The convicted sex offender who used Christianity to remain in the UK: Chemical attack fugitive Adul Ezedi was granted asylum after claiming he’d converted religion – as manhunt …

The hunt for a suspected chemical attacker who maimed a mother and her two daughters has entered its third day as it emerged the convicted sex offender was allowed to stay in the UK after a priest said he had converted to Christianity. 

Police are hunting Abdul Shokoor Ezedi, 35, who is accused of carrying out a ‘targeted’ attack on the mother and her two daughters, aged three and eight, on Wednesday night in Clapham, south London. 

It emerged last night that Ezedi is a former asylum seeker from Afghanistan who was allowed to stay in the UK despite being convicted of a sexual offence, following two failed applications. 

He was granted the right to stay in the UK on his third application in either 2020 or 2021, after a priest vouched that he had converted to Christianity. He was handed a suspended sentence for the offence years earlier in 2018. 

Wednesday’s horrific attack on Lessar Road at 7.25pm left the mother, who one witness said was ‘blinded’, and her youngest daughter with ‘life changing injuries’.

The elder child is also said to have suffered bruising and burn-like injuries. All three remain in hospital in a stable condition.

The Met has urged the public to stay away from ‘dangerous’ Ezedi who was also hurt in the horror that unfolded, with CCTV footage released last night showing him with severe burns to his face. 

A handout CCTV grab released by Britain’s Metropolitan Police in London on February 1, 2024 shows Abdul Shokoor Ezedi (pictured), taken in a Tesco, understood to be the branch closest to King’s Cross Station 

35-year-old Abdul Ezedi, from the Newcastle area, has been named by police as the suspect in a corrosive alkaline substance attack in Clapham, south London

Police last night released CCTV footage of Ezedi buying a bottle of water in a north London Tesco, on Caledonian Road, in Islington, around an hour after the attack on Wednesday evening.

Police said Ezedi sustained ‘significant injuries’ in the attack, which officers say was ‘targeted’. 

Timeline of Abdul Ezedi’s time in the UK:  

2016

Ezedi arrives in the UK illegally in the back of a lorry after fleeing from Afghanistan.  He had two applications for asylum rejected. 

2018

Ezedi is handed a suspended sentence and an unpaid work order by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court after being convicted of a sexual assault/exposure offence.

2020 

Ezedi finishes his work unpaid work order and is discharged from probation supervision.

2020-2021

It is understood Ezedi was granted asylum on his third application – despite his criminal history – after getting a priest to vouch that he had converted to Christianity. 

He said he was ‘wholly committed’ to his new religion.

January 31 2024

Ezedi is suspected of carrying out a ‘targeted’ attack on a mother and her two daughters, aged three and eight, in Clapham, south London. 

He is accused of leaping on the ‘vulnerable’ mother and her two daughters, hurling a corrosive alkaline substance from a metal coffee cup leaving the woman screaming: ‘I can’t see, I can’t see!’ 

Horrified locals who ran out to help described the victims’ skin turning black and peeling away on contact with the highly toxic chemical, commonly found in household cleaners such as bleach and drain cleaner.

Several residents on the leafy street near Clapham Common, where houses fetch up to £3 million, were also injured as they came to help, along with five police officers who all came into contact with the chemical.

Police believe the perpetrator had travelled around 250 miles from Newcastle earlier that day to carry out the attack on the woman, who was said to be known to him.

Distressing footage from the scene showed the 31-year-old mother and her eight-year-old daughter standing in front of the man’s car holding their hands to their faces around 7.25pm.

The suspect was then seen deliberately driving at the mother, hitting her before getting out of the car to haul a three-year-old girl out of the back seat. 

Children’s minister David Johnston was pressed by Sky News on reports the suspect in the alkaline substance attack in south London is a convicted sex offender who was granted asylum after two failed attempts.

Mr Johnston said: ‘I don’t have his case file and I can’t say anything that might affect the police’s investigation here.

‘He is still at large and what we really need is anyone with information to come forward in order that he can be apprehended, given he is police’s key suspect.

He described the attack as ‘horrific’ and sent his thoughts to the victims. He told Sky News: ‘What has been reported in this particular case will understandably concern I think every member of the public. Concerns me, concerns every member of the government.’ 

Asked whether it was a failure of the Government for someone to be granted permission to stay in the UK after being convicted of a crime, he said: ‘This is why this government’s so determined to end the asylum merry-go-round.’

Mr Johnston added that a ‘number of cases’ of people appealing and claiming asylum after having their application rejected. He added that the Rwanda Bill aims to stop this from happening. 

The disturbing footage shows a man running towards the driver’s door and getting inside before driving the white car into a woman as members of the public rush to her aid

This is the chilling moment a suspected acid attacker rams a car at a mother before taking a child out of a car and slamming her to the floor

CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline showed Ezedi stumbling as he ran away from the scene of the attack 

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has said that he expects the Home Secretary to carry out a “detailed review” of how Abdul Ezedi was granted asylum.

Mr Jenrick, who quit the Government last year after pushing for a tougher approach to the Rwanda plan, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the case raises “very serious concerns”.

He said: ‘It appears from what little we know of this case, that this is an individual whose asylum or humanitarian protection in the UK was granted by a tribunal, so probably by a judge rather than Home Office officials, despite the fact that he had been convicted of a sexual offence and on the basis of evidence which, we shall have to see, may well be spurious or insubstantial, such as this suggestion that he had converted to Christianity.

‘I think we need to investigate the particular circumstances.

‘We shouldn’t jump to conclusions, and I would expect the Home Secretary to conduct a detailed review of what has happened and what may have gone seriously wrong in this case, and to put that information in the public domain, such is the public interest.”

Terrified witnesses described the suspect throwing the child ‘like a ragdoll’ above his head before smashing her down on the ground.

One local said: ‘The man was throwing the little girl on the floor like he was in a wrestling ring.’

Another horrified witness said: ‘Like the Hulk, he lifted her and threw her on the floor, lifted her again and threw her on the floor again.’

Both the mother and her three-year-old suffered ‘life-changing injuries’.

The elder child, who was wearing her school uniform, is said to have suffered bruising and burn-like injuries. All three remain in hospital.

One witness described the mother’s horrific injuries: ‘Her lips were completely black. Her face looked really burnt, like stripped off basically.’

The Acid Survivors Trust International, an organisation that records information on chemical attacks across the world, said that the heinous attack being directed at the young mother and her two children was ‘unheard of’, as most are related to gang violence. 

Forensics at the scene take picture of the location close to Clapham Common

The three victims are among ten injured as eight were rushed to hospital after the horror incident in south London , police said

Jaf Shah, chief executive of the trust, said: ‘The scale of attacks and the targeting of young children by a single perpetrator is unheard of. It’s important to highlight that this is not commonplace, this is very rare.’

Three women and a man in his 50s were also taken to hospital to be treated for minor burns injuries after rushing to help them, along were five police officers. All have since been discharged.

Shannon Christi was one of those injured. She recalled: ‘They were screaming, “Help! Help!” The little one was thrown to the floor. It was aggressive. He threw her down on the floor. Then he picked her up and threw her down again.

‘That’s when I ran in and just grabbed her, because I couldn’t watch.

‘I didn’t see anything on her clothes, but there was something on her coat that got transferred to me. She landed on her face. It was scratched, bruised.

‘I saw the mother afterwards. Her face was red and sore. Her eyes were closed and she was screaming: “I can’t see!”

‘That’s when I realised something had been thrown at her. So I called for someone to get water. Her lips went black. It was all over her face. At that point, my face and my arms started tingling.

Photos show a white Hyundai i20 hatchback with its doors open and windscreen shattered abandoned on the street in Clapham, where homes sell for as much as £3million 

Forensics were seen closely examining a silver thermal carry-cup, which was located next to a bin

‘My lips started tingling so I knew something was wrong. I ran into my house and washed my arms and my face.’

Another resident, Mohamed Ilyas, said: ‘I saw him driving into her. He smashed her with the car, then the kid went and knocked on the door, saying “Mummy! Mummy!”, hitting on the door.

‘Then he got out the car, went into the backseat, pulled out the other little child and smashed her on the floor.’

After the brutal attack, the suspect tried to drive off in his car but collided with a stationary vehicle. He then fled on foot in the direction of Clapham Common. 

Nearby CCTV caught him sprinting through neighbouring streets in such a hurry that he stumbled on a speed bump before tripping on a kerb. 

The suspect later appeared at a Tesco store on Caledonian Road, Islington, at 8.48pm dressed in a black hoodie and blue T-shirt.

The mother and two girls were given emergency first aid at Clapham South Belvedere Hotel, a complex used to house Afghan refugees where they had been living, while detectives believe Ezedi may be heading to Newcastle, where he has links. 

Two scientists could be seen crowding around the mug, which appeared to have an evidence marker

The car appeared to have crashed into other parked vehicles as it came to a stop on the residential road

The UK’s current policy on asylum seekers states that they can claim asylum based on their conversion to a new religion, if they can prove they will face persecution in their country of origin as a result of their new faith. 

The UK faced a terror attack from an asylum seeker in November 2021, when Emad Al Swealmeen blew himself up at the entrance of Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

Al Swealmeen was confirmed by Rt Revd Cyril Ashton at Liverpool Cathedral in 2017.

Ezedi managed to claim asylum, despite his criminal history, after a priest vouched that he had converted to Christianity.

He was granted the right to stay in the UK on his third application in either 2020 or 2021, after coming into the UK in the back of a lorry in 2016, despite being convicted of a sexual offence just two years after he arrived.

Ezedi pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual assault and one of exposure, the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed.

He was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on January 9, 2018, to a nine-week jail term suspended for two years for the sexual assault.

For the exposure he was given 36 weeks’ imprisonment to be served consecutively, which was also suspended for two years.

Police were seen outside the last known address of Ezedi 

MailOnline revealed that Ezedi has more recently living in the Byker area of Newcastle in a hostel on the city’s Wilfred Street

It is run by Tyne Housing Association which aims to find homes for people who are classed as homeless or vulnerable

Abdul Shokoor Ezedi has not been seen at his address in Newcastle for around six months, neighbours told MailOnline.

He was last known to be living in a shared terraced house in Dilston Road in the Arthur’s Hill area of the city.

Neighbours said the house had a high turnover of tenants and few remembered him.

However Mohammad Hussain Nazary, 24, who works in his family’s food shop said he recalled Ezedi living in the area but assumed he was a single man.

He said: ‘I’d see him around the area and he’d come in from time to time.

‘He’s an Afghan and I assumed he was single because I never saw him with a partner or family, he was always on his own.

‘He seemed like an ordinary harmless guy, certainly not someone you’d associate with something like this.

‘He was around quite a lot but I haven’t seen him in maybe six or seven months.’

A neighbour said: ‘There are a lot of long term residents in the street but also a couple of houses where tenants come and go all the time and that house is one of them. There are new people moving in very regularly , you can’t keep track of who is living there.’

MailOnline revealed that Ezedi has more recently been living in the Byker area of Newcastle in a hostel on the city’s Wilfred Street.

It is run by Tyne Housing Association which aims to find homes for people who are classed as homeless or vulnerable.

A resident said: ‘You’d see him walking around during the day, usually on his own and I don’t recall ever seeing him with a wife or partner.’

Garage worker Michael Vinks, 37, works opposite the hostel.

He said: ‘He came in a while ago and chatted to my boss about possibly buying a car, but it didn’t come to anything.’

Bilal Khan (pictured), owner of Billy’s Garage in Byker, near Ezedi’s last known address, said the alleged attacker had been ‘persistent’ when trying to buy a car off him last summer

Mr Khan indicated that Ezedi lived in a nearby halfway house, and he preferred not to do business with its residents

Acid attacks in London rise by 45 per cent in a year  

Acid attacks have risen in London by 45 per cent in a year, Met Police figures show. The force recorded 107 attacks in 2022, up from 74 in 2021.

The data was released by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) following a freedom of information request.

Overall, police in England and Wales recorded 472 violent and robbery offences involving a corrosive substance in the year to March 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

There were 525 recorded in the previous 12-month period. The data is published annually and only dates back to March 2020, when current records began.

The Home Office started collecting data on some offences involving corrosive substances from April 2019 as part of a government pledge to tackle such attacks.

The figures to March 2023 exclude any reports that may have been made to Devon and Cornwall Police because the force has been unable to supply data due to problems with a new computer system.

Bilal Khan, owner of Billy’s Garage in Byker, near Ezedi’s last known address, said the alleged attacker had been ‘persistent’ when trying to buy a car off him last summer.

Mr Khan said: ‘He approached me last year asking if I had a car for sale. We had one which he was interested in and I told him the price. He was a very persistent type of guy, he doesn’t let things go easily.

‘He was coming and going back to me about the car but I told him “this is my price”.’

Mr Khan indicated that Ezedi lived in a nearby halfway house, and he preferred not to do business with its residents. ‘I try to keep my distance from people like that,’ he said.

The negotiation over the car ended without a sale last summer and Mr Khan said he had not seen Ezedi since around Christmas or New Year.

Asked if he was worried about the suspect returning to Newcastle, Mr Khan said: ‘I don’t think so. If he knows the police and the media are after him then he will stay away, if he doesn’t get caught.’

Mr Khan told The Telegraph: ‘He’s a small, skinny guy. There’s nothing threatening about him.

‘I’ve never seen him with anyone, as far as I could see he spent his days on his own hanging around the street near the hostel.’

Tory MPs have called for the Government to reform its policy on asylum seekers in the wake of the horrific attack. 

Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge and the co-chair of the New Conservative group of MPs, told The Telegraph: ‘This shocking and tragic case is everybody’s worst nightmare but it also shows the urgent need to tighten up our asylum processes.

‘This man should never have been granted asylum in this country and we need to get to the bottom of how he was able to be granted leave to remain.

‘This brings home the enormous security threat that this country faces from thousands of illegal migrants entering the UK each year.’

Sir John Hayes, former minister and MP for South Holland and The Deepings, said he would be writing to the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, asking for an urgent review of the UK’s asylum rules.

‘This case provides an opportunity not only to review the criteria for granting asylum but also for how we deal with those who are known criminals.

‘It won’t take much working out who has been here and subsequently received asylum and then committed a crime and how we can deport all of them.’

Miriam Cates, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, said: ‘This brings home the enormous security threat that this country faces from thousands of illegal migrants entering the UK each year’

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, said: ‘There should be a condition on any asylum being granted that if you commit a crime, you go back to your country’

Sir John Hayes, MP for South Holland and The Deepings, said: ‘This case provides an opportunity not only to review the criteria for granting asylum but also for how we deal with those who are known criminals’

Also calling for reform was Lee Anderson, the former deputy chairman of the Tory party, who expressed a zero-tolerance view on asylum seekers who commit crimes of any kind.

‘It should apply whether it is shoplifting or another crime. That would make us a safer country. They should find him and send him straight back. No messing about.

‘There should be a condition on any asylum being granted that if you commit a crime, you go back to your country. He cannot claim he is being persecuted and at risk when he is coming to the UK and committing crimes.’ 

Nigel Farage told MailOnline: ‘This is a huge wake up call. He should have been deported after the first asylum claim.’ 

Met Police Superintendent Gabriel Cameron said: ‘We believe the man and woman are known to each other. We are working to establish why this awful incident has happened.

‘Officers from across the Met are working with partner agencies and forces to locate and arrest the man. While this appears to be a targeted attack, he is a dangerous individual and we urgently need to find him.’

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said a ‘big team’ of officers were involved in the manhunt following the ‘ghastly attack’.

Strong alkaline materials, such as sodium hydroxide or ammonia, can cause blindness, severe burns and permanent scarring.

But it is difficult to ban the harmful chemicals as many are found in ordinary household cleaning products.

Concentrated bleach contains around 10 to 15 per cent sodium hypochlorite, which can burn skin on contact.

Other products such as oven cleaner, drain unblockers and metal polish are also alkaline substances.

The chemicals can rapidly eat away skin, the layer of fat beneath the skin, and in some cases bone.