A man who took part in a group violent attack and fatal stabbing in Birmingham has had his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal following intervention by the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.

Warsame Mohamed, now aged 24 took part in a violent attack and stabbing resulting in the death of a young man. In September 2016 the victim, Zakir Nawaz, aged 21 was with an old school friend when the car they were in was involved in a collision. As a result the victim set out to find the group responsible.

As the victim approached a group outside a restaurant he was attacked. Mohamed, alongside a further group of other individuals, exited the nearby car shortly after to join in the violence against the victim. The group violently attacked the victim for some time, using punches and kicks to injure him.

As the victim tried to flee the scene, another individual fatally stabbed him. While Mohamed did not deliver the fatal stabbing, he did inflict kicks and punches to the victim.

Following the incident Mohamed and the individual suspected of stabbing the victim fled the country, resulting in a delayed trial causing the victim’s family further distress.

On 10 July 2019 Mohamed was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to 4 years and 6 months’ imprisonment for manslaughter and 2 years’ imprisonment for the count of violent disorder, to be served concurrently.

The Court of Appeal increased this to 7 years’ imprisonment, after the sentence was referred as being unduly lenient by the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.

After the hearing the Solicitor General said:

“The offender acted in a way that caused harm and suffering to the victim, before fleeing justice. A longer sentence is appropriate in this case.”

On 14-16 October UK’s Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues the Rt Hon Lord Pickles paid a visit to Lithuania, to learn more about historical memory of the Holocaust as well as endeavors to preserve Jewish heritage before 2020, the year of Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian Jews and Sugihara.

During the three day trip, accompanied by the British Ambassador to Lithuania Brian Olley, Lord Pickles visited the memorials of Holocaust victims in Paneriai and Kaunas, laid flowers at the memorial stone for Righteous Among Nations, met different state officials and visited a number of Jewish-related cultural and historical places. During his visit Lord Pickles not only emphasised the importance of speaking the truth, but also focused on the importance of preserving historical memory, citing London’s new world-class Holocaust Learning Centre’s as an example of advancing Holocaust education around the world.

The visit also provided an opportunity to commemorate the legacy of former British diplomat Sir Thomas Hildebrand Preston, British Consul and later Charge d’Affairs in Kaunas, who in 1940 provided illegal Palestine certificates for Jews, to enable them to escape from Lithuania through Istanbul to Palestine. He also provided 800 Jews with legal travel certificates, a few hundred of which were able to cross the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden.

His efforts were recognised in 2017 with a British Heroes of the Holocaust medal and in 2018 in the British Embassy Vilnius exhibition “Building Bridges”. In order to continue preserving the memory of Sir Thomas Preston in Lithuania, Lord Pickles presented a replica of Sir Thomas Preston’s British Heroes of the Holocaust Medal to The Sugihara Foundation in Kaunas, becoming one of a small number of artefacts, included in their public exhibition.

The UK’s Special Envoy for post-Holocaust issues later described his three day engagement as:

an interesting visit to Lithuania on Holocaust Issue. Moving and poignant, forming links that we will build on.

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A new £1 million wave of UK government advertising to encourage EU citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme has launched today (18 October 2019). It builds on the £3.75 million campaign which supported the full Scheme launch in March 2019.

Outdoor advertising in around 2,400 places across the UK will be followed by eye-catching adverts on catch-up TV, radio and social media over the coming weeks.

Adverts will also appear in foreign language newspapers and radio stations right across the UK.

Minister of State for Security and Deputy for EU Exit and No Deal Preparation Brandon Lewis said:

I’m thrilled we’ve had more than two million applications to the EU Settlement Scheme already but there’s always more to do to raise awareness.

That’s why I’ve launched this nationwide campaign which will reach people up and down the country through billboards, radio and social media so that EU citizens know how to apply and can get the status they need.

To help raise awareness of the EU Settlement Scheme at a local level, the Home Office is also holding a series of innovative pop-up events across the UK where staff will answer questions and help people to apply in person.

Home Office Minister Brandon Lewis attended the launch in Great Yarmouth on Friday 6 September 2019 and other events this month will be taking place in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Tower Hamlets, Nottingham, Leeds and Birmingham.

The Home Office has also released a beta version of the EU Exit ID Document Check App for iPhone devices. The App is being tested on the Apple App Store for iPhone 8 and above, and will be available on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus following an upcoming iOS software update.

Individuals can apply to the EU Settlement Scheme using any laptop or mobile device. The App is entirely optional and is just one of several ways people can verify their identity, including by post or at one of the more than 80 locations across the UK where applicants can have their passport scanned and verified.

There is a wide range of support available for EU citizens and their families to help them apply. For example, the government has awarded up to £9 million to 57 voluntary and community sector organisations across the UK who are helping vulnerable people such as the homeless, disabled and elderly.

Additional support is also available to those EU citizens in the UK who do not have the appropriate access, skills or confidence to apply online. This includes more than 300 assisted digital locations across the UK where people can be supported through their application.

EU citizens have until at least December 2020 to apply.

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