The suspect in the Clapham chemical attack persuaded churches to support his asylum claim in Britain, it is claimed.
Abdul Ezedi, who allegedly threw a caustic liquid at a mother and her two children last week, was given a written testimonial by a Baptist minister as well as additional backing from the Catholic church, sources told the Mail.
The Afghan suspect secured the churches’ support despite being a convicted sex attacker.
A reference from a Baptist chapel in the North East, where Ezedi was living, was crucial in persuading an immigration tribunal that he had converted from Islam to Christianity. This led to him being allowed to stay in Britain on the grounds of human rights.
‘The one that really made a difference was from the Baptist church,’ a government source said. ‘One personal written submission talked of knowing Ezedi for four years, he had been attending church and they thought he was a genuine convert.’
Further backing was provided by the Catholic Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, the source claimed.
The Afghan suspect secured the churches’ support despite being a convicted sex attacker.
A reference from a Baptist chapel in the North East, where Ezedi was living, was crucial in persuading an immigration tribunal that he had converted from Islam to Christianity.
Yesterday, asked whether the Government would review how asylum seekers were allowed to stay in Britain after converting to Christianity, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘I’ve been very clear that, when it comes to illegal migrants, we need to have a system where someone who comes here illegally should not be able to stay.’
Asked whether there was a ‘loophole’ that needed to be closed, he said: ‘More generally I’ve tightened up the system every which way I can, but fundamentally this is just about fairness.
‘People coming here illegally at that point shouldn’t be able to stay.’
No 10 later said the Government had already taken action to stop people trying to ‘game the system’.
Home Secretary James Cleverly is understood to be awaiting a full report from officials after asking for the facts about Ezedi’s case.
He is expected to scrutinise whether there are flaws in the asylum system which could prompt rule changes.
Ezedi arrived in Britain in the back of a lorry in 2016 and had twice been refused asylum by 2018.
Then he was handed a suspended sentence for sex crimes. He was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court in January 2018 and given a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for a charge of sexual assault. He was also given 36 weeks’ imprisonment to be served consecutively for a charge of indecent exposure. This was also suspended for two years.
The allegations about Ezedi come amid claims that as many as 40 small boat migrants being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset are converting to Christianity. Pictured: File photo
Ezedi was added to the sex offenders register for 10 years. He was discharged from probation supervision in 2020
Ezedi then made a third attempt to gain asylum, taking his case to an immigration tribunal.
He claimed he had converted to Christianity and would be in danger if he was returned to his homeland. He was granted leave to remain in Britain. A spokesman for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle said: ‘After checking local parish records and central records and after consulting with clergy, we have no indication that Abdul Ezedi was received into the Catholic faith in this diocese, or that a Catholic priest of this diocese gave him a reference. We do not know which Christian church received him nor which Christian minister gave him a reference.’
The allegations about Ezedi come amid claims that as many as 40 small boat migrants being housed on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset are converting to Christianity. David Rees, a church elder and education consultant, told BBC Radio 4 that faith leaders had visited the barge and aided conversions which had begun before they had arrived in Britain or during evangelistic courses.
Mr Rees said he was confident that all were genuine conversions.