Children have been filmed chanting “Free Palestine!” in videos linked to Abu Wadee, the asylum seeker who was recently moved from a taxpayer-funded Home Office property in Corby after controversy over his past statements and alleged links to Hamas.
The footage emerged as Wadee, 34, left the Northamptonshire town accommodation in a taxi. Two police officers and a man who identified himself as a housing officer were present as his belongings were loaded into the vehicle.
Wadee was seen leaving through a side entrance shortly after midday on Wednesday, wearing a hooded jacket, sunglasses and a baseball cap. An electronic ankle tag could be seen beneath his three-quarter-length trousers.
He appeared to duck below the taxi window as it pulled away. The police officers left soon afterwards, while the housing officer remained inside the property.
Videos filmed in Corby
The videos featuring the children were posted on Wadee’s now-deleted TikTok account, which had around 20,000 followers. They were filmed at the Willow Place Shopping Centre, about a mile and a half from the house where he had been staying.
Other clips appear to show Wadee posing beside a purple and white bicycle matching one seen outside the property. A retail worker said he had seen Wadee in the shopping area on at least two occasions, apparently using a selfie stick while broadcasting live on TikTok.
A takeaway courier also said he had seen Wadee outside a discount store in the precinct, holding his phone in front of him and speaking as though he was livestreaming.
Wadee’s presence in Corby followed his release from prison in December. He had been housed alongside three other migrants under the Home Office asylum dispersal scheme.
He arrived in Britain by small boat in March 2025 and was jailed last year after being identified as the man behind an online video in which he called for Allah to “kill (Jews) one by one… don’t leave a single one”.
He had also been associated in Gaza with a group described as a Hamas-affiliated “tyre-burning unit”, which threw firebombs and rocks at Israeli border forces. Wadee has admitted he was once part of the unit and has acknowledged being photographed with assault rifles.
Earlier this week, when confronted in Corby, Wadee said he no longer supported Hamas, had Jewish friends and wanted to remain in Britain. He claimed his support for the organisation had been given under duress eight years ago.
Asked whether he still supported Hamas, he said: “No, no, no. I love England, I love Corby. Everyone knows that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that would kill us if we didn’t speak against the Jews while living there.”
In other videos, Wadee claimed his human rights were being infringed and said he had been unable to find a lawyer to represent him. He said: “I have not committed any crime or done anything wrong in Britain. They are punishing me.”
He added: “I didn’t come to cause trouble, and I haven’t caused any trouble. Unfortunately, I can’t find anyone to defend my rights. I can’t find lawyers or Palestinian or Arab embassies willing to stand with me here.”
It is understood that Home Office officials are seeking to remove Wadee from the country. A Government spokeswoman said any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in Britain is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and barred from returning.
She said more than 11,000 foreign criminals had been returned or deported in the two years since the last election, representing a 41 per cent increase on the previous two-year period.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp described it as a “joke” that Wadee had continued to live in taxpayer-funded accommodation and called for him to be sent back to Hamas-controlled territory. Corby Labour MP Lee Barron said he was contacting Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to seek Wadee’s “immediate deportation”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said Wadee should have been deported after his conviction. Its spokesman also said the organisation had previously urged the Crown Prosecution Service to consider terrorism charges, but that the request had been refused.
Northamptonshire Police said officers had attended an address in Corby “in support of colleagues from a partner agency as they conducted a visit”.
