Alberto met the Minister for Border Security and Asylum, Rt Hon Anna Turley MP, to press for answers about how Twana Jamal Khdir was able to live and work in Blaby and claim asylum in the United Kingdom.
Alberto first wrote to the Home Office on 2 July, the day a BBC investigation exposed Khdir in the village. Further letters followed on 7 July and 11 August, and he raised the case in the House on 13 July. The Minister’s written reply is dated 14 September. Mr Costa made clear that he was deeply disappointed at the time the Home Office took to reply. His priority now is to get the system corrected and to keep this case under proper scrutiny at the Home Office.
Khdir is in custody, has been charged, and is remanded until Leicester Crown Court on 5 October. He has pleaded guilty to entering the UK without valid entry clearance and not guilty to seeking leave by deception. If he is convicted, the Home Office says it will seek to remove him at the earliest opportunity, subject to sentence and to whether he can be returned to Iraq.
Alberto put a series of questions about what checks were made when Khdir entered the country, what was understood at his asylum interview, what contact the Home Office has with European prison systems, whether partial-name checks are carried out, whether anything has changed since 2 July, and whether cases associated with Khdir are being reviewed.
Alberto has asked for a full written response to these questions. The Minister accepted that there are lessons to learn from this case and agreed to keep Mr Costa updated, including immediately after the 5 October hearing.
Mr Costa said:
“Residents in Blaby should have had a quicker reply from the Home Office and I have made that abundantly clear to the Minister. What matters now is that we use this case to close the gaps that allowed it to happen.
“I put detailed questions today about checks, information-sharing and enforcement. I will follow those up in writing. The Minister has agreed to a proper look at what went wrong and to keep my office informed as the case proceeds.
“This matter is before the courts, so there is a limit to what can be said. Within that limit I will continue to hold the government to account and to tell constituents as much as I can.
“This must not happen in Blaby, or indeed anywhere else. I hope the Minister will take the lessons from this case. There are many. I will keep pressing until they are acted on.”
Mr Costa also raised the apparent lack of coordination after the BBC investigation, including the limited role taken by Leicestershire Police and the fact that the most visible local action came from Blaby District Council on licensing. The Minister undertook to look at how immigration enforcement, the NCA and local police worked together on this case.
