Police have hit back at Reform UK’s claim of a “cover-up” over the immigration status of two Afghan men being prosecuted in connection with the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl.
Warwickshire police said they had asked the Home Office to confirm the full immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir, who have been charged in the case.
The force’s chief constable, Alex Franklin-Smith, took the unusual step of publishing a letter to the county council leader, Reform UK’s George Finch, who had accused authorities of a “cover-up” for not disclosing that the suspects are Afghan asylum seekers.
In the letter, published on the force’s website on Tuesday night, Franklin-Smith wrote: “I am confident that Warwickshire police has treated this investigation seriously from the outset working tirelessly to identify, locate, arrest and charge those suspected of being responsible for this awful crime as quickly as possible. Warwickshire police did not and will not cover up such criminality.
“As I confirmed to you when we spoke for the first time on Thursday 31 July, in events such as these it is good practice for police forces to work closely with partner agencies in order that we can collectively protect our communities.”
The alleged rape of the 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, said to have happened on 22 July, has become the centre of a political storm after the Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, amplified claims of a police cover-up.
Finch, the youngest council leader in England, alleged within days that Mulakhil and Kabir were asylum seekers, but police forces do not routinely release the immigration status of suspects, in order to prevent the potential prejudice of any future trial.
In a letter to the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, Finch claimed the police risked “disorder breaking out on the streets” of the county.
Cooper said on Tuesday “we do want to see greater transparency” from police forces and that she wanted national guidance to change in relation to the release of information about suspects.
Mulakhil has been charged with two counts of rape, while Kabir has been charged with kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting of the rape of a girl aged under 13. Both men are in custody and due to appear at Warwick crown court on 26 August.
Warwickshire county council’s chief executive briefed Finch confidentially about the immigration status of the two men, according to the chief constable’s letter.
Franklin-Smith said he confirmed to Finch last Thursday that this information was accurate but that “we wouldn’t be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance”.
The police chief said he had asked the Home Office to confirm the full immigration status of the two men, given that Finch had released some details publicly.
He added: “My responsibility is what Warwickshire police say and do and we will continue to work with our partners across the county on behalf of the Warwickshire public. I am confident that Warwickshire police has treated this investigation seriously from the outset, working tirelessly to identify, locate, arrest and charge those suspected of being responsible for this awful crime as quickly as possible.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “As the home secretary said yesterday, it has been widely reported that this case involves two Afghan individuals who are in the asylum system, some of which information has already been confirmed in open court.
“The home secretary has made clear that there is a strong public interest in maximum transparency wherever that is possible.
“That is why the Home Office and College of Policing are working together to strengthen and clarify the guidance around how and when information is released.”
