Source: Sky News – Page 3 – Eye on Islamism

Suella Braverman: Illegal immigrants ‘at odds with British values’ — as small boats bill passes next hurdle The home secretary claims criminality is 'very closely linked' to Channel crossings, with 'many' people getting involved in drugs, violence and prostitution. Meanwhile, MPs voted through controversial legislation to tackle small boats and it will now head to the Lords.

April 26, 2023 Jennifer Scott

(Sky News) The behaviour of people arriving in the UK on small boats is “at odds with British values,” the home secretary has claimed. Speaking exclusively to Sky News, Suella Braverman said people making the dangerous Channel crossing — who include asylum […]

Suella Braverman describes grooming gang comments as ‘unfashionable facts’ after backlash The home secretary claimed it was not racist to speak 'plain truths' after she was accused of amplifying far-right narratives with claims most grooming gang members are British-Pakistani.

April 20, 2023 Faye Brown

(Sky News) Suella Braverman has defended her use of language after claiming grooming gang members are “almost all British-Pakistani,” describing them as “unfashionable facts” in the face of a backlash. In a column for the Spectator, the home secretary said it was […]

Shabazz Suleman: British IS recruit who claimed he spent time in Syria ‘on Playstation’ pleads guilty to terror offence Shabazz Suleman, who was arrested after returning to Heathrow in 2021, previously insisted he spent most of his three years in terrorist territory playing PlayStation and riding his bike.

April 14, 2023 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) A former grammar school pupil has pleaded guilty to travelling to Syria to join Islamic State, despite previously claiming he had spent his time there playing computer games. Shabazz Suleman had just completed his AS-levels at a grammar school in […]

Muslim groups urge Suella Braverman to withdraw ‘irresponsible and divisive’ grooming gang comments A Home Office-commissioned study in 2020 found that group-based child sexual exploitation offenders are most commonly white.

April 11, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) Suella Braverman has been urged to withdraw “divisive” comments around child sexual exploitation (CSE) by dozens of medical bodies, businesses and Muslim community organisations, Sky News can reveal. A number of Muslim organisations across the country have written to Rishi […]

Home Office confirms plan to house asylum seekers in giant barge in Dorset The plan has proved controversial after the local MP and council raised concerns the area is inappropriate for hundreds of asylum seekers to be placed. But the government has said it needs to move them out of expensive hotels.

April 5, 2023 Alix Culbertson and Faye Brown

(Sky News) A giant vessel docked off the Dorset coast will be used to hold hundreds of asylum seekers, the Home Office has confirmed, despite legal threats from local Tories. The barge, called the Bibby Stockholm, will be berthed in Portland Port […]

Manchester Arena attack victim’s father intends to sue MI5 for failing to stop bombing Andrew Roussos, father to victim Saffie Roussos, said that the apology from MI5 came too late, and he wishes he could have his daughter back.

March 5, 2023 Lauren Russell

(Sky News) The father of the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing intends to sue MI5. Eight-year-old Saffie Roussos was one of the 22 people killed in the attack by suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, in May 2017. Now her father, […]

Suella Braverman alarmed by ‘death threats’ against pupils who allegedly damaged Koran The home secretary made the remark after four students were suspended over an incident at a school in West Yorkshire. A copy of the Islamic text was reportedly brought into school before its cover was slightly torn and smears of dirt were found on some pages.

March 4, 2023 Tom Gillespie

(Sky News) Reports of death threats against West Yorkshire school pupils who allegedly damaged a copy of the Koran are alarming, the home secretary has said. Suella Braverman has spoken of her “deep concern” over the case and said it raises broader […]

Clare O’Neil says protecting Australians is ‘driving force’ for decisions in the case of domestic terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has faced questions around the release of one of Australia’s most infamous domestic terrorists, as his detention order is set to expire.

February 27, 2023 Ewa Staszewska

(Sky News) Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has reassured Australians that national security is of utmost importance while being quizzed about the potential release of Abdul Nacer Benbrika. The infamous domestic terrorist’s future is up in the air, with a detention order […]

Humza Yousaf’s absence from key vote on gay marriage being ‘dragged up’ for political reasons, SNP leadership candidate says Regarding religious concerns about homosexuality, Humza Yousaf tells Sky News that while he 'can't change what's in scripture,' he will not allow 'personal faith to be the basis of legislation.'

February 26, 2023 Andy Hayes

(Sky News) One of three candidates vying to take over from Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the SNP says his absence from a key vote on gay marriage is being “dragged up” for political reasons. Humza Yousaf told Sky News that his […]

Six men jailed for people-smuggling after joint operation by British and French police The French authorities were alerted about an illicit shipment which saw the launch of surveillance leading to 'one of many significant operational results over the last two to three years' and disruption to a number of organised gangs.

February 8, 2023 Adam Parsons

(Sky News) Six men have been convicted of people-smuggling and sent to prison following a joint operation between British and French police. The men were given sentences ranging from two to five years after a trial in the French city of Douai. […]

Man charged with terrorism offences after incident at Leeds St James’s Hospital maternity unit Mohammad Farooq has been charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and with explosives and firearms offences following the incident at St James's Hospital.

January 26, 2023 Samuel Osborne

(Sky News) A man has been charged under the Terrorism Act following an incident at a hospital’s maternity wing in Leeds. Mohammad Farooq, 27, of Roundhay, Leeds, was charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and with explosives […]

Barber shop owner who sent COVID grants money to Islamic State fighters jailed Police identified transfers of money with a total of about £11,280 — while the court heard Tarek Namouz was recorded telling a visitor in prison he had sent around £25,000.

January 5, 2023 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) A barber shop owner who sent thousands of pounds to Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria after claiming COVID grant payments has been jailed for 12 years. Tarek Namouz, 43, from Hammersmith in west London, had received the bounce-back loans […]

Rishi Sunak’s Albania immigration strategy unlikely to reduce Channel crossings, claims source The prime minister's flagship policy is unlikely to reduce overall illegal immigration, a senior source at the Home Office has warned.

January 3, 2023 Joe Pike

(Sky News) Rishi Sunak’s flagship policy to stop Albanian migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats is unlikely to reduce overall illegal immigration because of “infinite” demand, Home Office sources have warned. The prime minister’s five-point plan, launched last month, specifically […]

Record number of people cross Channel to UK in small boats in 2022 — as arrivals soar by 60% in a year The figures, compiled and analysed by Sky News, show a sharp rise in the number of arrivals last year — a continuation of a years-long trend that shows no signs of stopping.

January 1, 2023 Michael Drummond

(Sky News) A record 45,728 people crossed the English Channel to the UK on small boats in 2022, up more than 60% on the previous year as migrants continue to risk their lives making the dangerous journey. The perils of the deep […]

Disused cruise ships could house asylum seekers — as government due to spend £2.3bn a year on hotels The home secretary told peers at a committee there are 117,000 people in the UK's asylum system, with 40,000 in hotels, which is costing more than £5m a day.

December 21, 2022 Alix Culbertson

(Sky News) Disused cruise ships could be used to house asylum seekers — while the government expects to spend £3.5bn on people who have come to the UK to find sanctuary from persecution this fiscal year, the home secretary has said. Suella […]

Tories call for changes to modern slavery rules to send ‘bogus asylum seekers’ home A group of Tory MPs wants to make it easier to return 'bogus asylum seekers' to the homes 'in the villages from which they came from.'

November 28, 2022 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) A group of more than 50 MPs has written to PM Rishi Sunak, urging him to introduce emergency legislation which will cut small boat crossings of the Channel. The group, which includes former cabinet ministers, called for the rapid implementation […]

Barber shop owner sent COVID grant money to Islamic State fighters, court hears

November 24, 2022 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) A barber shop owner sent £25,000 to Islamic State (IS) fighters in Syria after claiming thousands of pounds in COVID grants, a court has heard. Tarek Namouz, 43, from west London, had received money from the government to assist his […]

Shamima Begum: Police and school ‘missed opportunities’ to stop her leaving UK, lawyers claim Questions have been raised over whether 'key indicators' that Ms Begum and her two school friends were at risk of being trafficked were missed.

November 22, 2022 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) The police and her school missed opportunities to stop Shamima Begum travelling to Syria and joining ISIS and should have stopped her, according to her lawyers. There were questions about whether “key indicators” that Ms Begum and her two school […]

Shamima Begum was sexually exploited by ISIS, appeal hearing told Ms Begum, now 23, left Britain with two friends from the Bethnal Green Academy in east London, who are thought to have been killed in the conflict.

November 21, 2022 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) Shamima Begum, the jihadi bride, was trafficked by ISIS for sexual exploitation, her lawyers have told a hearing to appeal against her deprivation of citizenship. She launched her main appeal against the decision, with her lawyers telling a tribunal: “Shamima […]

Drill rapping ‘terrorist’ Al Arfat Hassan ‘threatened blood and torment if his girlfriend left him,’ court hears Al Arfat Hassan, 19, from Enfield, told his girlfriend he would 'blow sh*t up' if she broke up with him and told her she couldn't visit her eight-year-old cousin without wearing a veil.

October 18, 2022 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) A drill rapping alleged terrorist threatened to bring “blood, terror and torment” when his girlfriend told her she was splitting up with him, a court has heard. Al Arfat Hassan, 19, had a series of arguments with a girl he […]

Revealed: The breadcrumb trail that identified the IS ‘Beatles’ Police followed a 'trail of very small breadcrumbs' to identify the British terrorists, but one piece of information a hostage felt was 'fairly unremarkable' turned out to be hugely significant.

August 17, 2022 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) Freed hostages were able to give British police key information identifying an IS kidnap gang nicknamed “The Beatles” which had held and tortured them, Scotland Yard has revealed. Officers have disclosed key breakthroughs that allowed them to identify the jihadis […]

Liz Truss says she would ‘support and extend’ the [government’s] controversial Rwanda deportation policy ‘to more countries’ The government announced its plan to send migrants who arrive illegally in the UK to Rwanda just three months ago, saying it would deter people from making the Channel crossings.

August 3, 2022 Sophie Morris

(Sky News) Liz Truss has said she would “support and extend” the government’s controversial Rwanda deportation policy “to more countries.” The widely criticised strategy, introduced by the current Conservative government, has been the subject of numerous court cases and received widespread international […]

Shamima Begum: IS bride insists she ‘didn’t hate Britain’ when she fled to Syria — and now wants to face trial in UK She left home in London aged 15 for the promise of paradise, instead she found 'hell, hell on Earth.' Begum rejects accusations that she carried out atrocities as part of IS as 'all completely false.'

November 21, 2021 Alistair Bunkall

(Sky News) Shamima Begum, the Bethnal Green schoolgirl who fled to Syria and joined IS, has told Sky News she was groomed by friends and older men she met online before joining the terror group. Speaking from a prison camp in Syria, […]

Man charged with terror offences after arrest at Heathrow Airport, Thames Valley Police say Shabazz Suleman, 25, who is accused of being a member of the so-called Islamic State terrorist group, will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday.

October 5, 2021 Rebecca Speare-Cole

(Sky News) A man has been charged with terror offences after being arrested at Heathrow Airport, Thames Valley Police said. Shabazz Suleman, who is also accused of being a member of the Islamic State group, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on […]

Afghanistan: Person on no-fly list flown into UK during evacuation operation, MPs told The individual, who is not being identified by the government, is understood to have reached UK soil on a British military plane, with officials being alerted overnight.'

August 23, 2021 Sam Coates and Deborah Haynes

(Sky News) A person from Afghanistan on the UK’s no-fly list has been flown into Birmingham as part of the British evacuation operation in a potential security breach, MPs have been told. The individual, who is not being identified by the government, […]

Fishmongers’ Hall: Intelligence warned killer might attack on release — but it wasn’t widely circulated, inquest told Before Khan's release, a policeman's pocket book recorded he was a 'radicaliser of others' and in prison 'holds shariah court.'

May 19, 2021 Duncan Gardham

(Sky News) Intelligence warned the Fishmongers’ Hall killer might launch an attack on his release from prison — but it was not shared with his probation officer, an inquest has heard. Usman Khan was handed an indeterminate sentence in 2012 for plotting […]

Shamima Begum: IS bride ‘angry, upset and crying’ after court rules she can’t return to UK Her friends at their camp in northern Syria told Sky News she is refusing to speak to them.

February 27, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) IS bride Shamima Begum is “very angry, upset and crying” after being refused permission to return to the UK to fight a decision to strip her of British citizenship. On Friday, five Supreme Court justices unanimously turned down her request […]

Terrorists should ‘not necessarily’ serve full jail term, says Jeremy Corbyn The father of terror victim Jack Merritt does not wish his son's death to be 'used as a pretext for more draconian sentences.'

December 1, 2019 Emily Mee and Alan McGuinness

(Sky News) Jeremy Corbyn has told Sky News that convicted terrorists should “not necessarily” automatically serve their full prison sentences. The Labour leader’s comment comes in the wake of Friday’s London Bridge terror attack, which left two people dead. The attacker, 28-year-old […]

British IS fighters could be brought back to the UK to face prosecution The US has put significant pressure on Britain and other European allies to deal with hundreds of detained IS militants.

November 23, 2019 Deborah Haynes

(Sky News) British Islamic State detainees will be brought back from Syria if they can be prosecuted in the UK and there is no better place to try their case, the national security adviser has said. Sir Mark Sedwill’s comments are the […]

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi death: Monitoring of Islamist extremist suspects in Britain stepped up The move is precautionary amid warnings of potential reprisal attacks after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself in a US raid.

October 28, 2019 Deborah Haynes

(Sky News) Security officials are increasing monitoring of high-priority Islamist extremist suspects in Britain following the death of the leader of Islamic State, according to Sky sources. The move is precautionary amid warnings of the potential for reprisal attacks by supporters of […]

Jihadi Jack: ‘Free me so I can fight against Islamic radicalisation’ Jack Letts tells Sky News he doesn't mind losing his British citizenship because he doesn't want to be governed by Boris Johnson.

August 20, 2019 Dominic Waghorn

(Sky News) The Briton who ran away to join Islamic State as a teenager has told Sky News he wants to be released from jail to join the fight against Islamist radicalisation. In an interview from prison, Jack Letts told Sky News […]

Muslims divided over Johnson’s controversial comments in the past Boris Johnson became prime minister saying he would unify the country but to some Muslims he has been a divisive figure.

July 27, 2019 Lisa Holland

(Sky News) Boris Johnson is morally unfit to be prime minister, according to a former chairman of the Conservative Muslim Forum. Mohammed Amin, who has been a member of the Tory party for 36 years, shocked many in June when he compared […]

‘Jihadi Jack’ Letts: I’d love to come home, I won’t blow up Brits Speaking to Sky News from a jail in Syria, Jack Letts urges his parents who were convicted of funding terrorism 'not to give up.'

June 23, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) A suspected Islamic State militant from the UK, dubbed “Jihadi Jack,” has told Sky News he regrets what he did and feels guilty for what he put his parents through. Speaking from the prison in Syria where he is being […]

Islamic State bride Shamima Begum: I am willing to change The 19-year-old tells Sky News her newborn son is unwell and she will not allow him to return to Britain from Syria alone.

February 22, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) Islamic State bride Shamima Begum has told Sky News she is “willing to change” as she asked for “mercy” from politicians after being stripped of her UK citizenship. The 19-year-old — who wants to return to Britain from Syria — […]

Jeremy Corbyn: Removing IS teen Shamima Begum’s UK citizenship ‘not right’ The Labour leader questions the government's action against the 19-year-old and claims 'she should be brought back' to Britain.

February 21, 2019 Greg Heffer

(Sky News) Jeremy Corbyn has told Sky News stripping Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum of her British citizenship is “not the right thing to do.” The Labour leader questioned Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s decision to bar the 19-year-old from the UK, adding […]

Shamima Begum: 78% of Britons support revoking IS bride’s UK citizenship — Sky Data poll Eight in 10 Britons think Sajid Javid is right to remove her UK citizenship — as Bangladesh insists she is not a dual citizen.

February 20, 2019 Harry Carr

(Sky News) The vast majority of the British public support the home secretary’s decision to remove the UK citizenship of Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum, a Sky Data poll reveals. Eight in 10 Britons (78%) think Sajid Javid was right to remove […]

Tory vice-chair Kemi Badenoch says ‘political motive’ to Islamophobia call Conservative rising star Kemi Badenoch is rebuked by a Tory peer for dismissing the demands of the Muslim Council of Britain.

November 4, 2018 Greg Heffer

(Sky News) A high-ranking Tory has suggested demands for an inquiry into allegations of Islamophobia within the party have a “political motive,” prompting a backlash from a Conservative peer. Party vice chair and Saffron Walden MP Kemi Badenoch, considered a rising star […]

Boris Johnson stands by burka remarks, accusing colleagues of ‘confected indignation’ Mr Johnson also tells Sky News he is worried the EU may go for the Chequers proposal as it's 'a great deal for them.'

September 28, 2018 Beth Rigby

(Sky News) Boris Johnson has refused to apologise for comparing women wearing burkas to “bank robbers” and accused colleagues of whipping up “confected indignation” over the remarks. In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News, Mr Johnson also warned that the EU may […]

Man and woman plead not guilty to genital mutilation of three-year-old girl The suspects, from Ghana and Uganda, have also been charged over several allegations of possessing indecent images.

August 31, 2018 Adele Robinson

(Sky News) A man and a woman have pleaded not guilty to the female genital mutilation (FGM) of a three-year-old girl. The man, a 43-year-old from Ghana, and the woman, a 36-year-old from Uganda — who cannot be named for legal reasons […]

Met Police chief: Boris Johnson’s burka comments not a criminal offence The former foreign secretary faces criticism for a column which argued against banning the full-face veil in Britain.

August 9, 2018 Aubrey Allegretti

(Sky News) Boris Johnson’s comments comparing women who wear the burka to “bank robbers” and “letter boxes” would not “reach the bar” for a criminal offence, the head of the Metropolitan Police has said. Commissioner Cressida Dick said “some people have clearly […]

Sky Data poll: Comparing women who wear burkas to bank robbers ‘not racist’ The public are split as to whether Boris Johnson should apologise for his burka comments, according to a new Sky Data poll.

August 8, 2018 Harry Carr

(Sky News) The majority of Britons think describing women in burkas as looking like “letter boxes” and “bank robbers” is not racist — but are split as to whether Boris Johnson should apologise for doing so, according to a new Sky Data […]

Those who stand up to extremism ‘vilified’ in UK, says commissioner Sara Khan Counter-extremism commissioner Sara Khan admits she has received death threats in the course of her work.

July 11, 2018 Jason Farrell

(Sky News) People are being “vilified” for standing up to extremism in some UK communities, the counter-extremism commissioner has told Sky News. Sara Khan said some stories have left her “heartbroken,” while the problem is increasing in scale and becoming more professionalised. […]