Abu Wadee, the Palestinian asylum seeker who was jailed after posting a video calling for Jews to be killed, has been moved from his taxpayer-funded accommodation in Corby amid demands for his deportation.
The 34-year-old was taken from the Home Office asylum property in a taxi while two Northamptonshire Police officers watched. A man who identified himself as a housing officer was seen loading bags into the vehicle before it left.
Wadee emerged shortly after midday wearing a hooded jacket, sunglasses and a baseball cap which obscured his face. An ankle tag was visible beneath his three-quarter-length trousers as he carried a red umbrella and ducked below the window of the taxi.
He had been living in the HMO with three other migrants after being released from prison in December. The police officers left shortly afterwards, while the housing officer remained inside the property.
Wadee arrived in the UK by small boat in March 2025 and was jailed last year after his online activity was exposed. Months earlier, he had posted a video calling for Allah to “kill (Jews) one by one… don’t leave a single one”.
He had also been a member in Gaza of the so-called “tyre-burning unit”, described as a Hamas-affiliated militant group which threw fire bombs and rocks at Israeli border forces. Wadee has admitted being pictured with assault rifles but says he no longer supports Hamas.
His presence in Corby came to wider attention after he posted TikTok videos of himself cycling through the town and encouraging teenagers to shout “Free Palestine” on camera. The account, which had around 20,000 followers, had been deleted by Wednesday afternoon.
When traced to his home earlier this week, Wadee told a reporter that he had Jewish friends and wanted to remain in Britain. He said his previous support for Hamas had been given under duress “eight years ago”.
Asked whether he still supported the group, he said: “No, no, no. I love England, I love Corby.” He added: “Everyone knows that Hamas is a terrorist organisation that would kill us if we didn’t speak against the Jews while living there.”
In newly unearthed videos filmed in Arabic, Wadee claimed that British authorities were infringing his human rights and that he could not find a lawyer to help him stay in the country.
Showing what appeared to be an ankle tag, he said: “I have not committed any crime or done anything wrong in Britain. They are punishing me. I didn’t come to cause trouble, and I haven’t caused any trouble.”
He added: “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.”
Wadee also said: “My only issue is that I entered illegally, like many refugees around the world do when seeking asylum.” The video did not refer to his earlier call for Jews to be killed.
Residents in Corby said they were shocked to discover that he had been living nearby. One Ukrainian resident said: “It’s shocking to hear that somebody who allegedly supported Hamas was living here. Russia and Hamas are very close. I’m just glad he has gone.”
Another local resident said officials should have examined Wadee’s background before housing him in a neighbourhood with families, adding: “If the guy still has those kind of views I wouldn’t want my son or other children to be influenced.”
The Campaign Against Antisemitism said the authorities had been too slow to act and that Wadee should have been deported after his conviction. The organisation said it had previously written to the Crown Prosecution Service calling for terrorism charges, but that the request had been refused.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described it as a “joke” that Wadee had continued to receive taxpayer-funded accommodation and called for him to be sent back to Hamas-controlled territory.
Lee Barron, Labour MP for Corby, said he was contacting Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to seek Wadee’s “immediate deportation”. It is understood that Home Office officials are seeking to remove him from the UK.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Any foreign national who receives a prison sentence in the UK is referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from ever returning.”
She added that 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 preceding two years.
