Rape charge against man staying in asylum hotel 'was kept secret to avoid stirring up community tensions'
Council chiefs have been accused of hushing up a rape charge against the inhabitant of an asylum hotel in order to avoid inflaming 'community tension'.
The man was reportedly charged with rape and voyeurism following an attack on a woman on June 11, The Sun reported.
He is believed to have been living at the Royal Beach Hotel in Southsea, which has functioned as an asylum hotel.
However, the man appeared in front of Portsmouth magistrates' on June 16 and he was remanded in custody - so he is no longer living in the hotel.
But there are now allegations that members of Portsmouth City Council sought to keep the nature of charged man's accommodation secret in order to avoid community unrest.
Portsmouth City Council members were reportedly briefed in private about the charges against the man.
However, it has been claimed that councillors were warned not to mention that the suspect lived in an asylum hotel.
It was also reported that Portsmouth Independents Party leader Cllr George Madgwick was urged not to share 'privileged confidential information'.
A young girl waves to security officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel on June 20
Councillor Madgwick said: 'This is precisely why the public don't trust politicians and public bodies: things are hidden that should be disclosed.
Anyone involved in any form of cover-up from disclosure to the public should question their role in a publicly funded position.'
There are also two other cases in England, one in Manchester and one in London, in which the fact that suspects lived in asylum hotels was not disclosed.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick called the small-boat crossings 'a national security emergency'.
'Women in towns with asylum hotels shouldn't have to live in fear. The authorities must trust the public with the truth and act to protect them,' he said.
A government spokesperson said: 'Sexual violence of all types is a despicable crime, causing the most unimaginable harm to victims and survivors.
'We recognise the immense bravery shown by them throughout their pursuit of justice, and protecting them remains central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.
'We have already taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum, and will do everything in our power to pursue deportation from the UK so that these vile criminals are off our streets and paying the price for their crimes.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Anti-racism rally held at Belfast City Hall
Protesters gathered at Belfast City Hall on Saturday for a demonstration against Stand Up to Racism rally was co-organised by United Against Racism Belfast, Reclaim the Agenda and the trade union said the march was to show solidarity with migrant workers and Ireland has seen disorder and a spate of racist attacks in recent weeks. The violence started nearly two weeks in Ballymena, County Antrim after a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the disorder later spread to other areas including Larne, Londonderry, Belfast and Portadown on subsequent nights. Speaking at Saturday's anti-racism rally at Belfast City Hall, Helen Crickard from Reclaim the Agenda said it was about education not violence."We are disgusted violence against women and girls is being used in this way," she the same location there was also an anti-immigration rally. Police vehicles were present to separate the two anti-racism rally was hosted by Northern Irish actor Lola Calvert was among members of the public who attended."It's important to set an example. It's important for my kids to see me show solidarity with people who are here for sanctuary," he said.
Telegraph
34 minutes ago
- Telegraph
National Theatre ‘discriminates' against private school pupils with ‘two-tier' pricing
The National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare company have been accused of 'two-tier' discrimination for charging private school children more than state school pupils. Britain's flagship theatre – whose new artistic director attended a fee-paying school – is charging privately educated pupils an extra 20pc for group bookings compared to state schools. A similar policy is employed by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) which charges private school pupils 60pc more than children at state schools. Both theatre companies have charged the premium for several years, but the policy has come under renewed scrutiny amid fears Labour's VAT raid is encouraging discrimination against children who attend independent schools. It follows reports of an eight-year-old boy being turned away from the NHS because he went to private school. On Friday, senior MPs and campaigners urged the Charity Commission to investigate the two drama organisations, describing the charging policy as 'two-tier' and 'socio-economic social engineering'. Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, told The Telegraph: 'This is disgusting discrimination and without a doubt is a form of two-tier pricing. This Labour government has launched an abhorrent class war against private schools, and policies like this should be reversed.' Stuart Andrews, shadow culture secretary, said: 'I have a huge amount of respect for the National Theatre, so this is particularly disappointing to see. 'Despite receiving tens of millions in public funding, this feels like clear price discrimination – penalising private school pupils based on crude assumptions about wealth. 'Publicly funded institutions have a duty to widen access, not reinforce stereotypes or engage in socio-economic social engineering.' Both theatres said the pricing policy was a longstanding practice, and that it was part of its commitment to widening access to the arts. Under its group booking system, the National Theatre offers discounted rates to school bookings for performances during term time between Monday and Thursday. The theatre charges £10 per ticket for a state school child, and £12 for those who attend private schools. The 20pc ticket price disparity comes despite the National Theatre's recent appointment of Indhu Rubasingham as artistic director. Ms Rubasingham grew up in Mansfield, and attended Nottingham Girls' High School – a fee-paying school. The prestigious all-girls private school counts The Archers actress, June Spencer, and the former director general of MI5, Stella Rimington, among its alumnae. Meanwhile, the RSC charges state school children £10 to attend performances, while private school pupils must pay £16.50. The Telegraph understands the policy was first introduced in June 2022. Previously, it did not discriminate between school children. Andrew Leveson, the RSC's executive director, was educated at University College School Hampstead, a fee-paying school. Data provided by the Independent Schools Council census, which measures the responses of its 1,400 members, found around a third of private school pupils receive financial support. A 2021 report by UCL also found among the wealthiest 5pc of families in the UK, 85pc do not send their children to private schools. A spokesman for Education Not Taxation, a group representing 25,000 private school parents, said: 'It is disappointing to see the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company discriminate against children who attend independent schools. 'They should encourage all children to embrace the arts, rather than forcing children to pay the price for the biases of these charities. We also urge the Charity Commission to investigate and address this issue.' A spokesman for the National Theatre said: 'State school tickets are £2 less than for independent schools (£10 and £12), and both are considerably lower than the market rate. 'This is part of our commitment to widening access for young people to world class theatre. This enables us to welcome as many students as possible at a time when schools across the country face challenging financial pressures which limit extracurricular activity.' A spokesman for the Royal Shakespeare Company said: 'Prices for private schools are at a slightly higher rate due to the differences in budgets that are available between state-maintained schools and schools in the independent sector, a policy which we have maintained for several years. 'However, we also recognise that there are many different kinds of independent schools and for smaller schools, as well as for schools that focus on children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We are looking at how we can make appropriate adjustments, as part of our work to regularly review our pricing policies.'
Daily Mail
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Toff terrorist could be let out from prison: Parole board is considering release of ex-public schoolboy who plotted suicide bombing on shopping centre
One of Britain's most dangerous terrorists could soon be back on the streets, MailOnline can reveal. Former public schoolboy Andrew Michael, known as Isa Ibrahim after he converted to Islam, was jailed aged 20 when he was found to be plotting a suicide bomb attack on Bristol's Broadmead shopping centre. However, far from having a tough upbringing, the terrorist who idolised Osama Bin Laden was the toff son of Christian church-going parents and lived in a £1million gated mansion in Bristol. His father Dr Nassif Ibrahim was an Egyptian-born NHS consultant pathologist at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol and his elder brother Peter graduated from Jesus College, Oxford, and became a software engineer. But Ibrahim fell under the spell of Muslim radicals such as the 7/7 bombers, Abu Hamza and Omar Bakri Muhammad after watching recordings of their speeches on the internet and converted to Islam. He was unknown to police, and cops only arrested him in 2008 'a matter of hours or days' before he was about to blow himself up with a suicide vest created using internet instructions after a tip-off from the local Muslim community. On July 16, 2009, he was convicted at Winchester Crown Court of making an explosive with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury and preparation of terrorist acts. He was sentenced to an indeterminate prison sentence with a minimum term of ten years. Only three years ago in 2022, he was denied parole on the basis that he was still a danger to society. The now-36-year-old could soon taste freedom after the Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood referred Ibrahim's case to the Parole Board, which is considering whether to release him. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: 'We can confirm the parole review of Isa Ibrahim has been referred to the Parole Board by the Secretary of State for Justice and is following standard processes. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. 'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. 'Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing. 'It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.' 'A decision on Ibrahim's case is expected over coming weeks.' Brought up in a luxury gated mansion in the leafy Bristol suburb of Frenchay, Ibrahim seemed set for a prosperous life. But his unruly behaviour and developing drug habit began to take their toll. By the time he was arrested, Ibrahim was a regular hard-drug user who was expelled from three different private schools and had first experimented with cannabis when he was just 12 years old. Ibrahim was first expelled from £19,065-a-year Colston's School before being thrown out of the £9,885-a-year Queen Elizabeth Hospital school in Bristol aged 12 for smoking cannabis. He moved to writer Auberon Waugh's former school, the £24,141-a-year strict Roman Catholic Downside School in Bath as a boarder, but was expelled for drinking alcohol in the dorm and going missing. He ended up at the £7,500-a-year Bristol Cathedral School, where he passed nine GCSEs with good grades. While a student at the City of Bristol College, he made explosives and a suicide vest in his flat and carried out extensive surveillance at Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol, where he planned to cause the maximum damage by using nails and ball bearings in his bomb. He bought the main components for the suicide bomb from high street shops, including branches of Boots. A bomb disposal expert stands by an area cordoned off for a controlled explosion outside Ibrahim's home in 2008 Thirty of Ibrahim's neighbours were evacuated and a controlled explosion was carried out following the raid at 2am on April 18, 2008 Ibrahim was only caught after members of the Al-Baseera mosque in Bristol saw injuries he suffered while testing the explosive and, concerned about his extreme views and what he may be planning, told police that a white Muslim convert was acting suspiciously. It is believed to have been the first time that the Muslim community had played a central role in bringing a potential terrorist bomber to justice. When police entered his flat in Comb Paddock, Bristol, police found between 125 and 245g of the unstable explosive Hexamethylene Triperoxide Diamine, also known as HMTD, the same substance used in the July 7, 2005 London bombings. He had stored it in a McVitie's Family Circle biscuit tin in Ibrahim's fridge. There was so much explosive powder in his flat that the kitchen floor crackled under their feet. Ibrahim had also made an electrical circuit capable of detonating the explosive at short range. Police also found a half-made suicide vest and films of Ibrahim testing the explosives on the floor of his flat. Ibrahim made the HMTD and his suicide vest entirely through instructions from the internet. Soldiers from the Royal Logistic Corps also had to carry out controlled explosions at his home. There was also a large amount of radical literature in the flat and when he was arrested the book Milestones by Sayyid Qutb was in his rucksack. The book advocates jihad and radical Islam. Detective Chief Inspector Matt Iddon said: 'It soon became very, very clear that his kitchen had become an explosive laboratory.' DCI Iddon said Ibrahim had planned to set his suicide vest off in a crowded area of the shopping centre. He said: 'He identified that the food court was a dense area. It's full of families – husband, wives, children, groups of young friends – relaxing and enjoying the day. 'He intended to blow himself up there.' He added: 'He was not on any security services radar. He was completely unknown.' When he was arrested, Ibrahim told officers: 'My mum's going to kill me. Am I going to be on the news?' His father Nassif, mother Victoria and brother Peter were in court every day for the trial 16 years ago. At Ibrahim's trial, where he denied the charges, he said he had trouble interacting and making friends, and admitted even as an adult he talked to teddy bears. Even as he was detained in Belmarsh prison, he thought it would 'give him status' to be in the same jail as the likes of hate cleric Abu Hamza. He claimed he had no intent to harm but just wanted to set the vest off and film. Trial judge Judge Mr Justice Butterfield told the terrorist: 'You were, in my judgment, a lonely and angry young person at the time of these events, with a craving for attention. 'You are a dangerous young man, well capable of acting on the views you held in the spring of 2008.' His mother fled the court in tears as the sentence was passed and since he was jailed his family have regularly visited him in prison.
