- Deputy Prime Minister rejected demands to cut benefits for cleric's family
- Hamza was convicted of 11 terror charges in the U.S.
- Firebrand was found guilty of aiding the kidnapping of hostages in Yemen
- Three Britons were killed during the attack
- He delivered sermons outside Finsbury Park mosque during the 1990s
- His wife Najat Mostafa, 55, and children live rent-free in a five-bedroom home in Shepherd’s Bush, West London
- Four of Hamza’s sons and a stepson have served time in jail
- Ex-DPP Lord Ken Macdonald said action should have been taken sooner
The Deputy Prime Minister rejected demands to cut benefits for the hook-handed cleric’s wife and children after he was convicted of 11 terror offences in the U.S.
The firebrand – who for years spouted evil on Britain’s streets – is expected to die behind bars after a jury in New York found him guilty of aiding the kidnapping of hostages in Yemen in which three Britons were killed and trying to set up an Al Qaeda training camp in Oregon.
Scroll down for video
Guilty verdict: Hate preacher Abu Hamza, 56, who was extradited from the UK in 2012, was found guilty of terrorism offences in New York
It emerged yesterday that Hamza’s wife Najat Mostafa, 55, and some of their eight children continue to live rent-free in a five-bedroom home in upmarket Shepherd’s Bush, West London.
The family are understood to be raking in at least £650 a week in housing and child benefits – a total of £33,800 a year.
Four of Hamza’s sons and a stepson have served time in jail – two for terrorism offences.
But on his call-in radio show yesterday, Liberal Democrats leader Mr Clegg defended the family’s right to be housed at an extortionate cost to the British taxpayer.
Finally: The hook-handed father-of-eight, formerly the imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London, fought extradition to the U.S. for eight years
Nick Clegg has sparked outrage by defending the taxpayer-funded £1.25million house lived in by hate preacher Abu Hamza¿s family
Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri in the street outside the closed Finsbury Park Mosque in London
He said he understood people’s ‘frustrations’, but added: ‘He’s been convicted, he’s going to serve time in prison. It’s not his family, they’ve not decided to take action against his family.
‘If they’ve committed any wrongdoing, if they’ve broken the law, then charges should be brought against them much like anybody else.’
Tory MPs said Mr Clegg was ‘out of touch’ with hard-pressed British families.
In court: Hamza, pictured in a court sketch taken from last month, is expected to die behind bars
Hiding in plain sight: Abu Hamza, sketched giving testimony earlier this month, was accused by the judge of hiding his terror message behind his religion
Tory MP Peter Bone, who represents Wellingborough, Northants, said: ‘Taxpayers up and down the country will be grossly offended that the family of a convicted terrorist is being kept in the lap of luxury at taxpayers’ expense.
‘Why do they have to be housed in London, why in this kind of accommodation? You would be able to buy half a street in Wellingborough for that.
‘It makes the law of this land an ass when people can rip off taxpayers in this way.
‘We are hamstrung by the bleeding-heart Liberals, in particular Nick Clegg, who are just so out of touch with the British people.’
Greg Hands, Tory MP for Chelsea and Fulham, urged Hammersmith and Fulham Council to take action. He said: ‘I think it’s right for the council to look at this situation in the light of the conviction and see what action could be taken.’
GROWING ANGER AS HAMZA'S FAMILY ARE STILL LIVING OFF STATE
Hamza's second wife Najat Mostafa, 55, with whom he has seven children, lives in a £1.25million five-bedroom council house in Shepherd's Bush
There was growing anger last night that Abu Hamza’s family are continuing to be bankrolled by the British public.
As the hate preacher was convicted of 11 terror offences in the U.S., it emerged his wife and children are still being housed at an extortionate cost in one of the most upmarket areas of the country.
It is thought the family have cost taxpayers more than £3million in benefits and social housing, as well as legal fees for Hamza and his sons.
Hamza’s second wife Najat Mostafa, 55, with whom he has seven children, lives in a £1.25 million five-bedroom council house in Shepherd’s Bush, West London – an area popular with bankers and City lawyers.
Last night, neighbours said they were ‘sickened’ the family were continuing to benefit from state handouts.
Hamza, 58, has nine children – seven sons and two daughters.
His eldest son Mohamed Mostafa, 32, was jailed for his part in planning to blow up churches in Yemen on Christmas Day 1998.
He was jailed again in 2008, along with his brother Hamza Kamel, now 27, for their part in a £1 million luxury car scam.
Hamza’s fifth son Imran Mostafa, 20, was jailed for 11 years in 2012 for armed robbery.
Another son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed in February for 12 years for conspiracy to kidnap and conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.
Imran Mostafa
Hamza's second wife Najat Mostafa, 55, with whom he has seven children, lives in a £1.25-million five-bedroom council house in Shepherd's Bush
A neighbour of the family said yesterday: ‘What would they do in America? Put the terrorist’s family up for free in a gorgeous road where everyone else has worked hard to live there? I don’t think so.’
Another neighbour said: ‘Given how hard it is for hard-working Britons to get on the housing market in London, it is sickening how easy it has been for them.’
Scaffolder Grant Lawrence, 28, who was working on the street yesterday, said: ‘I work hard and I can’t get on the property ladder. It is disgusting.
‘It is sickening that a terrorist’s family are living here and we are all paying for it.’
THE DEPUTY
U.S. prosecutors want to put Haroon Aswat on trial for allegedly helping the hook-handed cleric establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999
Britain has spent £3million trying to deport the man thought to be Abu Hamza’s lieutenant on terror charges, but is being thwarted by human rights laws, it emerged last night.
U.S. prosecutors want to put Haroon Aswat on trial for allegedly helping the hook-handed cleric establish a terrorist training camp in Oregon in 1999.
Hamza was convicted of setting up the camp – which provided training for jihadists headed for Afghanistan – on Monday.
But Aswat, who is detained in Broadmoor high-security hospital, has thwarted his own extradition by using the European Convention on Human Rights, on the grounds he is mentally unfit to be detained in an American jail.
The case, which dates back to 2005, has already landed the taxpayer with a £3 million bill – including £2.25 million to keep Aswat in custody while he fights removal.
In Broadmoor, he takes part in workshops and is studying for an Open University degree, at a cost of £325,000 a year.
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has said he cannot be sent to the US in case his fragile mental health deteriorates. In a judgment last month, the ruling was upheld by the High Court.
Yorkshire-born Aswat is alleged to have travelled to Oregon to help set up a jihadi training camp run by James Ujaama.
His trip was said to have been organised by Hamza to equip recruits to go to Afghanistan and fight.
After leaving the US, Aswat travelled to Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Africa before being detained in Nairobi in 2005.
After leaving the US, Aswat travelled to Afghanistan, Pakistan and South Africa before being detained in Nairobi in 2005.
He was extradited to Britain and has since been held in custody, moving from a high-security prison to Broadmoor in 2008 when he began to suffer from schizophrenia.
The case has revived calls for reform of human rights law.
Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘There does seem to be something very wrong with how the law is working.
‘I know the law is an ass but in this instance it seems to be outrageous.’
No comments:
Post a Comment