‘It is difficult to imagine any context in which images of everyday objects – like pigs – or the word itself should be banned from being used in a children’s book.’
A spokesman for the Jewish Leadership Council added: ‘Jewish law prohibits eating pork, not the mention of the word, or the animal from which it derives.
Young Britons could be getting radicalised by satellite television channels that the broadcast regulator may struggle to monitor as they are in obscure dialects, the Commons has heard.
Labour's Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham and Morden) said some satellite TV channels are broadcasting hate speech into the UK in numerous languages and rare dialects.
She called on the Government to help the regulator Ofcom monitor these channels as they may be radicalising people in Britain, citing a specific example of a programme inciting hatred against a particular Muslim community.
Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said Ofcom is currently investigating complaints of that nature.
During culture questions in the Commons, Ms McDonagh asked him: "On December 22 Geo TV broadcast a programme entitled Hatred Against The Ahmadi Muslim Community and five days later an Ahmadi Muslim was murdered in Gujranwala, Pakistan.
"We know that Ofcom have an enormous job to do given the large number of satellite TV channels that come into the UK in many different languages and in very many small-in-size dialects.
"What help can the Government give Ofcom to actually monitor the hatred that might be leading to radicalisation of some of our young people in the UK?"
Mr Vaizey replied: "Ofcom does important work in this area and it is worth recording that they fined Takbeer Television £25,000 for abusing the Ahmadis and also required them to broadcast a summary of Ofcom's decision.
"They are investigating some complaints that have been raised recently, they will assess them as quickly as possible and come to a conclusion."
An Ofcom spokesman said the regulator has experienced translators for non-English channels.
He said: "Ofcom has strict rules forbidding the broadcast of harmful extremist material and hate speech over the airwaves.
"This is a matter we take extremely seriously and when broadcasters break our rules we take robust enforcement action, which can range from fines to revoking licences.
"We also have targeted monitoring of programming to ensure compliance with the Broadcasting Code and use experienced translators for content not broadcast in English.
"We have already fined one UK TV station £25,000 for abusing the religious beliefs of Ahmadis, and two others a total of£170,000 for broadcasting hate speech."
The cover of the new Cosmopolitan magazine shows a woman suffocating
Film-wrapped February issue encourages readers to rip it open to 'free' girl
The cover represents the story of teenager Shafilea Ahmed
Her parents suffocated her in 2003 for refusing an arranged marriage
Cosmopolitan's front cover usually features the personality quizzes, sex tips and the latest Hollywood starlet, but this month the magazine has gone for a completely different tactic.
The publication have printed a picture of a young girl suffocating as part of their long-running protest against honour killings.
The plastic-wrapped February issue features a blurry black and white picture of a girl with dark hair, with her hands raised as though she is trying to break the wrapping and the magazine encourages readers to rip open the plastic and free her.
The picture represents the story of Shafilea Ahmed, whose parents suffocated her with a plastic bag in front of her siblings in September 2003, for supposedly bringing shame on her family after she refused to agree to an arranged marriage.
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A young girl is pictured suffocating on the cover of the plastic-wrapped February issue of Cosmopolitan. The image represents the story of Shafilea Ahmed, whose parents suffocated her with a plastic bag in front of her siblings in September 2003, for supposedly bringing shame on her family after she refused to agree to an arranged marriage
The cover, which was created by advertising company Leo Burnett Change, is part of the publication's campaign, alongside women's charity Karma Nirvana, to raise awareness of honour-based violence.
The are also lobbying the government to get a UK law implemented that will help to prevent future deaths of this nature.
A seven-second film has also been made to accompany the issue.
In the clip, the plastic cover is ripped off the magazine, signifying the release of women from violence.
Cosmopolitan posted a Vine of the video with the words: 'Shafilea Ahmed was suffocated by her parents in front of her siblings.
'Share to end the suffering of #honourkillings Karmanirvana.org.uk'
The magazine's cover image was presented to UK parliament on Wednesday during a lobbying event hosted by Cosmpolitan and Karma Nirvana.
The event was planned to launch a new report called Honour Killings In The UK, which uncovered severe failings by the British government, police forces and schools to recognise, report and prevent honour-based violence.
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The Day of Memory for Britain's Lost Women is July 14, the date of the birthday of Shafilea Ahmed.
It also announced a new memorial day, called The Day of Memory for Britain's Lost Women, to comemorate all victims of honour killings, which has long been campaigned for both by Cosmopolitan and the Henry Jackson Society.
It will take place annually on July 14, which was the date of Shafilea’s birthday, who was 17 when she was killed in 2003.
It took nine years for Shafilea's parents to be brought to justice, but they were finally both sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2012 for the murder.
This summer, forced marriage will become illegal in England and Wales and punishable by up to seven years in prison.
But thousands of women are still being beaten, abused and raped in the name of honour across the UK.
The government's own Forced Marriage Unit dealt with 1,302 possible cases of forced marriage last year - more than 80 per cent of them involving female victims.
The Karma Nirvana helpline alone is currently getting an average of 700 calls a month, a 21 per cent increase from last year when the average was 550.
But the secret nature of forced marriage means these figures are merely the tip of the iceberg.
