Calls have been made for the deportation of Abu Wadee, a Palestinian small-boat migrant accused of posting threats against Jewish people, after he was housed in Corby under the Home Office asylum dispersal scheme.
Wadee, 34, served nine months in prison after being convicted of illegally entering the UK by dinghy last year. He is now living in a shared property with three other people while his asylum claim is considered.
The Home Office is understood to be seeking his deportation, although the timescale for any action remains unclear.
His accommodation is estimated to cost the taxpayer £23.25 a night under average figures for the asylum dispersal scheme. He may also receive up to £49.18 a week in subsistence support.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said it was a “joke” that taxpayers were funding the accommodation of a man he described as a Hamas supporter and “gun-toting extremist”.
“This man – and all those entering illegally – should be deported,” the Conservative frontbencher said. “Given that he supports Hamas and Hamas-run Gaza, I see no reason why he can’t go back there. He’d fit right in.”
Lee Barron, the Labour MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire, said he was “appalled” by Wadee’s presence in the town and would ask Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to seek his immediate deportation.
“We have done this before in Corby and we’ll do it again,” Mr Barron said.
Wadee was believed to be inside the semi-detached house when it was visited, but there was no answer at the property. A housing officer later arrived, while a taxi sent for Wadee was cancelled.
The driver had been given Wadee’s full name, Mosab Abdulkarim al-Gassas. The housing officer initially said Wadee did not wish to comment before later claiming he was not at the address.
Neighbours expressed concern about his presence. One said they supported helping people from war-torn countries but added: “But to say death to Jewish people? I am appalled. That is not welcome here. Not in this country or this street.”
Another resident described the news that Wadee was living nearby as “scary”, saying: “I never thought they would allow someone like this to live here.”
Wadee has been accused of previously posting videos and photographs showing him posing with assault rifles and taking part in rhetoric directed against Jews. In one video posted in September 2024, he called on Allah to “kill them one by one” and to “destroy them completely”, according to a translation cited in the source material.
He is believed to be from Khan Yunis in Gaza and is alleged to have been a prominent member of the so-called Tyre-Burning Unit, described as a group of Palestinian extremists that threw firebombs and rocks at Israeli forces on the Gaza border before the war.
Wadee documented his journey across Europe to a large TikTok following and has since created social media accounts showing his life in Britain. He had previously made asylum applications in Greece, Belgium and Germany before crossing the Channel, according to the information available.
The Campaign Against Anti-Semitism questioned why he was able to remain in the country after completing his prison sentence.
“What is the point of imprisoning someone for being in the country illegally, and then when he completed his sentence, allowing him to roam free?” a spokesman said. “Our laws have become a laughing stock.”
A Government spokesman said any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in the UK is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and barred from returning.
“Over 11,000 foreign criminals including murderers and rapists have been returned or deported in the two years since the last election – a 41 per cent increase on the two years prior,” the spokesman said.
