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November 1, 2006

UK: Livingstone's Gaffe Over Islamist Tube Worker

On February 7 this year, the former imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque, hook-handed Egyptian-born Abu Hamza, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. He was found guilty of soliciting to murder and inciting racial hatred, and also possession of a document (the Encyclopedia of Jihad) which could further terrorism. He had called Jews "apes and pigs" in his sermons, and had also said: "Killing a Kaffir (non-Muslim) for any reason you can say it is OK even if there is no reason for it."

Three of the four people who attacked the London Underground on July 7 last year had been to his mosque to listen to his sermons of hate. Until yesterday, state the Guardian and Monsters & Critics, Hamza has been appealing against his conviction, saying that the trial had been "unfair". It was argued by his defense team that the six-year delay between the making of his sermons of incitement and the trial made a fair procedure "impossible and oppressive". However, the sermons were all captured on video and audiotape. Edward Fitzgerald QC had said that subsequent events, including the 7/7 tune bombings, had prejudiced the case. David Perry QC, argued that the conviction was safe and said the appeal should be dismissed. Hamza will hear the results of the two day hearing at a later date.

While Hamza's lawyers were arguing in the Court of Appeal, news emerged that his son, 25-year old Mohammed Kamel Mostafa, had been working on the London Underground. In August 1999, Mostafa had been sentenced to three years' jail in Yemen for plotting to blow up British and American targets. Until this week, he had been working on the underground with a firm, Tube Lines, which was sub-contracted to do maintenance and building work on the lines. The company has a 30-year contract to maintain the Northern, Jubilee and Piccadilly lines.

The exclusive news had first been revealed by the Sun newspaper on October 30.

The Sun stated that Mostafa had also worked in restricted regions of the London Underground which were classed as potential bomb targets. The revelation of his identity as the son of Hamza the terror preacher had come last week. Mostafa had tried to sell information about his father for £60,000 ($114,528), in the form of a book.

Labour MP Andrew Dismore had said of Mostafa's employment: "It beggars belief. It wasn't like he was nicked for shoplifting - it was terror offences in Yemen. You'd think the Underground would be particularly sensitive to terrorism."

A source confirmed to United Press International that Mostafa was able to enter areas which were off-limits to the public. The source said: "The fear was he could have planted anything down there and he had access to the top area. It's the area that, if hit, would cause the maximum damage imaginable. I can't believe he slipped through the net."

Following the Sun's disclosure, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, became involved. Livingstone is a personal friend of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Qatari-based "spiritual leader" of the Muslim Brotherhood, who thinks homosexuals should be thrown off cliffs and supports suicide attacks against Israeli citizens. Livingstone had compared Qaradawi to Pope John XXIII, who set up the second Vatican Council (Vatican II). He had also invited the terror-supporting sheikh to London.

Yet Livingstone's reactions to the employment of Mohammed Kamel Mostafa on the London Underground was breathtaking. As reported in the Times, the Sun, ITV.com, Harrow Times, Metro.co.uk, Gulf Times and Lifestyle Extra the Mayor of London said he was "happy" for the Islamist to work on London Underground.

He said yesterday at his weekly press conference at City Hall: "The son of Abu Hamza has been working for a contractor of London Underground. No one can be blamed for what their parents do. You wouldn't say to someone 'you can't work on the tube because your mum is the editor of The Sun.' All we ask is to respect the laws of Britain and do not hurt anyone."

When he was told that Mostafa had convictions in Yemen, Livingstone made his position worse by displaying his contempt for MI6, the intelligence agency which deals with offshore terror. He said "I wouldn't be at all surprised if MI6 was working with him to try to overthrow the regime in Yemen. Has he been convicted of any offence in Britain? The answer is no. We are happy to have him work here for us."

Livingstone's left-wing passions had interfered with his political nous. It was only after his statement had been relayed to news organizations around the world that he realized what a political gaffe he had made, and was forced into offering a subsequent retraction. The focus of the news then shifted from the shock of a convicted terrorist employed in sensitive regions of the Underground to the shock of Livingstone's ignorance of the case, and reporting of his public "U-turn".

Livingtone's office released a statement six hours after the disastrous press conference, which read: "In this country a person cannot be sacked for what their parents do. It is the actions of Mohammed Kamel Mostafa himself which are relevant. However, Mr Mostafa has convictions in Yemen. These must be taken into account. They should have been brought to light by those doing the security checks, the failure to do so must be investigated. As he failed to declare these to the subcontractor they are correct to dismiss him."

Mostafa has been sacked from his post. The news of Red Ken's U-turn is reported by the BBC and Bloomberg, which states that Livingstone is now calling for an investigation into how Mostafa was employed on the Underground.

Additionally, it is revealed by This is London that Abu Hamza had defied a Treasury order which froze his assets, by passing on an apartment to his son Mostafa.

The property in Hammersmith, west London, was handed over to Mohammed Kamel Mostafa while Hamza was under police investigation. The former council flat had been sold in September 2004 for £228,000 ($435,243). While Hamza was in Belmarsh prison, he then bought a four bedroom house in Greenford, near Heathrow, for £220,000 ($419,937).

The Treasury order had been made in 2002, but by passing the apartment to his eldest son, Hamza had exploited a loophole and left the Treasury powerless to act. Hamza had received no money in the transfer. Theresa Villiers, shadow secretary to the Treasury, said the news was "scandalous".

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 1, 2006 11:54 AM

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