Warwickshire Police has refuted allegations that it withheld information regarding the reported rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, asserting that officers “did not and will not cover up such criminality.”
The denial follows claims by county council leader George Finch, who alleged that two men charged in connection with the reported crime were asylum seekers and accused the police force and Home Office of a cover-up.
In a letter addressed to Finch, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith stated that the force’s primary concern was to support the victim and identify those responsible.
Finch, who represents Reform UK, contended that residents had “not been told the full story” and that the only threat to public order stemmed from “the cover-up itself.”
“The immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir is now public knowledge, having been placed into the public domain by yourself,” Mr. Franklin-Smith wrote in a letter published on the force’s website.
The Chief Constable indicated that he had requested the Home Office to verify the men’s immigration status.
“The reported rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton on Tuesday 22 July was a truly horrific crime,” Mr. Franklin-Smith 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.”
He confirmed that he had initially spoken with Finch, the UK’s youngest council leader at 19, about the matter on July 31, as it was considered “good practice” to maintain close collaboration with partner agencies.
“You informed me you had already received a confidential briefing from your Chief Executive and that you knew the person charged was an asylum seeker,” he wrote.
“I confirmed this was accurate and we wouldn’t be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance.”
Finch had published a letter on his social media accounts on Sunday, claiming the chief executive of the council, Monica Fogarty, had told him Mohammad Kabir was an asylum seeker living in a house of multiple occupancy.
Ahmad Mulakhil faces two rape charges, while Mohammad Kabir is accused of kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting the rape of a girl aged under 13.
The men, both from the Warwickshire town, are scheduled to appear at Warwick Crown Court on August 26.
Guidelines concerning the disclosure of personal information about crime suspects are under review, but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has stated that the decision regarding what is released rests with individual police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had previously described the police’s decision not to disclose the details as a “cover-up.”
Speaking alongside Finch at a press conference in Westminster on Monday, Farage drew a parallel between a perceived lack of information from the police and the events following the Southport attacks in July.
“It is not… in any way at all a contempt of court for the British public to know the identity of those who allegedly have committed serious crimes,” he stated.
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